AS THE Western Region Football League season draws closer, so too does the anticipation for players, coaches and supporters of the Sanctuary Lakes Sharks.
The club has been preparing for its debut season since last year and is intent on making a positive impact in its first year.
Sharks committee member Rod Davies says the club will be aiming to secure a place in the competition’s top five.
“We haven’t played a practice match or anything like that but our expectations for the season are that we are hoping to make finals,” he said.
“We will be happy with finals or just out of the final five. We don’t plan on not winning any game, that’s for sure.”
Sanctuary Lakes held its first open day earlier this month and enjoyed huge numbers across juniors and seniors.
Throughout the day, 175 kids committed to the under-age program and will be split between the under nines through to under 16 age groups.
The club is expecting the number of junior players to rise above 200 in the coming weeks.
Senior numbers have also been promising, with 54 players taking to the track during pre-season training for the club’s first and second sides.
At this stage it is unlikely the Sharks will have an under 18s team in 2013.
Davies says one of the main challenges faced by the committee has been player recruiting.
“I guess the hardest aspect is getting the players for seniors,” he said.
“Most of them are playing with other sides and it was really just word of mouth and waiting for them to contact us.
“We haven’t gone out and approached anyone. It’s just been as simple as, we have two senior sides, if you’re interested come on down or have a look at our website.”
Sanctuary Lakes will open its 2013 campaign with a home game against Sunshine Heights on Saturday 6 April.
The Sharks will then take on Albanvale before a meeting with fellow new kids on the block Manor Lakes in round three.
Anyone interested in joining the Sanctuary Lakes Football Club as a player or taking up sponsorship opportunities can find out more information by logging onto the club’s website via http://www.wrfl.org.au/
