Tara Murray
Sunshine Heights is hoping to build on last season in the Western Football League division 2 season.
After a late coaching change and a bit of instability early on, the Dragons finished last season with five wins.
With coach Stephen O’Malley locked in for another season and with a full pre-season together the club is hoping to build.
“It has been busy,” O’Malley said. “I haven’t stopped.
“It’s been a lot easier and we’ve had a bit of time to sit down with guys and see where we are at and see what we need.
“Most of the guys have re-signed and we’ve picked up a couple of guys. We’re happy where we are sitting, but we don’t know until we get into the games.”
O’Malley said having an off season and then pre-season was beneficial for the group and made things a lot easier.
He said they knew that they needed to add some talent to the group along with some extra depth.
Rocco Tripodi and John Whitehouse are two of the more experienced recruits for the Dragons.
Tripodi has played Essendon District Football League premier division with Avondale Heights and crosses from the Sunbury Kangaroos.
Whitehorse joins from Anakie in the Geelong District Football League and brings an attacking and defensive mindset.
O’Malley said the pair bring that extra experience to the group and the professionalism of having played at a higher level.
He said that helps on game day as well as preparation and training standards.
The club announced former Hoppers Crossing captain Jackson Viola as its newest recruit on Tuesday night.
He brings Victorian Football League experience.
Ayang Nyanjok crosses from Laverton and brings some extra height, which O’Malley said would be handy.
Other signings announced include Buddy Dettman, Thibo Leclerc, Oscar Bennett and Anthony Franzone.
The club starts pre-season this week and O’Malley said they can’t wait to get into it.
He said they want to build on what they did last season.
“We will have a red hot crack and see how we go,” he said. “The way it started last year we didn’t think we’d win many games.
“We had that consistency from the start to the end. There was the buy in in the game plan and we played some good football towards the end
“We see the list is there, we have to get it right. We’ll get a good pre-season under our belts and go from there.”
