By ADEM SARICAOGLU
YEAR one of the Leigh Sporle era at Rockbank was promising, but the coach is hoping year two will be even bigger.
The Rams recovered from a rough start in the Riddell District Football League this year to finish with six wins.
While those six wins were only good enough for a 10th-place finish, Sporle looks back on his first year in charge of the Rams as a positive one.
“It was definitely good to get the six wins, I think,” Sporle said.
“Considering we started so slowly losing the first six games, to get the six wins and miss out on the finals by not a great deal was pretty pleasing.
“Obviously making the finals would’ve been ideal but at the end of the day I think we had a pretty good year considering.”
Numbers at pre-season training are so far looking positive down at Ian Cowie Reserve but Sporle is keen to inject a bit more experience into the side during the summer.
“I think we’ve got a pretty good and even mix across the field, we probably just need to be a bit more consistent,” Sporle said.
“There weren’t many occasions where we got convincingly beaten for four quarters – it might’ve been a quarter where we lapsed in concentration and might’ve lost.
“To change that culture it really is just about that belief and if we can bring some players in, it’ll really bolster that and add to the list that we already have.”
Sporle is keen to make a run for the finals series in 2014, but he also hopes to simply put Rockbank back on the map for the first time in more than a decade.
“I think we’ll surprise a few sides and I said that this year, just from being around the club in the early stages of the start of the year,” Sporle said.
“We’ve got a good list, we just need a bit more support. Three or four more players and I think we’ll be right up there.”
The Rams will also be looking forward to two marquee home fixtures next year, including an Anzac Day clash with Sunbury and the annual NAIDOC game against Lancefield in round 13.
Sporle hopes a bit of big game experience will come in handy if Rockbank can score a finals berth.
“That’s really exciting for the club,” he said.
“If we, and hopefully we will, play finals, it’ll be a good experience for the boys because they get some boutique games during the year so that by the time finals come, they’ll have had two years of playing in those types of games.”
