By LIAM TWOMEY
IT HAS been a brilliant start to the season for Deer Park in the Premier Bowls Pennant competition.
Following on from making a grand final in 2012/13, the Lions are again roaring at the top end of the ladder and are yet to lose a game.
However, for president Ray Franksen and his committee, the form of the top team isn’t the most important thing for the club moving forward.
With aspirations to become a premier side in the next three years, the Lions know that can only happen if their second, third and fourth sides are able to step up.
Currently, Deer Park competes in divisions one, five, six and seven.
Franksen said that gap had to close before the club could mount its charge to join the elite.
“Making a grand final last year was way above our expectations,” he said.
“It has been another good start so far, but really division one is actually our lowest priority, believe it or not.
“For us to get to Premier League, we are going to need division five to at least division three and the others up another grade or two.
“That doesn’t mean that we are going to devalue the efforts in our top side. There are a lot of blokes playing in grades that they aren’t used to playing in because of the drop from one to five. We have got to get those blokes up,” he said.
Early indications suggest success could be on the way for the division five team members, with Deer Park enjoying a positive start to the season.
Franksen said once the club had its team structure right, it could challenge for premier division.
“When I took over as president, we had a five-year plan to be division one and we did it in four years,” he said.
“We have got that part of it done, but our expectations of the lower grades are not as good as we were hoping, so that is our priority now.
“Not only that, but the club is going to grow in the next couple of years. We have got bowlers that have played for Victoria and won state titles and they are walking into our club and want to play here.”
