By ADEM SARICAOGLU
A MORE youthful Melton South outfit is set to take the field in the Ballarat Football League this season.
Coach Mathew Sutton has flagged development as the major focus for the year with a side that will feature a number of the club’s young guns coming up from the under-18s side that enjoyed a successful 2013 season.
“I still want to play finals football but it’ll be about our younger blokes developing again because at the end of the day grand finals are won – I believe – from your fifth-best player to your 22nd player,” Sutton said.
“So if we can get more development out of those blokes and they step up another level – which I think they will – I think we’ll progress pretty quickly.
“There’s some really good talent there and all those kids have played a fair bit of the practice matches – and their pre-season form’s been great.
“They were given their opportunity and they’ve grabbed that so they’ll earn their spot in round one.”
Leading the young brigade will be Daniel Leggett, Daniel Vasjuta, Matthew Smith-Bye, Brad Cottam and Lachlan Watkins.
“One of the best kids we have is Lachie Watkins,” Sutton said.
“I think he’s going to be an absolute star in the Ballarat league.”
With round one’s season-opening road trip to Ballarat now just days away, Sutton hopes his new game style can improve on South’s 5-11 2013 record.
“In the past we’ve probably been scored easily against and we want to obviously nullify the opposition scoring against us and make sure we score enough,” he said.
“So we’ve worked really hard on a few different game styles and game plans and structures and I think the boys have really got it now.”
