ONE of the most interesting aspects of the 2009 Wickers had nothing to do with football. After a bitter off-field coup, the new administration under club stalwart Cliff Donegan, made a pact to publicly “sing from the same hymn book”.
That has happened time and time again at the Edwin Flack Reserve, but this time it worked and, combined with a big swag of recruits sourced by astute coach Glenn Dale, finals were at last a reality for the club’s long suffering supporters.
The trick this year will be to improve. Dale will start the year with a fitter, united and importantly mostly unchanged list, so finals look almost certain again and top three is a real chance.
Coach says: “We want to improve on last year, it’s that simple. We finished fifth and we want to improve on that, but still play as many kids as we can. We will have games where we are down and others when we’re up, but we think we’ve got the talent to play finals again for sure.”
Key ins: Andrew Stent, Nathan Waite.
Key outs: Andrew Morozoff, Brad Miles.
Prediction: 3-4.
@BT Sub Sport News:Cranbourne
CRANBOURNE is the team in waiting. The Eagles hierarchy would probably have wished that Doveton’s woes had also beset its nemesis Pakenham, but the fact is, if a return to the top is to be achieved, every opponent has to be put down and that is the challenge at Casey Fields in 2010.
Coach Doug Koop has added significant firepower to his list with Justin Berry and young gun Kael Bergles signing on, while the return of Ryan Davey will add grunt to the midfield. Defence may be the Eagles’ Achilles heel, but if you are kicking goals the backline is not an issue is it?
If Koop can keep the egos in check, look out Pakenham.
Coach says: “We can’t get ahead of ourselves, ever. We’re looking to improve from last year and we’ve got a couple of quality recruits to assist us, but we’ve got to make sure that we don’t get carried away with the little victories on the way to the bigger prize.”
Key ins: Justin Berry, Kael Bergles, Ryan Davey.
Key outs: Chris Doria, Daniel Watson, Matthew Linke, Aaron Shedlock.
Prediction: 1-2.
@BT Sub Sport News:Devon Meadows
DEVON MEADOWS – your time has come! Anticipation is sky-high for the Panthers after an influx of proven football quality in the pre-season. Forget the side’s 2009 11th placing, this is the team tipped to be on the rise with a bullet under third-year coach Steve O’Brien.
Quite simply it has to be finals in 2010 or the efforts made by the loyal Panther recruiting team, even more loyal sponsors and unbelievably staunch local playing group will be for nothing. Excuses will not wash this year.
Coach says: “We’ve finally got a couple of recruits over the line and that’s really provided a boost for the club. We’ve changed our game around a bit too and this season’s group has a good mix of experience and versatility. I would be disappointed if we couldn’t be in the mix for a finals spot this year.”
Key ins: Stefan Baumgartner, Justin Hill, Aaron Henwood, David Velardo, Adam Jago.
Key outs: Dale Alanis, Callum O’Hare.
Prediction: 5-7.
@BT Sub Sport News:Doveton
WHAT a debacle! The once mighty Doves will field a young side full of hope but with the very real chance of going through the 2010 season without singing their song, after finishing 2009 as undefeated minor premiers.
Not sure if that has ever been done before and, for their loyal supporters’ sake, it is to be hoped that new coach Mark Ladgrove can find a way of covering the loss of 17 senior grand final players.
The Doves are in for a tough year and one that experienced premiership trio Ryan Hendy, Brad Downe and Michael Henry will have to steel themselves to bare and lead the side through.
Providing that the club holds its head high and maintains discipline in the face of adversity (on and off field), the Doves will eventually bounce back, but its 51st season threatens to be its worst nightmare ever.
Coach says: “There’s been some changes, but we’ll move forward now. Other clubs are always keen to recruit Doveton players and I suppose that’s a compliment to the club, but the reserves have won three grand finals in a row and it’s time that some of those players were given the chance to step up. We won’t be as bad as some people think.”
Key ins: None.
Key outs: Russell Gabriel, Shannon Henwood, Ricky Hayes, Justin Hill, Danny Casset, Daniel Charles, Ben Hoskin, Callum Pattie, Corrie Wilson, Nathan Wilson, Daryl Thomas, Daniel Zarjac, Aaron Henwood, Peter Greenstreet.
Prediction: 11th.
@BT Sub Sport News:Hampton Park
THE 2010 Redbacks will have a number of obvious differences to last year’s model. Firstly, they will be so much fitter after undertaking a full pre-season training regime under second-year coach Josh Taylor. Secondly, the addition of top-class midfielder Leigh Morse and livewire forward Billy Jessop will add new strings to an old bow. Thirdly, a new off-field administration under Chris Simpson has livened up the club, however Hampton Park needs more to become a genuine finals contender this year.
Coach says: “I’d like to think we could scrape into the finals, but if we fell short and still developed the way I think we can, then I wouldn’t be too disappointed.”
Key ins: Leigh Morse, Daniel Langley, Billy Jessop.
Key outs: Hayden Fredericks, Joe Bertuna.
Prediction: 8-10.
@BT Sub Sport News:Narre Warren
THE young Magpies surprised everyone (including themselves) with their effort to grab a top five spot last year, but a repeat this year will be no surprise. Apart from the quality of players at Fox Road, the mentality is one of winning every time a player runs out in a black and white jumper, and that is very hard to counter.
Coach Matt Shinners has added some class to his midfield with the return of Daniel Field and Nick Scanlon, but success in 2010 will come down to the ability of last year’s youngsters to match those efforts. A genuine top three chance.
Coach says: “We finished fourth last year and didn’t beat any of the top three so we know where we need to improve. We will be pushing for a top-three finish and need that to have any real chance.”
Key ins: Nick Scanlon, Aaron McIver, Daniel Field.
Key outs: Nathan Brewster, Matthew Werner.
Prediction: 3-4.
@BT Sub Sport News:Tooradin-Dalmore
ANOTHER exercise in youth will be on display at the Western Port Oval this year. Tooradin has, as usual, gone about its pre-season work in a no-fuss manner and is now ready to show the league the benefits of the appointment of former star AFL and VFL forward Chad Liddell as coach.
The loss of key big man Steve Arvanitis will hurt, but the word out of the Seagulls’ camp is that fitness, unity and inflated egos will not be a problem with the current group.
Coach says: “It’s going to be a development year and there’s no doubt some of these players are going to find it harder against the bigger, stronger and more developed bodies, but that’s all a learning experience and that’s the way we’ve got to go.”
Key ins: Jordan Gillespie.
Key outs: Steve Arvanitis, Lachlan Gillespie, Clint Setford.
Prediction: 8-10.
