Friday the 13th will be unlucky for either Deer Park’s James Condos or St Albans’ Tim Jenkins when the two sides clash in the opening round of the WRFL on 13 April. 70291 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By MICHAEL ESPOSITO
ST ALBANS coach Ian Denny is not sold on the idea that money buys premierships.
In fact, he believes spending big money on attracting players can be damaging.
“It’s always good to go out and buy a big heap but as long as you keep everyone happy, that’s the key. If a club doesn’t keep them all happy, then they can self-destruct very quickly,” Denny said.
Denny was referring to Deer Park, who the Saints take on a Friday night opening round of the Western Region League Football Season on 13 April, but expected the Lions to be too professional to let money fracture relationships.
“They’ve just gone about and bought a bunch of talented players. If they keep everyone then they will be very hard to beat right throughout the year,” Denny said. “The people who have been involved in this concept have been fairly successful so I assume they’ll be fairly successful at it again.”
Money played a big role in the departure of several players late last year, according to Denny, particularly the four players (Aaron Ford, Lachlan Calder, Daniel Mcferran and Marc Dawson) who went to Essendon
and Districts Football League side Taylors Lakes.
He claimed they were “chasing money” and initially saw it as a significant blow to the club’s preparation for the 2012 season, particularly with former Bomber Aaron Henneman going to Ovens and Murray side Corowa Rutherglen, but tried to turn it into a positive.
“The reality was that they were probably holding the club back,” Denny said. “We’ve recouped now and picked up a few players since.”
Some of the new recruits include ruckman Joel West, who has VFL experience with Frankston and Bendigo, key forward Steve Gamble from EDFL side Keilor Park, and players from within the WRFL such as Ben
Pace (Altona) and Michael
Newport (Parkside).
St Albans will play a practice game against Werribee Centrals at 6pm on 30 March, to get accustomed to playing under lights.
Deer Park coach James Condos said round one would be a solid first-up test, and could provide some insight into whether the club’s ambitious goal of making finals is achievable.
No newly promoted team has even made finals in its first year of Division One, according to WRFL football operations manager Dave Newton.
The Lions have recruited three players from EDFL powerhouse Maribyrnong Park ruckman Chris Stewart, goal-kicking full-forward Josh Jones, and Gareth Daley, a Maribyrnong Park premiership player who played in the South Australian Amateur Football League last year. The Lions have also added former Sunshine midfielder Ben Foley and ex Werribee player Teghan Henderson, who will come on as assistant coach.
