KEILOR Park’s approach to the 2013 EDFL Division Two season will be simple – to let the football do the talking.
While other clubs have gone out of their way to spend money on high-profile recruits for a decent tilt at a flag that remains the only ticket out of the league’s lowest tier, the Devils have been happy to quietly go about their business this summer.
Coming into his second year at the helm, coach Rob McCluskey says the vibe around his club has been fantastic.
New lights and a fresh, state of the art playing surface have been installed at Keilor Park Reserve and the EDFL has indicated some senior games could be moved to a 5pm start time, which has McCluskey very upbeat about what lies ahead this season.
However with all the optimism that has come from a promising off-season of high numbers at training and fresh new facilities, a significant improvement on the field will be Keilor Park’s next big test.
A 3-14 win-loss record in 2012 doesn’t read well, but McCluskey is confident his recruiting strategies can pay off in 2013.
“Last year was more about building a culture, but this year I’ve gone out and got the players that I think are required to win a flag in this competition,” McCluskey said.
“The coaching staff have worked hard since the end of last year – to get the right people into the club and they’re young guys that can be at the club for the next five years.
“It was always going to be the process of not buying success and doing it the right way, (to) chase good players (and) give them a good culture.”
Part of the club’s revamped culture has been not to use the media in spruiking major changes to the playing list, but it is understood Ben Ryan (Richmond Central) and Luke Wilson (Yarraville Seddon Eagles) are headed for Keilor Park.
The aim this season will be a grand final berth, but McCluskey stopped short of declaring it will be a ‘premiership or bust’ mentality.
However he did make one thing clear.
“If you watched Keilor Park last year and come and watch us this year, you won’t even know it’s the same side.”
