By Matt Fotia
Could a ground-breaking double be on the cards down at Cheong Park this year?
Both South Croydon’s Senior Men’s and Women’s sides are highly touted Premiership fancies, following strong off-seasons where list retention was the number one priority.
Their Men’s outfit started the 2021 season with vigour, knocking off fellow finals’ aspirants Balwyn and Blackburn away from home, before wrapping up the season with a 6-4 record, in fifth place.
But only good news has followed since, with the club welcoming back Premiership duo Dale Walker from East Ringwood and Matt Jones from Wangaratta, as well as Coburg ruckman Adam Swierzbiolek.
Midfielder Brayden Kilpatrick has also committed to the club full time after some time with VFL outfit Box Hill and all four pieces of news have bought a smile to second year coach Marcus Buzaglo’s face.
“Obviously Walks coming back from East Ringwood is fantastic he’s offered a lot as a leader and coach as well,” said Buzaglo, an East Ringwood legend himself.
“Adam’s been really good, obviously his main priority will still be at the VFL level with Coburg, and we had a pre-existing relationship having spent some time together at East Ringwood,
“Jonesy is obviously a little bit older but he’s still in awesome nick and having Brayden Kilpatrick full time is super exciting, he was outstanding at the start of the year for us last year and had a good season with Box Hill, so to have his professionalism full time is a great get for us.”
Their only major outs are that of Stephen Dinnell and Jason Coghlan who have both gone to East Ringwood, and tall forward Ryley McKernan who has headed to Montrose.
Buzaglo hasn’t been across all the other Premier Division dealings this off-season, more focused on retaining the majority of the Dogs list, but one signing has caught his eye.
‘Norwood getting Lochie Dickson back from Coburg is a huge get for them, he’s a great player, but there hasn’t been a heap of movement – that I’ve noticed – from other clubs, if anything there’s been more coming out than going in,
“But I’m pleased with our off-season, because we’ve been able to retain the majority of our list and add those three guys.”
Whilst the three additions to the Dogs list are mature age recruits, Buzaglo says there is more than enough talent coming through the Under 19’s and Junior ranks at Cheong Park to hold them in good stead for the future.
“We’ve got some good quality Under 19’s coming up from last year who will add to that depth, and we want to make sure we keep retaining and developing all our young talent,
“Tom Sheridan is a young forward who got four or five games last year and kicked some goals, Tyler Charlton played six or seven games, Ben Willis, Tom Hardstaff, Sam Allen and Mason Helleren who’s come across from North Ringwood – he’s a South Croydon junior – we’re excited by all of them, and it shows how much young talent there is at the club.”
Meanwhile Senior Women’s Coach Simon Hammersley has been quietly going about his work with the ‘GirlDogs’ – as they’re affectionally known – throughout the pre-season, as they look to tackle the Premier Division once again in 2022.
“There’s always a percentage of the list that you have to drag back after Christmas, but our numbers have been solid the whole way through the pre-season,
“At the moment we’re training as one big group and we’ve been doing one night a week with our Men’s Veterans side, and I feel that’s added a bit to training as both groups bring a different skillset.”
Despite having been at the helm for an extended period, Hammersley is still keen on keeping a focus on the basics for most of the pre-season.
“You don’t need to over complicate the uncomplicated, at the end of the day it’s still important that the players do the basics to the best of their ability and then work from there,
“But we do a little bit on that sort of stuff, but you can have the best laid plans in the world but if the players haven’t nailed their basics, they’re not going to be able to execute it.”
Hammersley and the Dogs are excited by the prospect of playing some new sides in 2022.
South Croydon will be joined by old foes Vermont in the topflight, as well as league newcomers Eastern Devils, Mount Evelyn and the promoted SBL Wolves.
They’ll also come up against sides from the Premier B Division, with a weekly crossover game worked into the Women’s schedule in 2022 and Hammersley is expecting there to be no easy game for he and his troops this season.
“We’re really wrapped with the crossover games, we think that’ll help the league and the players will reap the benefits from that move in years to come,
“But as far as the Premier Division, I think it’s going to be super competitive this year,
“Vermont have a best 22 that is as good as anyone’s, the Eastern Devils have come from a very high pedigree of football, Mount Evelyn have got a new breed coming through, so I won’t be taking them too lightly and SBL have got the best junior program, so I don’t think you’ll get an easy game against them either.”