Tara Murray
The possibility of playing finals for the first time since 2011 is on the cards for Albion in the Western Region Football League division 2.
After being demoted from division 1 and only just holding the doors open in recent years, the Cats rebuild is well and truly on track.
After 11 rounds, the Cats sit in second spot, three games clear of fifth spot.
Speaking before Saturday’s match, Cats coach Blake Richards knows there’s still a lot of hard work to go before they get to that point, but it was something they had spoken about. Richards was still playing back in 2011 when the side lost the grand final.
“We brought it up with the group about how many had played senior finals,” he said.
“Only three or four put their hands up and a lot of the group has not done so.
“It’s really exciting for everyone, the committee that worked tirelessly the last three to four years to keep the club open.
“We are now starting to thrive.”
Richards said he had been really happy with how the group had been playing. While he wasn’t at the club last season, he has seen a great amount of growth in the group since he returned to the club.
“They have grown a lot during the season,” he said. “There’s still a lot more to go. The way they prepare, the overall fitness.
“We’re always learning. The improvement has been big in a year.”
As well as improvement from the group, Richards said they had some really good depth within the group, which was resulting in some good results in the reserves which sit atop the table.
The club continued to add some more experience to the squad since the season started, with two key recruits.
Daniel Bramich joined the club early in the season, while Cameron Addie joined the club in recent weeks from Bell Post in the Geelong and District Football League where he was a six-time premiership player.
Addie kicked seven in the reserves on debut.
“We’ve very young,” Richards said. “Those two older guys have come to the club, One in the backline in Daniel and Cam played in the reserves on the weekend.
“They add a bit more leadership. Both had connections to the club and liked what they saw.”
While happy, Richards said they were working on a number things to hopefully close the gap on an undefeated Parkside.
The Magpies beat the Cats by five goals in their only meeting so far.
“We need to work on our ball movement and structures and try to get on top of them,” Richards said.
“In the position we were in we should make finals with seven rounds left.”
The Cats next period of the season is a tough one.
The Cats lost to Wyndhamvale on Saturday, 8.6 (54)-6.3 (39).
