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By: Daniel Cencic
Twitter: @DC_EFL
A changing of the guard has taken place at Ferntree Gully in recent months, with experience both departing and arriving at the club.
The Eagles looked ready-made for Division 3 football last season, winning 11 games to finish seventh after earning promotion off the back of the club’s 2016 Division 4 flag.
Senior coach Peter Farrell expects his side to take a further step forward this year after the club took on the EFL’s third-tier for the first time since 1995.
“It was a good first time up in third division for the first time in 22 years,” Farrell said.
“It was a bit new to everyone but the boys acquitted themselves well and we learnt a fair bit last year as well.”
The Eagles have seen the departure of club stalwart Michael Russo, who has joined Kilsyth, along with Sam Goodman who returns to Montrose and Billy Morrison (North Gippsland Football Netball League) who has spent the previous two seasons with the club after playing with Doncaster East and Northern Football Netball League Division 1 club, West Preston Lakeside.
Farrell believes that while the trio’s leadership will be sorely missed, the club has targeted its recruiting to cover the loss of experience.
“Billy’s a hard one to replace, he’s probably the biggest loss,” Farrell said.
“We’ve certainly got some really good emerging leaders and we’ve been able to recruit really well into that space – guys in that 26-27-year-old age bracket who are coming from higher levels of footy.”
Ferntree Gully has welcomed Mitch Tsirtsikos, Ryan Minahan and Jared Lepore from Knox, and ruckman Blake Seeley from Northern league Division 1 powerhouse, Bundoora.
“(Mitch) is pretty versatile and can play up around the midfield, forward or back,” Farrell said.
“A thinking footballer, he’s got a good footy brain and has been well-coached at Knox by the last couple of coaches there, particularly Dave Madigan.
“He’s fitted right in for us and really enjoying his footy which is good.
“Ryan Minahan is an established senior first and second division footballer.
“He won a couple of best and fairests and one at Upper (Upper Ferntree Gully), came runner up to Luke Williams a couple of years ago – a solid inside midfielder and 26 (years of age), so he’s a great get for us (and) certainly fills the gap that Sam (Goodman) has left straight away.
“Lepore was a starting midfielder with Knox in their premiership year – mid 20s, six or seven years in first division (and) a big-bodied inside mid.
“(Blake Seeley) is really exciting – he was at Lalor for a couple of years too where he won a couple of best and fairests.”
With a number of recruits who have played in higher divisions, Farrell is confident the Eagles are in better shape list-wise than what they were this time last year.
Wary of the EFL’s competition restructure being introduced in 2019, Farrell is keen for his side to consolidate itself in the top six as it looks to improve on last season.
“Probably for us we’re a much deeper list than we were 12 months ago despite the fact that we’ve lost a couple of top-end players but we’re pretty confident we’ve been able to replace those guys at this stage,” he said.
“We definitely want to finish top six and we obviously we’d like to make finals.
“We finished seventh last year with 11 wins and obviously with the change in the competition in 2019, top six is our priority.
“We understand the opposition is improving as well and it’s a tight division from our experience last year.”
The club experienced close losses to finallist Scoresby by a point in Round 10 and a three-point defeat to sixth-placed Boronia in Round 13 last year.
With the closeness of Division 3, Farrell believes the Eagles’ best isn’t far off the top echelon.
“Our best is really good and we learnt a bit last year – the truth is you win those two games you finish equal second – we weren’t that far away really.”
Ferntree Gully will open its season against South Belgrave in a night match at South Belgrave Recreation Reserve on Saturday, April 7.
