By: Hayden Tilbrook
TEMPLESTOWE senior coach Craig De Corsey believes the EFL’s third tier is as strong as it’s ever been following the Dockers’ Round 1 away win over Ringwood.
Faced with the daunting task of taking on the Redbacks at Jubilee Park first up, De Corsey told EFL Sunday that he was pleased with the way Templestowe represented themselves.
“We were really impressed with our young guys last year, adapting to senior footy,” De Corsey said.
“We gelled as a group really well in the back half of the year, so we were really looking forward to this year … so really good to get off to a Round 1 win.”
Despite personnel changes to Ringwood over the pre-season – with 1116 SEN Division 3 Team of the Year selections Ben Power and Trent Farmer both out of action – De Corsey said that the Redbacks’ notable absences didn’t factor into Templestowe’s game plan.
“When you’ve got two of those quality type players not playing, you don’t know really who’s coming in to replace them,” he said of the Dockers’ planning.
“Obviously Trent’s been the best player in the competition for a while now so that’s an obvious loss for Ringwood but you don’t know who they’ve put in to replace him, or if one of the young guys can step up and fill his shoes.
“We didn’t really change too much in terms of game plan or our structure going into it, just prepared for the best that Ringwood could put on the park.”
Despite Ringwood’s dominance in 2018 – going undefeated in the home and away season en route to the Division 3 grand final – the Dockers’ coach says the Round 1 result goes to show how competitive Division 2 is in 2019 under the League’s new five-tier alignment.
“Looking at this division, if you take away from last year it was pretty tight,” De Corsey said.
“I think personally, we were probably a touch off the top two in Boronia and Ringwood but it was really competitive.
“We know this year if you’re slightly off you can get beaten by any side an any given day.
“I guess when you’re up and about and you’ve got no injuries and you’re in form you really need to get the wins.
“So there’s nothing like going to Ringwood … and to come away with a win, we’re really happy with that.”
After his side’s impressive start to the season, De Corsey said that he was pleased with how the club was tracking as a whole.
“Since I’ve come in it’s been pretty clear what I stand for,” he said.
“I had a clear vision, coming in three years ago … we made huge inroads last year with that.
“Hopefully with making some of those changes last year we’ve got the club in a pretty good position.
“As a coach, you come in and you want to leave the club better than when you stepped in.
“Hopefully in a couple of years’ time, or whenever it is, if I’m not there the club’s in a really strong position.”
The Dockers will return home to Templestowe Reserve in Round 2, as they play host to a Scoresby outfit who lost their season opener against Mitcham by 20 points.
