Glen Orden coach Nick Diker with some of Glen Orden’s senior players. 73231 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
BY MICHAEL ESPOSITO
NOTHING short of amazing. That’s how Glen Orden coach Nick Diker described the club’s first day of pre-season training last week.
Diker is taking charge of a club that in recent times has struggled for players, supporters, sponsorship, and most of all, wins.
But none of this has lessened Diker’s confidence in the club’s ability to rebound rapidly, and anyone who may have happened upon Heathdale Oval last Monday would have thought they were in the presence a thriving powerhouse, rather than a team who went through season 2011 without a win and was demoted to Division Two.
About 65 players turned up to the club’s first day of training, and according to Diker, there were 15 apologies.
“Considering last they had 15 do pre-season as an average, it’s amazing,” Diker said. “I was banking on about 40 to come.”
Glen Orden will be a vastly different team to last year, with about 20 new signings to have come on board, and probably more to come.
Diker was an assistant coach at VAFA side Werribee Districts last season, and has brought more than a dozen of those players across to the Hawks.
They include Tristan and Stefan Angellini, Nathan Addamo, Chris Scuddamore, Dale Laing, Mathew Link, Mathew Antonello, Brent Petro, Louie Elevato, Josh Radcliffe, Ryan Walker and Chris McNamara.
From Rockbank, Glen Orden has recruited Brent Henry, John Zangari and Jason Welfare, while Melton’s number one ruckman this year Matthew Gunn will replace Phil Jones, who has joined GDFL side Werribee Centrals along with Chris Koutzsamanis.
Full forward Josh MacDonald, from Shepparton, has also joined the club.
Diker said the club will have no problem replacing the likes of Jones and Koutzsamanis, and is planning on a return to Division One sooner rather than later.
“I’m the type of coach where if you want to be at the club will welcome you with open arms, but if you don’t want to be here, I’m not going to beg you to come back,” Diker said.
“If you don’t want to be here that’s no problem. And it’s understandable, they’ve had three difficult years. And when I try to talk them into thinking things are going to change straight away, I can understand they don’t believe that.”
But Diker believes the players who have chosen to stay were optimistic about being a force in Division Two this season.
“Anything less than a preliminary final will be a failure for me. I’m aiming high and I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve success.
“Our potential to develop is pretty awesome, that’s why in terms of assistant coaches I’ve recruited well.
“They’ll be at training every night and those younger guys that need a bit of development, they’ll take them away from the main group, give them a training session away from the group, because they’ll learn more from that than actually just doing the drills and not building confidence.”
