Montrose Junior Football Club president Adam Wilkinson spoke to EFL Media ahead of the 2018 season, all thanks to Yarra Valley Water and Choose Tap.
Overall, were you satisfied with what the club achieved, both on and off the field, in 2017?
Adam Wilkinson: 2017 was another great year for the Montrose Football Club both on and off the field.
Off -field we were able to grow the number of teams in both the boys and girls competition. We also continued to roll-out the SALT (Sport and Life Training) program to many of our teams which was really well-received by our players and parents alike.
On-field was also very satisfying, Our players also developed very well with a number of boys and girls making the EFL representative teams as well as having two of our girls winning the league best and fairest and one of our boys also winning the league best and fairest. To top it all off, our under-12 girls won the first girls premiership.
Approximately how many teams do you think you will field in 2018?
AW: In 2018 we expect to field 19 teams which can only happen with the help of a fantastic junior committee as well as great families supporting the club vision. We expect to have six girls teams and 13 boys teams.
What has the feeling been like around the club over the pre-season?
AW: The feeling around the club is always one of anticipation. The players are ‘chomping at the bit’ to get out there and the coaches are busy finalising teams and strategies as well as getting to know their teams. We have introduced a new line of merchandise for the 2018 season so the club is looking very sharp on and off the field.
If you had to pick one, which team do you think is the club’s best chance of winning a premiership this season?
AW: I think we have a few teams that will continue to improve and push deep into the finals this season. We certainly don’t want to put the pressure on the teams so I am not going to pick out any one team. Hopefully we can have three or four teams across the boys and girls make it to the big day.
Is there a particular age group of players that you need as soon as possible to fill a team ahead of Round 1?
AW: We are still looking for just a few extra boys and girls in our age groups where we expect to have two teams. Under-13 boys, 14 girls, 17 boys and 18 girls are all teams were we need just a few extra players to strengthen the respective teams and allow for injuries throughout the season.
If any players are interested in playing for your club this season, what do they have to do?
AW: If you are interested in joining any of our teams please contact either our registration manager – Brad Strachan on registrations@montrosefc.org.au – 0421 306 437 or our junior president – Adam Wilkinson on junior.president@montrosefc.org.au – 0411 019 213.
We always encourage any potential new players to come down to a training session or two, meet the coach, team officials and the players to make sure they feel comfortable with the club, our culture and most of all make sure they are going to have fun playing football.
