Burnside Heights coach Cole Harvey is trying to take the positives out of what has been a tough Essendon District Football League division 2 season.
After losing more than 15 players in the off season, including several big names, the Bears knew this season would be tough.
Entering round 13, the Bears have three wins for the year.
Harvey admits that it has been a less than ideal year.
“We know it would be tough losing all the players we did,” he said. “We lost 15 to 18 players, so essentially we lost a full team of depth, so we were going to be tested significantly.
“Every club has to go through injuries, but I’ve never coached a team with as many injuries as we’ve had this year.
“It has been unprecedented and I can’t believe it”
Harvey said they would lose six players from their round 12 side for the round 13 match up with Coburg Districts, which was after deadline.
That included key Brandon Brancatisano with an achilles injury and Ferdinando Petrarca with a shoulder injury.
While not having the depth and side they wanted to put out on the park, the Bears are looking at the bright side of this season.
“Over the last two weeks we’re had two 16-year-olds who are playing under-18s and another three under-18s all step up,” Harvey said.
“We have four or five under-18s playing per week which is good for the development of the kids
“Our depth has been significantly tested.”
Harvey said they had shown some real positive signs against some strong sides, but struggled to match it for the full four quarters.
“In round one against Glenroy we were as close to full strength we have been and the margin was 60 points,” he said.
“Next time we played them we had a lot of guys out and they had a couple of out and it was still about the same margin.
“The blokes go out there and continue to fly the flag and despite everything we are very proud of what they have done.
“We don’t have that experience and talent, there is some really good talent in all teams especially in the top five.”
Harvey said the last few rounds they would manage some of the younger boys, with their under-18s on track for a strong final series.
He said they would make a focus on that as they hope that side could have the ultimate success and something positive can come from the senior men’s program this year.
“We’ll try and stem the bleeding and do the best we can,” he said. “The vibe is still good and everyone is turning up and learning.
“We’re going to give every side a competitive hit out so they can get something out of it.”
The Bears face Coburg Districts on Saturday.
