Sunshine Heights has had plenty of reason to celebrate through the opening rounds of the Western Region Football League season.
After not winning a game in 2015 and being relegated to division 3, the Dragons have shown a liking for their new surroundings.
Sunshine Heights has won three of its first five matches and is looming as a genuine finals contender.
While getting wins on the board has been great for club morale, it isn’t the only thing that has brought a smile to president Vince Sposato’s face.
He said one of his highlights for the new season had been watching brothers Junior, Leo and Patrick Eliepa playing in the same side.
Originally from New Zealand, the trio came from a rugby union background but haven’t looked back since switching to Aussie Rules.
“Junior has played with us for the last four seasons,” Sposato said.
“His brothers played their junior football at Point Cook and Sanctuary Lakes.
“Junior always said he’d be keen to get his brothers across to play senior football with him when they were old enough.
“Having them all at the club has created a huge buzz. It’s massive.
“The club is rapt to have them. They’re great kids and exactly the sort of people we want at our football club.”
While Junior already had plenty of senior experience, his brothers have wasted no time finding their feet at the next level this season. Leo was named in his club’s best players in the win against Wyndham Suns.
Their signing at Sunshine Heights continues the club’s rich history of providing an inclusive culture, especially for players not from traditional Australian Rules backgrounds.
“We consider ourselves to be a very inclusive club,” Sposato said.
“The message I try to get across and the way we try and portray our football club is that it doesn’t matter where you’re from.
“We embrace everyone who walks through the doors and we’re quite a big multicultural club.
“It’s about playing football but the thing I really try to emphasise is that we’re all a family and we’re all here to have a good time as well as play football.”
After a tough loss against Tarneit at the weekend – 21.13 (139)-6.6 (42) – Sunshine Heights will seek to get back on the winners’ list against Newport Power on Saturday.
The match is looming as a battle of the key forwards.
Newport’s Mark Williams leads the competition with 27 goals, while Sunshine Heights forward Robert Greto has 21.
