The Western Crusaders going through their paces at training. 63765
By Liam Twomey
THE Western Crusaders Gridiron Club is preparing for one of the biggest games of its Division One season.
They sit in third position on the ladder and in one week the Crusaders will come up against the fourth placed Monash Warriors. The winner of that match will earn a spot in the finals.
Western Crusaders President Scott Hayden said his club was a finals’ contender going into the season.
“Once you get to finals you always want to win the championship, that’s what we play for,” Hayden said.
“We’ve got a good young team. If we don’t make it this year, the guys will learn from it in the next year or two.
“Hopefully the guys can stay together and we will end up with an experienced team.”
Hayden has been involved with the Victorian Gridiron League for 18 years. In that time he has seen the number of teams drop from 13 to six. However, the league has grown in popularity once again in recent years.
Last year the league grew to ten teams and Hayden believes it will continue to grow because it is now easily accessible for people to watch on Channel Ten’s One HD.
“One HD play Gridiron and college games and Gridiron Victoria has an add on during those games,” Hayden said.
“It’s the off season in the NFL at the moment but it has worked very well. All the teams benefit from it hence we have had three or four new teams start up.”
Finding sponsorship in minority sports is always a difficult task.
The club is thankful for the support they get from JDI Engineering, which is its number one sponsor.
“Being Gridiron it’s very hard to get sponsorship in this financial time. We know where we stand in the pecking order as a minority sport,” Hayden said.
“As the game grows and as awareness grows it is something that we are hopeful will change.”
The Crusaders have over 40 players on their roster but are always on the look-out for new talent.
“We have a very welcoming and warm culture. New players are always welcome as well as families who want to come down, support and be a part of the club,” Hayden said.
“It’s more than just about one team, it’s about the club.”
Any business wishing to become involved with the Crusaders in a sponsorship role or anyone wishing to join the club as a player should logon to: http://westerncrusaders.com.au
