Caroline Springs Dean Borg marks for the Lakers’ in their loss to Parkside on Saturday. 67891 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By Michael Esposito
ALTHOUGH new side Caroline Springs may not reach the goal set by coach Gary Turner this season, the original plan to play finals footy by 2013 has not changed.
Perhaps it was rather ambitious for Turner to expect five wins in the Lakers’ first year in senior footy, but after the side defeated Braybrook in the opening round of the Division Two competition, this looked like a real possibility.
But the Lakers were dealt wake-up calls from Laverton and the all-conquering Deer Park in the following two rounds. Then injuries took their toll, and Caroline Springs has won two games since.
Ben Ingram, one of the side’s leaders, did the ligaments in his ankle in round three and was forced to have surgery, while captain David Cavanagh broke his wrist in the same game and then fractured his leg in round nine.
He has since returned to the park, albeit prematurely.
“He’s played on one leg the last couple of weeks just to get us through,” Turner said.
All teams have injuries, so using it as an excuse can seem tiresome, but for a first-year team that has yet to establish depth, a handful of injuries can be devastating.
“We’ve turned over 47 players. Normally clubs turn over 30 to 31, that’s if you have a good run with injuries, so to turn over two sides, that’s been the main concern,” Turner said.
“That’s one area we need to pick up on, our depth, so we can cover those blokes if it happens next year. But that’s what happens when you’ve got a new side.”
Getting a new team to gel is challenging enough, but to do so with a constant turnover of players is a gradual process to say the least
“In the second half of the year on Tuesday nights, all we’ve been doing is having practice matches. We’ve taken the risk that if someone gets injured then so be it. We’ve had to do it. I think our results, apart from the weekend before (against Deer Park) have shown that we’ve started to gel.”
Turner said he will target a centre-half back and a key forward for next season
“We get our hands on the ball, it’s just hitting the target up forward. If we get a couple of those (key forwards) we’ll be more than competitive next year.”
The five-year plan mapped out before the season had set a goal of seven or eight wins next year. Turner is confident that can happen.
“The core senior group, hopefully we get all them signed up by the end of this year, and then we just work on our deficiencies,” he said.
“If we can top up with a few players we can really build some momentum for next year. I’ve got a few numbers to ring already.”
The key phrase there is “top up”. Turner knows he needs to keep the bulk of his players if the club is to improve.
Players integral to Caroline Springs’ future include Dean Borg and Scott Hepburn, who came to the club form Glen Orden, and 20-year-old Daniel Ingram, brother of Ben (both came to the club from EDFL side Keilor), who Turner said has far exceeded expectations.
“His work rate and commitment, it’s like a 26-27 year-old. He’ll probably end up winning our best-and-fairest.”
Turner has been buoyed by community support for the club. Several home games have attracted about 500 people, and the club’s horror run with injuries has in fact helped boost crowd numbers, as families and team-mates to the under-18 and under-16 players who have been blooded have come to show their support.
Caroline Springs will take on Yarraville Seddon at home this Saturday.
