SINCE winning Strathmore Community Bank Division 2 in 2016, East Keilor has been on the record with its aspirations of eventually returning to Premier Division.
The Cougars are entering their second season in Essendon Ford Division 1 under playing-coach duo Ash Arrowsmith and Nick Grigg and if their recruiting is anything to go by, the Cougars seem to be going for it all.
“I’d be stupid in saying we’re not,” Arrowsmith responded when asked if a premiership was in sights for 2018.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we can start to complement some of our youth.
“We were a very young side last year and probably got found out against some bigger-bodied sides.
“We probably lacked a few wiser heads... some blokes that have played at a higher level, hence why we’ve targeted the blokes between the ages of 23 to 28 that have played A-grade footy.”
Arrowsmith drew on his strong Strathmore connections to land forwards Matthew Knight and Tom Gleeson, while returning junior Dion Hill will provide key support for Grigg.
Through the midfield the Cougars welcome David House (if cleared), Tom Madden and Nathan Kennedy while former Maribyrnong Park ruckman James Philpot will replace James Barnes – one of only two key departures.
While increasing depth was the immediate focus, Arrowsmith admits the club did want to ensure it was ready for promotion, should it follow Glenroy’s footsteps in making the leap with most of its list intact.
“We played 15 Under 19 kids last year in our senior side and really tried to promote youth to see where our list was at (and) identified that we were probably lacking a fair bit of depth,” Arrowsmith explained.
“We’ve gone and recruited blokes that are going to make the club better and put the club in a better position than where they were the previous year.
“If we do happen to go all right this year and we do find ourselves in the position where we are going up into (Premier Division), we wanted to be positioned well enough to know that they would hang around and not leave us high and dry.”
Going all the way in such a competitive division won’t be easy, though.
Arrowsmith knows his Cougars will need to step up in a number of areas if they’re to improve on last year’s 6-10, eight-placed finish.
“We’ve added more speed and added bigger, stronger bodies around the contest,” he said.
“So I think what you’ll see is a more rounded effort.
“Yes, it’s a new group, but we have been together for quite some period and all the new recruits haven’t missed a session.
“So it’ll just be a progression on last year, being solid at the footy, being quick with our ball-use and being strong around the contest.”
Key Ins: Matthew Knight (utility, Strathmore), Tom Gleeson (forward, Strathmore), Dion Hill (forward, St Albans), David House (midfielder, Sunbury Kangaroos TBC), Tom Madden (midfielder, St Bernards), Will Considine (defender, St Bernards), Michael Licciardo (utility, Melton), Nathan Kennedy (midfielder, Taylors Lakes), James Philpot (ruckman, Broadford), Dimitrios Guicas (utility, Taylors Lakes) & Daniel Spiers (defender, Brunswick)
Keys Outs: James Barnes (Essendon Doutta Stars) & Max Rampling (Parkside)
First Month: Taylors Lakes (away), Craigieburn (home), Airport West (home) & BYE
