Tara Murray
New Sunbury United coach Danny Moore is happy with the progress so far in the off season for the FV state league 3 north-west club.
It has been a big off season for Moore as he returns to his home club from Gisborne. With a different looking line-up, there’s been plenty of work going on behind the scenes.
Moore said he was enjoying being back at Langama Park.
“It has been great for me personally,” he said. “The players have been brilliant.
“Not only the players from the existing and the new players that have come in.
“There has been great interaction between the group.
“Things have been really positive in the dressing room, but we’ve done nothing but training and a couple of practice matches.”
Moore said about half of last year’s squad had remained, which was important to ensure they had some players who were familiar with the side.
The rest is a mixture of players who have followed Moore across from Gisborne, while some other players have also made the move.
Among those making the move to United, is Jake McIntyre and Matt Hume, who were co-captains at Gisborne last year.
Both previously played with United.
United played their first official game of the year on Saturday in the second round of the Australia Cup.
The club’s first round match didn’t go ahead due to the other side forfeiting.
United travelled up to Shepparton to face Shepparton United. Scores were locked at 0-0 at half time, before McIntyre found the back of the net to give Sunbury the lead.
Shepparton levelled the scores in the 71st minute before Ryan Davies gave Sunbury back the lead.
Sunbury eventually won 2-1.
Moore said before the game they were looking forward to getting out there and having a kick.
“We’d love to get a couple of games in the cup,” he said. “If you go too far it can disrupt things for the home and away season.
“It’s good to have a game where there is something on the line. We’ll look to try and get the balance right, so we’re ready for the season.”
Moore said they were still to set expectations for the season ahead, with the group still coming together.
United finished fifth last season, fading in the back part of the year.
Moore said things would take time to click and it would be a bit of grind early in the season.
“It’s still about assessing the players and the mix of the group at the moment,” he said.
“We’re setting expectations about who we are as people and setting the bar high in respect and the right behaviours, which are just as important.
“Once we get closer to the season, we’ll do some more work in terms of exceptions for the whole season, but I’m always aiming high.”
