Harper Sercombe
Early signs are positive for Green Gully ahead of the 2024 National Premier League season.
The Cavaliers missed out on last year’s finals by a singular point, breaking the club’s streak of consecutive finals appearances which began in 2019.
Heading into the upcoming season, coach Stephen Downes said the club is ready to make the leap back into the top six, with a refreshed playing list at his disposal.
“The bare minimum goal for Green Gully is always finals football,” he said.
“The club has serious stature within Victoria and not just Victoria but Australian football. We missed out on finals last year which was disappointing but Green Gully’s goal is always finals football.”
It’s been a busy off season for the Cavaliers, with the club losing Jordan Lampard, Nahuel Bonada and Luc Jeggo to rival clubs. Yet, Lucas Derrick, Luca Tevere, Jalil Regague, Ashton Ahluwalia, Jamie Latham and Adisu Bayew, Dalibor Markovic have arrived.
“All of the boys have integrated really well,” Downes said. “It’s a good group, everyone’s willing to work hard which is one of the main requirements, and it’s an enjoyable environment, so long may that continue and hopefully come round one that bodes for a good, positive start.”
It’s not only been the club’s fresh faces that have built excitement and anticipation around the club, with the Cavaliers producing strong results in practice matches including victories against Altona Magic and South Melbourne.
“We’ll keep the confidence in check at the minute, but I’m open to the boys getting some confidence from it and some belief in what we are doing,” Downes said.
“The pre-season has been going well and there are a lot of positive feelings in and around the club at the minute but we’ll keep the confidence from going out aloud, we’ll keep it in house.”
It’s been a marathon of a pre-season for the Cavaliers with the club now heading at full steam ahead to its first match of the NPL season against Moreland City on February 9.
“It’s a really long pre-season, I’m originally from the UK and we tend to do six to eight weeks of pre-season, here it’s 14 weeks of pre-season, so it’s long,” Downes said.
“We’re just champing at the bit to get into it, so I can’t wait for round one to come around.
“Like every first game, of every season it’s always a difficult game, it’s played with enthusiasm from both parties. So it’ll be an exciting game, it’ll be a tough game and we’re looking forward to it.”
