3 DAYS TO GO | EFL Media will be previewing each club ahead of the 2018 season with the #InFocus2018 series, all thanks to Yarra Valley Water & Choose Tap.
By: Jessie Hare
Twitter: @JessieHaree
The Lions are only looking forward as their 2018 season looms to be the year they end their losing drought.
Following what has been a tough few years for the club, with its last senior EFL win back in 2015, the Nunawading Football Club has been working hard behind the scenes as well as out on the track to try improve its losing margins in the last year.
Will 2018 finally see the Lions break the drought? PICTURE: Nunawading Lions Football Club Facebook page
Nunawading football manager, Scott Cairns, knows that it is going to be a tough turnaround for the club but he knows that the coaches and players are ready for Round 1 this weekend.
“We’re feeling really good, certainly last year our main aim was to get those losing margins down and now this season the goals have kind of changed a bit. We are going out this year to win games of football,” Cairns said.
“We’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves but we understand that we can get in a position to win three to six games we would be absolutely stoked.
“It’s a long process and we understand that but the way we were able to bring the average margin down to around 12 to 13 goal mark last year, we’re hoping to that again, certainly with the guys we’ve brought in.”
The Lions have been busy on the recruitment side of things in the off season, bringing to the club Donvale premiership ruckman Zac Haig and Cooper Winter over from Park Orchards’ 2017 under-19s premiership side to play alongside his brother Jordan at the club.
“He (Haig) was brought up around the club, both his parents and his grandparents are life members so has just slotted straight in and been fantastic,” Cairns said.
“It’s obviously great to have him and certainly his football abilities on the field is going to be fantastic but from an off field perspective as well it’s just great to have his family back at the club.
Cooper Winter and Zac Haig join the Lions for 2018. PICTURE: Nunawading Lions Football Club Facebook page.
“We have also picked up Jarred Webb, a premiership player with Belgrave up in the Yarra Valley. He has had a fantastic impact straight away at the club, even to the point where the boys have voted him into the leadership group.
“We have also picked up a couple of guys from the Bright Football Club, Macgregor Simpson and Isaac Ralph and they’ve fitted in fantastically.”
With Round 1 fast apporaching, the Lions have been working hard with coach Paul Beven to prepare them for what the season has in store for them this year.
“The guys have been really enthusiastic and had a couple of really good practice match hit outs. We’re really fired up and can’t wait for Saturday,” Cairns said.
“I think just in general now that Paul Beven, our coach, has been able to get two pre-seasons in.
“With the amount of improvements with the fitness point of view and the skill point of view, the guys that have been around the club through the hard times throughout the last few years has been outstanding. We’re really looking forward to those boys stepping up.”
Cairns is hopeful the club will be able to celebrate its drought-breaking win this year.
“It’s been really hard over the past couple of years, the club has basically had to rebuild from the ground up and that’s been difficult for a lot of the guys,” he said.
“But we’ve got a core group of guys that have been at the club through those two years and really for them they will see no greater reward to get a couple of wins on the board and really celebrate when we do.”
The Lions will open their season away when they travel to take on Silvan on April 7.
