Deer Park will once again start a Western Region Football League division 1 season as the defending premiers.
The Lions will be gunning for a record breaking sixth consecutive premiership when their campaign begins against Altona Vikings with the unfurling of their latest flag at John McLeod Oval this Saturday.
Lions coach Marc Bullen and his team was eyeing off a slice of Victorian metropolitan football history.
“If we achieve a premiership this year, we’ll go down as the most successful club in suburban football history,” Bullen said.
“I’ve been told that no senior team has had six premierships in a row in metropolitan football.
“Essendon Tullamarine won five in a row and six has happened in country football, but never in metropolitan football.”
Deer Park is not getting ahead of itself.
The Lions were saved by the bell in their nail-biting grand final win over Sunshine Kangaroos last September.
While Bullen has assembled a team where “our internal competition is at the highest stage it’s ever been in my time at the club”, he knows there are more clubs then ever before wanting to knock them off their perch.
“Every year it gets harder,” he said.
“There’s a lot of clubs that have certainly improved their lists and there will be a filter of players going around the league that will certainly add some class around the traps.
“We think we’ve got a great stable list and we’ve added some players into that which we think can only complement what we’re trying to achieve and some young kids coming through.
“The goal is obviously to play finals, get to the big dance again.
“We saw how close it was last year and I can’t see things changing.”
The season-opening clash between Deer Park and Altona will see two of the star forwards in the competition on show at either end in Deer Park’s Jase Perkins and Altona recruit Patrick Rose.
It will also be a hot battle in the midfield, an area of the ground in which the Lions have bolstered with the inclusion of Dyson Stevens, Jason Williams and Paul Bower.
Bullen expects Altona to come out breathing fire after missing out on the finals last season.
“I think Altona, after missing finals last year, would have that burning desire,” Bullen said.
“If I was [Altona coach] Saade [Ghazi], I would’ve been bitterly disappointed to miss out on finals with their list last year, so I’m sure he’s got them ready to go and in tip top shape.”
