Tara Murray
Things are starting to come together for Sunshine Heights in the Western Region Football League division 3.
It’s been a less than ideal pre-season for new coach Colby Blyth with a large number of player departures.
He said in the last few weeks things were starting to look much better.
“The club has lost 35 to 40 players,” he said.
“A lot of players left due to work commitments, COVID and some going to other clubs. We’ve lost our whole leadership group. Losing all that leadership experience doesn’t help.
“We were struggling with numbers a few weeks back and it was looking dangerous, but we’re treading in the right direction.
“We had a really good inter club hit out and it gave me an idea on players and positions.”
Blyth said there had been a number of new players arriving at the club, with the age profile dropping.
He said he was keen to get some younger players in the club.
“It’s a whole new environment, which was what I wanted,” he said. “They’re not big name recruits, but 21-22 year olds that most clubs would know who they are.
“They are going to be big for us.”
Blyth said they would look to appoint a new captain and leadership in the coming weeks. He said they were hoping that group would lead the club for a number of years to come.
He said that this year presents an opportunity to set things up for the future.
“This season creates opportunities for myself and everyone else at the club.
“We can create something special at the footy club, make it a place that is enjoyable to be at.”
With the dramatic change to the playing group, Blyth knows that it could impact their on field performance and results. The Dragons finished third last year.
He said while how they played on the field was important, he would look to judge the success of the season in a different way.
“My expectations aren’t really based on the win-loss ratio. There is a level of how they go on the track.
“Everyone wants to play finals and win premierships, but I’m judging myself on how the group comes together and how much they can involve themselves at the footy club. There’s thing we want to change and set a high level of standards that filter down the grades.
“People who do come into out club, there will be a minimum requirements.
We want an enjoyable to play at and if i can achieve that, wins and losses will take care of themselves.
The Dragons will start the season with a bye in round one, followed by the Easter break the following weekend.
They will finally take to the field in round two on April 23 against Tarneit.
