By Tara Murray
Everything is heading in the right direction for Keilor Park ahead of the Essendon District Football League season.
The Devils fielded only a women’s senior side last season, but are on track to have a men’s and under-19 side this season.
New senior men’s coach John Mangos said it was exciting to have men’s football back at the club.
He said there had been good numbers around the club, with a mixture of new and old faces, but they were still to make a decision on whether they would have a reserves side.
“We’ve got 16 new players at the club now which is a positive,” he said. “We’ve had a number of older blokes that have come back as well. We’ve been trying to keep everything positive and we can’t wait for the season.”
Luke Furci has joined the club, while Zeyad Elayoubi and Noureddine Noor have come across from Hadfield.
Friends Mark Caruana, Josh Bernardi and Athan Lontos have all come across together and there could be a couple more joining.
Reece Davies, Dom Dajak, Kane Trotterl and Jesse Gila are among former Devils who have returned.
In a bonus for the Devils, they will field an under-19 side for the first time in a number of years. The club is hoping these players will stick around and progress through the ranks.
Mangos said it was a real credit to the junior branch of the club.
“The junior committee have really stuck it out and it’s great for the club. I will look at playing one or two under-19s every week if I can. Which I think is really great.”
The women’s side has put in a big pre-season and has been training for months already.
Mangos said despite all the positive news, they’re realistic of what’s ahead.
He said the focus was on ensuring the long term future of the club.
“We’re welcoming players into the club and we want to continue to focus on the club for the next year or two. We know that it might be tough to win a few games, but these guys just want to play football.”
The Devils are still looking for players in all senior age groups. The men’s and under-19s train Tuesday and Thursday nights. The women’s side trains Monday and Thursday nights.
