Prolific goalkicker Shaydon Bloomfield has signed for Geelong Football Club side Lara. 67889 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
BY MICHAEL ESPOSITO
CAN Albion be a grand final contender in season 2012?
Many people will have their own predictions, but until the season starts, any forecast made by those not in the inner sanctum is mere guesswork.
What we know is this: Albion has a new coach, Mark Greenshields, replacing Marcus Barclay who was sacked despite guiding the Cats to a minor premiership and a grand final. The club clearly has high expectations.
We also know that Albion has lost arguably its two best players – full forward Shaydon Bloomfield, who kicked 100 goals this season, and star midfielder Marcus Smith, who came second in the WRFL’s best-and-fairest medal count.
Greenshields, a former Cat who coached Riddell District Football League club Melton Centrals in four of the past five years, was well aware that Albion needed to improve to remain a force in Division One.
“Having met all the players, everyone wants to improve. If we tread water, there’s going to be a number of clubs that walk past us pretty quickly,” he said.
“We’ve got really high expectations and certainly I’m pretty clear about what we want to achieve for next season, but as far as goal-setting, it’s really important that the whole group buys into that, so we’ll have a session after Christmas to sit down and formalise exactly what those goals will be for the whole group.”
Greenshields, at a meet the coach night last week, spoke to his players about the season behind them and focusing on the one ahead. He said the immediate plan was to build a formidable list and tweak, but not transform, the way it operates.
“The results of the last couple of years have been pretty strong, so the club’s been doing a lot of things right, so there won’t be wholesale changes, but we certainly need to tweak a few things, with the way we play and the way we set up. There’ll be some subtle changes but we won’t go back and start from scratch again, given where the group’s at.”
Greenshields said finding a back-up for ruckman James Philpot was top of the club’s player wish-list.
“From what I understand most clubs run two ruckmen, so we certainly need a back-up for him. We’d like to get some guys with some real leg speed throughout the middle of the ground, and a key position player who can play at both ends.”
