A bunch of exciting youngsters are set to light up Clarke Oval for the Sunbury Lions this Ballarat Football League season.
The Lions have kept their core group together from last season when they made finals and added a couple of key recruits.
For coach Matt White the growth from within the program is really exciting.
“There’s been massive development in the younger guys, which is the most pleasing thing to take away from the pre-season,” he said.
“There’s six or eight who are ready to come in and play senior football and that doesn’t include the reserves guys who have stepped up again.
“We’re looking like we’ll have a strong list.”
White said it had been a really strong pre-season with fitness one of the key areas that they had worked on.
He said they wanted to try and get everyone on the same page as well.
The core group from last season has returned, which White said was their core focus.
They’ve picked up Daniel Johnston who will help shore up the front end of the ground, while Patrick Scanlon will hopefully return from injury.
Myles Gollant, who had been playing at Avondale Heights, joins the club where his sister Eliza Gollant plays netball.
Gollant will play in defence.
White said that there were a number of younger players who would get their opportunities during the season after impressive pre-seasons.
Blake Walker, who played one game last season, has come on in leaps and bounds, while Noah Ryan is still eligible to play under-18s is another who has impressed White.
Declan Corcoran is a developing winger, while Jackson McHenry will be looking to build on his one game from last season.
White said Samuel Parker had been the surprise packet for a lot of the coaches in the off season and was a lot stronger and fitter than last year.
After fading late last season and falling short in the first week of finals, White said they had looked to make some changes so they are hopefully firing in the back part of the season.
He put his hand up that he made some mistakes last season and had learned a lot heading into his second season in charge.
“We’ve trained a few things that will hold us in good stead,” he said. “I’m always learning and we’ve had some great additions to help me out, like Tony Lucas who is a development coach.
“Guys have stepped up around me.”
The Lions capped off their preparations with their annual pre-season match against Gisborne on the last weekend in March.
White said that they got everything they wanted out of it.
“We hate each other, but have the utmost respect for them,” he said. “Tempers flared a little bit.
“It was a good test and we’re ready to play Darley in round two.”
The Lions had the weekend off in the first week of the season. They will play their round one on Good Friday against Redan.
White said even before he played for the Lions, the two clubs had a really good rivalry and they were hoping to get a good crowd at Clarke Oval.
The Lions kick off their season on Saturday against Darley.
