Tara Murray
Twelve months is a long time in football, just ask Sunshine Heights coach Colby Blyth.
This time last year, the Dragons were struggling for numbers on the training track and Blyth was concerned whether they had enough players.
But after a solid Western Region Football League division 3 season which included a finals appearance, things are on the up for the Dragons.
For Blyth, who is entering his second year in charge of the club, it’s a pretty exciting time.
“It’s a lot smoother than last season and I’m not stressing about numbers,” he said.
“We’ve recruited some new players and got some old players back to the club as well.
“We are tracking along really well and rapt with where we are sitting right now. We want the standards of the football club to keep improving and we have a few more things to work on.”
Blyth put down the influx of players as people were starting to see what they were doing and wanted to be part of it.
He said they believed they were tracking in the right direction which was something others were seeing too.
“Everyone is keen to get on board and see where we go,” he said.
Blyth said they had added quite a few players which would help boost the depth at the club.
Luke Vella returns to the club having spent last season with Spotswood in division 1, where he was a regular season player.
Josh Smiley joins the club from Kyneton in the Bendigo Football League. Blyth said both were experienced players they were looking forward to seeing on the field.
Cameron Davies, Joseph Franzone, Chris Sarandis, Jack Agius, Anthony Franzone and Johnny Vasiliadis are among the other signings announced by the club.
The Dragons hit the training track for the second part of pre-season last week.
Blyth said after a quieter phase before Christmas they were ready to crack into it.
“We’re hitting the track pretty hard and we’ll do that for a few weeks,” he said.
“We’ll then move onto structure and strategy and where we want to get the footy club.”
Having exceeded expectations in his first season, Blyth isn’t setting any expectations for this season.
He’s just keen to continue on the path they started.
“We’re not setting overall clubs, but there’s periods throughout the year and we want to track those.
“We’ll reassess where we are sitting in the competition and change things if we need to. We’re not getting too far ahead.”
The Dragons start their season on April 15 against Albanvale.
