READ MORE – Heathcote District league 2018 season review
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RETENTION followed by adding more experience to its list.
That’s the focus for reappointed Elmore coach Danny Brewster off the back of the Bloods’ wooden spoon season in the Heathcote District league.
Brewster will continue as coach for a third season at the Bloods, who endured a challenging 2018 in which their only win came in the final round against Heathcote.
“Coaching is obviously a challenge on top of playing, but it’s an opportunity I really relish,” Brewster said.
“The team we had this year was hard work, but we’re looking to build on that and the experience the kids got will, hopefully, hold us in good stead moving forward.
“First and foremost, we need to hold on to the guys we’ve already got. Most of our team this year were one-point players and we’ve got plenty of room with our points to go out and recruit quality players.
“Obviously from the results this year we still need quite a bit of talent to come in, but we also think we’ve got plenty of growth in the kids, as well as some good under-17s coming through.
“But we need to get more experienced A Grade talent among those young players.”
The Bloods – whose senior best and fairest was won by Ben Makepeace followed by Tyler Oliver – used an average of just 33.9 of their available 46 player points this year.
“I think this year we only had three guys who had played 100-plus senior games, so we’re definitely looking to bring in guys who have played the game at a decent level for a long time,” Brewster said.
“But also, if there’s some good quality kids out there looking for an opportunity, there’s always room for them because they bring with them real exuberance and strong fitness.”
While the Bloods’ senior and reserves teams won just one game between them, the shining light on the football field for the club was its under-17s.
For the second year in a row the Bloods’ under-17s made the finals, advancing to the preliminary final from fourth position.
The Bloods will begin their pre-season training on Friday, November 9.
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