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By: Daniel Cencic
SOUTH Croydon is looking to go one better in 2019 as it prepares for the maiden season of the EFL’s Premier Division.
Senior coach Luke McCormick led the Bulldogs to the Division 1 grand final in his first season at the helm last year, where the club finished second at the end of the home and away season with 14 wins and four losses.
Four Bulldogs have committed to VFL clubs this off-season.
2017 premiership player and Leader Young Gun winner Frank Anderson has signed with the Northern Blues, Jason Pongracic has aligned with Williamstown while Brayden Kilpatrick (Box Hill) and under-19s product Xavier Fry (Port Melbourne) have also signed on at VFL clubs.
“I don’t expect to see Frank a lot, I expect that he’ll play a fair bit of VFL footy,” McCormick said.
“Kilpatrick, we probably won’t see him a great deal either based on Box Hill having a number of exits and with Pongracic it’ll depend on whether there’s a role for him similar to last year but I’ve heard he’s going very well.
“(Xavier Fry) is out of under-19s last year and I think a bit of a longer-term prospect for Port but he’s a pretty smooth-mover and uses the ball very well.”
Meanwhile, South Croydon has added former Box Hill defenders Chris Jones and Max Warren, along with midfielders Jordan Walker and Nick Evans on a full-time basis.
Jones is a premiership player with Box Hill in 2018 and Warren won the Hawks’ 2017 best and fairest award after one game with North Melbourne during three seasons at the club from 2013-15. Evans brings over 50 games of VFL experience while Walker returns from a year overseas.
Cheong Park has seen a changing of the guard this off-season, with Dylan Marshall taking over the captain duties from the long-serving Dan King.
South Croydon’s leadership group, led by skipper Dylan Marshall. PHOTO: South Croydon FC Facebook page
“He (Dylan) has led on and off the field and again you want good people in these roles,” McCormick said.
“Dano’s not being replaced in any way, he’s still going to be there offering as much as leadership as ever.
“He’s actually taken on an assistant playing-coach role with our midfield which he was to an extent already.
“Dylan just provides so much leadership and with his intensity and the way he goes about it, it’s just brilliant – he’s earned it, that’s for sure (and) I hope that he takes his game to a whole new level again.”
Exiting the Kennel are 2017 premiership players Josh Allison and David Del Papa who have transferred to East Ringwood and Wantirna South respectively.
“We’re disappointed to see them go, they were in and out of the side which unfortunately is a by-product of footy at the moment these days,” McCormick said.
“They’re terrific people – we’ve brought in a few other guys that don’t have their experience or game-sense but we hope that’ll grow throughout the year.
“We’ve got a large number of guys vying for senior selection at the moment and that’s what’s going to happen when your firsts and seconds both play in a grand final, ‘Joshy’ and ‘Paps’ were good enough to play senior footy but weren’t able to break into our side.”
Ben McDonald and Nick Molnar have decided to have the year off, Glenn Strachan has transferred to Monbulk while club-great Michael King retired at the end of the 2018.
McCormick says the key improvement off the back of the 2018 grand final is to be better in the air, after Vermont blew the game apart in the opening half with 11 goals to two, before the Dogs hit back with eight goals to four in the second half in the 35-point loss.
“You have your ‘KPIs’ each week and try and meet them and the ones that you think will hold you up in finals – in terms of being better aerially, that’s going to be very important to us,” McCormick said.
“We won six or seven (games) by under a goal last year and the comp is super-close, Vermont and Norwood are going to be so much stronger and then you’ve got Blackburn and Doncaster who are just going to get better again with younger groups as well.”
South Croydon will also again field a team in the Deakin University Eastern Region Women’s competition this season.
The Dogs finished fifth on the Division 2 ladder with eight wins and seven losses, and competed in last weekend’s Deakin University Lightning Premiership where they recorded three wins from three matches.
The South Croydon women’s leadership group. PHOTO: South Croydon FC Facebook page.
The side will again be coached by Tracey Lackman with Danielle Sianna, Kate McKellar and Sarah O’Toole forming the leadership group.
South Croydon opens its season this Saturday at Cheong Park when it takes on Balwyn, while the women’s fixture is yet to be released.