By Luke D’Anello
NORTH Sunshine president Mark Neicho is confident the Roadrunners won’t be a mere speed hump for opposition teams in 2011.
After a difficult season last year in the Western Region Football League (WRFL) Division Two competition, during which the senior team copped hammerings on a regular basis, Neicho is simply looking for “competitive” performances.
And Neicho is now keen to obliterate last season from his memory bank.
The low point came in round six when North Sunshine suffered a 401-point loss against Albanvale.
The club was the focus of several media reports after the result, but Neicho is looking forward to some more positive coverage this season.
“(We’re looking for) competitive football. That’s where we’re at the moment,” Neicho said.
“We’re not looking at going out there and saying we’re going to do anything ridiculous, we just want to go out there and be competitive and show some signs that make it a lot harder for them (the opposition) to win a game.
“We’ve gone out there and done a bit of recruiting … and we’re trying to build up a competitive side.
“Some players have gone to the new club, Caroline Springs, but we’re quite happy with what we’ve picked up.
“We’ve had some players come back who haven’t played for a while that we’ve got back to the club, and they wanted to come back and help the club out.”
Players officially cleared to the Roadrunners include David Tragjasi (formerly Sunshine Heights), Kayne Taylor (Football Geelong), Travis Smith (Deer Park), Rory Nicholls (Deer Park) and Shane Clark (Sunshine).
Neicho is hoping the days of heavy losses are now over.
“I’m looking forward to the media saying they’re going to come back and do some positive media for us this time, and show that we’ve turned a season around from being beaten by 20,30, 40 goals into a situation where we’re playing quite competitive football,” Neicho said.
“Hopefully there is a report on that.”
North Sunshine will meet Wyndham Vale Falcons in the opening round on Saturday.
