28 DAYS TO GO | EFL Media will be previewing each club ahead of the 2019 season with the #InFocus2019 series, all thanks to Yarra Valley Water & Choose Tap.
By: Tash Gunawardana
BAYSWATER’s newly-appointed senior coach Tom Roach is optimistic about his side’s chances this season and believes his young players will be vital to a successful 2019.
A former player with Richmond in the early 2000s, Roach had a successful playing career winning a flag with Swan Districts in 2010 in the WAFL, two flags with North Ballarat in the VFL and two flags with Balwyn (2015-16) before retiring last August.
The Waters are set to promote from their under-19s side this season, including seeing more of young gun Ben White who won his eighth-consecutive junior EFL best and fairest in 2017.
White played 11 senior games in 2018 – most of which were at just 17 years of age.
White will see more senior action this year. PHOTO: Jake Nowakowski
“We have a couple of young boys coming up from the 19s who are going to be key to the team,” senior coach Tom Roach said.
“Ben White will play a lot of senior footy this year.
“Probably young (Josh) Treeby will get a few more games and hopefully a couple of young boys could put their hand up this year.”
Matthew Cunningham (Olinda Ferny Creek), Jess Moore (Ferntree Gully), Harris Elkasovic (Devon Meadows) and David Eddy (Ferntree Gully) have been key outs for the club.
The first-year coach has transitioned well into his new role.
“It’s good transition from playing, it’s good bunch of blokes who made it pretty easy to feel welcomed down there,” Roach said.
“(They’re) very receptive to the new ideas they haven’t heard before, so it’s been good.”
Roach knows it will be a challenge to build his own status after taking the coaching reins from long-serving 2016 Division 2 premiership coach, Paul McCormack.
“Obviously a bit of a challenge, (with) a fair bit of success with Paul,” Roach said.
“He was well liked there as well (and) a bit challenging I suppose to come in to forge a bit of a reputation.
“He did a good job there, so hopefully I can carry on and do the same thing.”
Newly-inducted EFL legend, 2018 Kenneth Wright Medallist and club captain Joel Galvin (pictured below) is said to be tracking well this pre-season, while Roach expects 21-year-old midfielder Kurt Lopo to have an impact this year, after 19 senior appearances last season.
“The boys look really fit, (and we’re) really eager to get on with the season now,” Roach said.
“We have really hard in the pre-season, (and) done a lot of running and extra skill work.
“The boys since I started early November have come a long way, in terms of their fitness and skill.”
Roach has high expectations for his first season at the Waters.
“Obviously we are expecting to make the finals,” Roach said.
“We know it’s going to be a strong competition and we are expecting to finish top four and in all grades as well.
“Our reserves are always really strong and want to make the finals (and) we expect 19s to make the finals as well.”
The EFL restructure will impact the Waters in a positive, but challenging way.
“Obviously with no clubs going up from last year and with two coming down it will make it a stronger competition,” Roach said.
“The premiers from last year (Doncaster East) stay in our competition and obviously two teams from first grade come down (East Ringwood and Knox) and will make it a stronger competition.
“It is good because you always want to play against the best teams we can, so we won’t have no issues with that, it just makes it more challenging.”
Meanwhile, Bayswater’s senior women’s side has welcomed a host of new players off the back of its third-placed finish to 2018.
“We have 17 new girls who had never played footy last year and we haven’t really got any big inclusions yet because I suppose we don’t chase big players,” senior women’s coach Glenn Murray said.
“We just have girls that come down to enjoy the game of footy. It’s mainly through word of mouth.”
A few new players from last year will be the players to watch this season.
“Kelly Simmons, she is a school teacher and is very improved and is pretty solid at playing footy,” Murray said.
“Mel (Melinda Lovat), another school teacher who has stepped up this year.”
Reigning club best and fairest winner Zoe Alston (pictured below) looks set for another big year, while Murray also spoke highly of Brenda Lay, Cassandra Stanford and Heather McMillan.
Pre-season is tracking well.
“We have girls on our list but we are struggling to get them to training with cricket and stuff like that but once that’s finish we should be alright,” Murray said.
Bayswater won the inaugural Deakin University Eastern Region Women’s competition premiership in 2017 before a number of key departures soon after.
“2017 was a different side to 2018,” Murray said.
“2018 was a side that had a lot of girls who had never seen a footy before or touched it.
“So finishing third after halfway through the season when we were second bottom was a bit of a shock, so this year we don’t have any expectations.
“All we are going to do is play every game and if our girls improve as a team then we will see where we end up.
“We have mums and we have girls playing and all we want to do is make sure that they are enjoying the game of footy.
“They enjoy their team and wherever we finish I will be happy, as long as we have played our best footy as a team.”
Bayswater opens its season against East Ringwood away on Saturday, April 6, while the senior women’s fixture is to be released at a later date.
