By Aaron Kirkby-Rodier
“I love the footy club and I want to do as much as I can to get it back to where I think it should be.”
Marcus Buzaglo is known around the EFL for not just his amazing footballing ability but for his loyalty to East Ringwood, surprisingly he hasn’t always been a Roo.
“I started at Heathmont in under 10’s, I’d played soccer up until then and I stayed at Heathmont until under 14s when they didn’t have a side Cyril Hocking got me across to East Ringwood. Dad played cricket there and I knew a few boys from school that played footy at East Ringwood.”
“Came across to East Ringwood in second year of under 14s and have been here ever since.”
East Ringwood have always been known for their strong junior program but unfortunately for Buzaglo he didn’t taste any premiership success during his juniors.
“We had some average sides to be honest, we battled a fair bit I won a few junior best and fairests but team success not really. There was some great people around and it was an enjoyable time but we just didn’t have the success we would have liked.”
Buzaglo’s starred at East Ringwood during his juniors and was recognised by being invited to train with the Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup.
“I did a few pre seasons at Eastern Ranges but in my last year of under 18s I got cut right at the end which was disappointing. Wether I worked hard enough or not I don’t know, maybe I didn’t. They had a pretty good side that year I think they won the flag with Kane Johnson and players like that.”
“I ended up coming back to East Ringwood and playing a year of seniors in the second year of 18s.”
Buzaglo would try his luck at Box Hill in the VFL joining them for preseason.
“I went down and had a couple of runs at Box Hill pre season but never really stuck at it, you make decisions and at the time which I was fairly comfortable at East Ringwood and I don’t think I had the confidence to go. I was just really comfortable with my mates at East Ringwood.”
“Looking back the VFL probably would’ve suited me with the bigger grounds and quicker footy but you make decisions and I don’t have any regrets but I probably should have tested myself at that level.”
With Buzaglo turning his attention to East Ringwood the club would slowly make its way up the ladder.
“My first year in the seniors was 1995 under Peter Baker and we just missed out on finals.”
In 1996 it was much of the same for the Roos as they just missed out again, but 1997 things would be different.
“In ’97 we made the grand final and lost to Vermont after kicking the first 3 goals of the game. They flicked the switch which they have always been capable of doing and won by about 80 points, it was a pretty disappointing day.”
“When you are that age you think grand finals will just come around again.”
That wouldn’t be the case for the Roos and in the following seasons they would make the finals but weren’t able to take the next step. Buzaglo felt there was a change in the group at the end of the 2001 season.
“The next four years we made the finals and in ’01 we made another grand final and got beaten by Vermont again. But I just felt like that team we had a young really good group, I remember going down to Ringwood Lake with Greg Fremantle and we made a deal that we weren’t going to let that happen again.”
In 2002 East Ringwood would win the premiership in the most spectacular fashion, they would trail East Burwood by a sizeable margin at the final break but managed to pull the game out of the fire and go on to win. Buzaglo the best player on the ground.
“I guess 2002 was the most enjoyable year success wise because we managed to win the flag and that is the big highlight of my career no doubt.”
“We had done it a few times throughout the year, we played Noble Park in round 1 and I think we were 5 goals down at three quarter time and managed to win. We did the same again to Vermont in the semi, so we certainly knew we could do it.”
“But I’ll be honest with you when we kicked our third goal on the three quarter time siren we were still getting smashed and I thought we might struggle to comeback from there but we kicked 10 straight in the last quarter to win so it definitely was a memorable day.”
The Roos were unable to go back to back and even though Buzaglo knew they had the players to do it, he questions wether mentally they found it difficult.
“When we won I think we just thought it was going to happen, there was some really good sides and we became the hunted and we didn’t handle it that well. It’s really hard to get there again and that’s why I have so much respect for these sides like Vermont, Noble and Balwyn who have been able to win it back to back.”
It wasn’t until further down the track that Buzaglo felt the Roos could contend again.
“It wasn’t really till 2007 where I thought we had another chance but unfortunately we were 5 goals up at three quarter time against Vermont and lost. That’s one I look back on and think it was the one that got away, especially with the chance to not only win another but captain a premiership.”
Buzaglo would represent the EFL at the Interleague level many times, it can be a debating point for some players but Buzaglo was always one of the first to put his hand up.
“I loved it and I was really competitive as a player, but one of the biggest things I enjoyed about local footy was catching up with the opposition after games and interleague was a great chance to get to know them. Because I hadn’t had the chance to play at a high level it was a great chance to test myself and play with and against some great players that I really respected.”
“I was lucky enough to captain the EFL in the Bushfire game against the VAFA and that was a huge honour for me at the end of my career.”
Buzaglo would eventually hang up the boots for East Ringwood after a successful career which included a Premiership, Team of the Decade Captain, Multiple EFL Team of the Years and also Captain of the Club.
“We had just missed finals for the first time in maybe 10 or 12 years and the body was starting to let me down especially the shoulders and the hip and for whatever reason I just didn’t sense the care amongst the playing group. For the first time I wasn’t really enjoying my footy and I had hip surgery in the hope that I could get that better and go around again but it didn’t really work out so I decided to call it a day.”
“I took a few years off footy when I finished playing, I just felt I needed a break even though I was still getting down to watch. When Bernie Dinneen was appointed I got back involved especially after playing against him we struck up a friendship and I promised I’d help him so I jumped on as an assistant coach.”
Buzaglo would take the reigns of his beloved Roos for the second half of season 2013 and looked right at home as the main man.
“Obviously last season there was a situation where the senior coach had to step away from the role and I was asked to take on the senior coaching job so I did that and even though it was a tough time I really enjoyed working with the group.”
“This year I’ve taken on the role full time.”
“It’s been a huge challenge and I guess we are a long way back at the moment and we lost a lot of players in the offseason for various reasons. We are right at the bottom of a rebuilding phase but we are lucky enough to have some really good young kids in our footy club so we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Despite East Ringwood’s struggles in the past few seasons Buzaglo is confident the Roos will be back as one of the EFL’s premier sides.
“We have a plan, we aren’t going to try and do things too quickly which I think we have made that mistake in the past. I don’t like losing but that’s been something we have been faced with this season…
“But getting relegated certainly isn’t part of that plan.”
Buzaglo has been a stalwart for East Ringwood and is one of the most respect men around the EFL, a true legend and the right man to take the Roos back to where he has taken them before as a player.
“Being involved in a footy club isn’t just about playing and training with your mates it is about getting involved with the whole club, I’ve met some great people and great players and there is some really great people here. It is a family club and I can bring my kids down, dad is still involved and I think that’s the thing about local sport.
“It’s East Ringwood for me, I’ve never thought about going anywhere else.”