Looking for recruits has taken a back seat at Keilor Park as the club works on getting things shipshape behind the scenes.
The club, which surprised most with an Essendon District Football League division 2 finals appearance last season, is taking a long-term view.
Devils’ coach Marcus Barclay said it was an easy decision.
“Last season we started the season with -4 points and crippling with debt,” he said. “We almost closed the doors, but we were lucky to get so many players come back to the club and help out.
“No one could have scripted us making finals. We had such a successful season on field, but there’s still a lot of work to do off field.
“This year we’ve almost dismissed recruiting completely. We want to get everything financially right and get $25,000 to $30,000 in the bank to look at recruiting next season.”
But Barclay said the Devils weren’t giving up hopes of making finals this year.
“Our expectations aren’t high, but whether we finish first or bottom we’ll still be competitive,” he said.
“Finals is the target and I think we can get there.”
Barclay said several senior players were still to decide whether they would continue playing.
He said they were likely to make decisions in the next few weeks, with some of them possibly just playing reserves.
Two big losses for the club are Nate Trotter and Shane Barry.
Trotter, who won the side’s best and fairest award last year, has returned to his home club, Euroa, while Barry has joined Jacana.
Scott Lambert has come across from Lancefield and Ryland Head, who played one reserves game last season, is committed for the season.
In another bonus for the club, they will field an under-17 side for the first time in a number of years.
“We’ve got 26 registered under-17 players who have come from all different clubs,” he said. “We invited them to train with the seniors and some are staying back.”
