By ADEM SARICAOGLU
KEILOR will have a very different look about it this coming summer in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association.
After finishing seventh in their first season back in Senior Division, the Blues have invoked a number of changes both on and off the field for what looms as their most challenging summer yet.
Peter Delbridge has taken over the club presidency after Rod Callahan stood down for family reasons, while on the field Mick Andreadis is the new coach and Jody Hutchinson will captain the seniors.
However the latter pair won’t be doing battle at the club’s beloved Keilor Recreation Reserve, with the ground set to undergo a major redevelopment in coming months.
“We’ll be playing our home games at Robert Bruce Reserve (in Deer Park) while they redevelop Keilor Recreation Reserve,” Delbridge said.
“Identifying that those difficulties were going to impact on our players and our revenue streams, we called an extraordinary committee meeting at the end of the season.
“We had to cut back, we were stretched to the limit and next year’s going to be tougher, and so we had to make some tough decisions now.
“The best way we decided to do that was to band everyone together and all of our members agreed that was the best way forward.”
It’s already had a major impact at senior level, with former coach Nigel Freebairn stepping down into a role on the general committee and outgoing skipper Danny Law opting for a fresh start at Westmeadows.
Andreadis comes back to the club he coached a decade ago and is a natural fit for the role, according to Delbridge.
“He certainly ticks all the boxes, he’s got a great cricket brain, an excellent coach and he’s the right man at the right time for us,” he said.
However with Aaron Mato also leaving Keilor for Yarraville Club and the return of Warren Kelly, Andreadis knows it will be a tough summer of cricket with so much change happening around him.
“It’s (the recruiting budget) going to be less than half of what it was,” Andreadis said.
“But with the juniors we’ve got there and the resources we’ve got within the club, we just want to survive, rebuild, and then just have a good crack at it to stay in it, rather than just be one-hit wonders.”
