Tara Murray
The Sunbury Lions are banking the small wins in the Essendon District Football League women’s division 1 competition.
After losing a number of players in the off season, the Lions knew that this season was going to be a tough one.
With no longer having the depth they had last season, the Lions have two wins so far, which includes one after the opposition was stripped of points for playing an unregistered player.
Lions coach Daniel Brady said they knew they were going to be up against it this year.
“As soon as the season finished we lost Indi [India Mcneill-Wren] Alisa Magri, Tee [Terira Fry] and Bec [Rebecca Lee],” he said.
“Last season we had 30 odd players. This year we’ve had a bench twice.
“Most of the time we’ve had the bare minimum.”
Brady said while it was tough not having the numbers, it meant some of the players were getting opportunities that they wouldn’t have got otherwise.
He said the scoreboard didn’t always show how well they were playing in matches.
“We’re trying our best and putting in heaps of game time into players,” he said.
“We’ve been competitive for a fair period of time, but we’re not able to put the scoreboard pressure on.
“We’ve got a game plan which we’re aiming to play, but the focus is to put time into the girls.”
Brady said skipper Audrey Follett had led from the led from the front and been a standout all year.
Amy Starzer, who joined the club this year, had provided plenty of leadership on and off the field, while Brady said they were lucky to have had Emily Taylor join the club this year.
Ash McGregor was another they were keen to see before she broke her ankle in round one.
Brady said the development had come from across the board.
“Skye McFarlane didn’t get a lot of game time last year and was a newbie to football and had barely watched a game,” he said.
“Tara Quigley has been moved down back and blossomed and is a key part of the backline.
“Taylah Brady has been huge around the ball.”
Brady said they were seeing glimpses of what they were working on at training in games, to show they were in the right direction.
He said things were looking bright for the future.
“We’ve created that harmony between the group,” he said.
“They’re all busting their balls every game.
“What I see green shots of what we’ve been doing at training in the games, we’re doing the right things.”
Brady said there were set to have at least eight players who weren’t playing this year, back next year.
The Lions had a bye on the weekend. This week they face Pascoe Vale.
