Keilor Park coach Marcus Barclay wasn’t sure what to expect when he took on the women’s coaching role at Essendon District Football League club.
Having coached against the Devils last season, Barclay was ready to take a step back from coaching.
That was until his home club came calling and he couldn’t say no.
Since then Barclay and the squad have been putting in the hard work. He said having been exhausted and wanting to step up, the Devils program had invigorated him.
“It has been a complete surprise,” he said. “We had maybe 13-14 girls at the start and were trying to convince them to stay.
“Being my home club, I know how good a club it is to play footy. I wanted to continue what the people before me had done.”
The Devils have had a number of players look to join the club.
Several had put in clearances from Airport West, where Barclay coached the past three seasons.
The Eagles are yet to clear all of those girls, but Barclay said they were hoping it would happen and they could play for the Devils.
“I had no idea what they were going to do,” he said. “They want to play for me, so it’s a tough one as there is a limit on how many they have to allow.
“Hopefully everything works out.”
Barclay said they’d had a number of players from other clubs also come down.
“A lot of the girls bought a friend,” he said. “There’s six or seven girls that I’ve never met before the first night.
“There’s girls who have been successful at other clubs. They did some research and they thought there were some pretty good resources.
“I’m looking forward to coaching them.”
Shelby Crameri, Krystyn Raymundo and Maddison Cooper are three of the biggest names to have signed with the Devils.
Cooper was named best on ground in the Western Football League grand final in 2023 while at Spotswood.
Crameri also played in that premiership with Spotswood, while Raymundo has won an WFL league best and fairest.
Barclay said they had spent the past few months getting to know each other.
He said this was about ensuring a sustainable future for the women’s program.
“We want to try and make sure we have a women’s team forever,” he said. “Hopefully work behind the scenes witht he juniors and get some junior girls all the way through.”
