HDFNL 2024 season football preview: NORTH BENDIGO

North Bendigo's Cody Riddick is one of the HDFNL's most exciting young players. Picture by Adam Bourke

FOLLOWING a straight-sets finals exit last year and elimination final defeat the previous season, North Bendigo is hungry to make its mark on the HDFNL in 2024.

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Dual premiership coach Rob Bennett is continuing at the helm of the Bulldogs and couldn't be happier with how his side's preparations have gone in the build-up for 2024.

Q & A WITH COACH ROB BENNETT:

Can you tell us about the new recruits who have joined the club.

"Ryan Hartley (from Golden Square) has been a big signing. He will play a lot through the midfield and probably over the past two to three weeks he is really starting to speak up around the group and provide guys with a lot of direction.

"We've added ruckman Aidan Brohm (from Bears Lagoon-Serpentine). We've been rapt with him and the boys have been raving about his ruck work, but he is also so athletic that he is just like another midfielder.

"Hamish McCartney (from Maiden Gully YCW) will play a role down back for us. Again, I can't fault him during the pre-season. He has a big motor for a key back and we see him filling that role left by Shane Harris.

"We've got Tyson Findlay (from Cohuna Kangas) coming back and, again, his leadership at training and working with our younger guys has been great and he sets a high standard. He will go through our midfield and he's dangerous playing forward as well.

North Bendigo captain Aarryn Craig, who ticked off the 250-game milestone with the Bulldogs last year. Picture by Darren Howe

"Jake Dean has come from the Ellinbank footy league down Gippsland way. He's a young key forward and has a really big motor for a tall player who will complement Dylan Klemm and Jordan Ford really well. His marking ability and field kicking has been a highlight at training.

"Sam Barnes (from Kangaroo Flat) is that mobile mid-sized forward type who has also been involved with our midfield group at times. He is explosive, a good mark and hasn't missed a training session.

"Bailey Cain (from Golden Square and Bendigo Pioneers) did the pre-season with Carlton's VFL squad before Christmas and since he has come back he is one of those young players who has really driven the high standards at training.

"He's a player who you don't think is still a teenager, you'd think he's in his 20s with his balance of contested and outside footy... he's a midfielder/forward, but there's also times where he could also play across half-back.

"And after travelling last year Jordan Quirk will be playing with us as a lockdown key back."

You've got all areas of the ground covered with your new players, but did you have any particular recruiting focus, perhaps around injecting some youth into the side?

"That was a big focus of ours... youth and leg speed and a bit of flexibility as well.

"We want guys in our best 28-30 who can play a number of roles and aren't just stuck in the one position and we think we've done that."

Who have you lost from last year's core?

"Jerermy Lambden, Benny Knight, Shane Harris and Bailey Wingrave are our outs from last year."

North Bendigo's season has come to an end in the first week of the finals in 2022 and the second week last year. How do you expect you will take that next step to go deeper this year?

"It comes back to that leg speed and flexibility that I spoke about before, but we've really put it on the boys that we wanted a strong commitment during the pre-season, which we've got 10-fold.

"To be honest, I can't fault blokes during the pre-season. Everything we've dished up at the guys they have just eaten it up and ran with it."

North Bendigo 2023-season summary.

What do you hope we will see from North Bendigo this year in terms of the way the Bulldogs go about their footy?

"We've tinkered with our gamestyle a bit; if you don't change your gamestyle from year to year then you can get easily found out.

"We've made some slight changes and some of those are around some positional changes. We want to play an exciting brand of football, but one that wins games.

"Every side goes in with excitement and expectation at this time of the year and ours is to be at the pointy end come the end of the season."

North Bendigo senior coach Rob Bennett.

Who have been some of the pre-season bolters on the track?

"Tyson Findlay has said a few times that it's great coming to training and seeing our young blokes setting the standard and it's all the older blokes who are jumping on their backs, whereas previously you're relying on your experienced players to lead the way.

"The young guys like Cody Riddick, Riley Pateow, Will Gilmore, Bailey Cain and Jake Dean are all early in their senior footy careers and have just been unbelievable with some of the times and distances they have been dishing up at training."