THE off-season has treated West Gambier Football Club well and it will boast a mix of fresh and familiar faces when it gears up for round one of Western Border football in a month’s time.
The Roos have retained the majority of their A Grade list from 2018, while extra depth has been added thanks to a fruitful summer recruiting period.
“We have kept the majority of our list from last year and added some new guys,” coach Brad Wilson said.
“We hope to have a decent year.”
Michael Minuzzo and Ben Papps are two big pick ups, both from Blackwood in the Hills Football League.
Tantanoola’s Jordan Williams is also a key recruit, while Jordan Zeitz has signed on to play alongside brothers Tom and Sam and will be a valuable asset, having played for Nhill in the Wimmera Football League for several seasons.
“They all come from good backgrounds, fit into our group well and have been training well,” Wilson said.
“They should add some quality to our side on and off the field.
“We also have a few guys returning to the club who have played their juniors here or played some seniors and then moved on elsewhere.”
Garret Ha, Jackson Lock and Brandon Kranz are all players who have followed their roots back to West.
Jett Attard has also returned to the club, after a stint at Montmorency in the Northern Football League last year, which saw him win an Under 19 Division 1 premiership.
Dwayne Phillips completes West’s A Grade recruits, while Kynan Betts is the only main loss, as he moves back inter-state.
The result is a side with no shortage of depth, which will possess the punch off the bench it lacked in 2018.
Every team suffers injuries of some description throughout the season, but last year saw West with few reserves on the bench on several occasions.
“Depth is the word for sure,” Wilson said.
“We were happy with the steps we took last year and the wins we got.
“We felt like we moved forward for the year, even though we did not get the result we wanted in our final.
“Adding the depth over summer, we hope that will hold us through to try and have another good year.”
Still a young squad, with the majority of senior players in their early 20’s, Wilson said he expects the younger players in the ranks to step up to new heights this season.
“We put a lot of time and work into our youngsters last year,” he said.
“We hope the fact we have kept them all and they have done their pre-season means they will lift to another level.”
All signs point to a successful season for West, after the side showed promise in 2018, before it was knocked out of its finals campaign at the first hurdle.
“We thought we had some really good wins last year against some really good teams,” Wilson said.
“We were beaten by East in the (elimination) final and they out-played us on that day, but the six or seven weeks leading into that game we were playing some really good footy.
“It was disappointing to not win the final, but we have used that as a bit of drive over pre-season to try and do better this year.”
The Roos will have an opportunity for redemption soon enough, as they meet the Bulldogs in round one on April 13.
“It will be a huge test,” Wilson said.
“They have obviously had a ripping couple of years and are always a strong team.
“We will be in for a tough day no doubt, but I am confident we can put on a good show.
“Obviously it will be a new group, so to try and get us to mix and gel might take a few weeks of footy.
“We will look for some good signs hopefully and will just see what comes.”
Numbers at training have been good and the team is raring to kick off the season.
“We have had a pretty solid pre-season,” Wilson said.
“We were happy with our best footy last year, but the reality was we still finished fourth.
“The only way we can do better than that is to be better at training.
“The guys have really taken that on and it is starting to show.
“Hopefully we can translate that into the games.”
The club itself is also in prime condition for the season ahead, with new lights installed and the oval in a good state.
Wilson credited the work done off the field by Brenton James, Marcus Kuller and Shane Giddings to ensuring the facility is up to scratch in all regards.
