Tara Murray
New Keilor Park coach Robbie Roach is keen to lead the club into a new era in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association.
Roach was announced coach of the division 2 club late last month and he said he can’t wait for the pre-season to begin.
“I’m pretty excited and grateful for the club to have given me the opportunity,” he said. “I was at St Andrews Footscray [co-coach] in VTCA division 4 and nothing bad happened, they just wanted to go in a different direction.
“Keilor Park popped up and gave me an opportunity. It’s the first time being senior coach [by myself].”
Roach comes to the club at a time where the club hasn’t achieved the results it had been wanting in recent seasons.
Last season, the Devils finished in eighth spot with four wins after just missing out on finals the season before.
Roach said they were looking to rebuild the next couple of seasons.
“It’s a new era and a bit of a rebuild,” he said. “We’re not going to lie about it.
“This season will be trial and error and people will make mistakes. We want to change and in two to three years look to be really competitive again.
“If we have to get relegated, which we don’t want to be, we’ll continue to build from there.’
Roach said the key for the club now was bringing the right people into the club, who want to be part of the journey.
He said they were starting to talk to players about joining the club.
“It’s about finding the right people and we’re talking to a few people,” he said. ”There’s a couple of young fellows we’re chatting to but most are still worried about footy.
“It’s a tough time of the year to talk about cricket, as footy season is footy season and cricket season is cricket season.”
Roach will be a non-playing coach but said he might chuck on the pads in the second XI if they’re desperate.
Roach has a message for anyone thinking of coming down to play.
“Knock on the door, we won’t turn anyone away,” he said. “We want people who want to do the hard work and are looking to join the journey.”
The club has also announced the signing of Brayden Trewin as its junior coordinator as well as player for the upcoming season.
