NEW Roxburgh Park coach Michael Farrelly has given the entire club a clean slate.
It was a rocky 2017 campaign for the Magpies, with coach Paul Derrick stepping away late in the pre-season and a combination of injuries and unavailability de-railing their year.
The end result was sixth-place at 7-11, a fair drop off from the club’s usual expectations of not only making finals, but making grand finals.
“I pretty much straight away just said that I don’t care what’s happened in the past,” Farrelly told essendondfl.com.au.
“Whether it be the grand finals of ’14 and ’16 or the off year we had in ’17, it’s all in the past, so we’re moving forward.
Unlike 12 months ago, Roxburgh Park has had some stability this pre-season, with no major departures that played more than six games last year.
Also helping matters is the return of gun young forward, Luke Capuano, who spent 2017 as part of Glenroy’s Essendon Ford Division 1 premiership campaign, kicking 34 goals in 15 appearances.
Farrelly himself will play an on-field role coming across from the Northern Football League’s top division, while Hadfield premiership players Ferras Merhi and Osama Saad will fill key posts for the Magpies.
But while all looks good on paper, Farrelly is keen to play down any early expectations for a side that will be making significant adjustments.
Their early draw is tricky with the Northern Saints, Coburg Districts and East Sunbury up first, and all three fixtures are on the road.
“The good thing for me is I’ve got just as much of a question mark over us as everyone else does,” he explained.
“We could come out and be amazing, but we could come out and get a real big shock early and be put back in place pretty quickly.
“I’m under no illusions of how good or bad we could be and I keep reiterating that to the guys, but all we can control is ourselves and how we go.
“Look, if we play well and we’re up there early, it’s going to help at the pointy end of the season, so we’re here to win at the end of the day and the more wins we get, the better.”
The Magpies will unveil their new facilities at home to Keilor Park in Round 4 and with new faces around the club both on and off the field, Farrelly has been buoyed by the positive energy that is swirling around his group as they prepare to make another run for finals in 2018.
“I haven’t felt this sort of vibe before,” he said.
“The boys know that they’ve got the talent and now that we’ve actually gone out and done what we wanted, which was to add some depth and experience to our list, with new coaching staff and a new committee and all these things happening around the club, the vibe’s really good.
“So with all that in mind, I haven’t had to generate too much of the buzz myself.
“It’s all been self-generated by the playing group, so they’re driven and they are aware of what their potential could be.”
Key Ins: Luke Capuano (forward, Glenroy), Michael Farrelly (playing coach, defender/midfielder, Hurstbridge), Ferras Merhi (ruckman, Thomastown), Osama Saad (forward, Thomastown), Nader Nasra (midfielder/forward, South Morang), Dom Lo Presti (forward, Northern Saints), Tom McEwan (midfielder/forward, Mernda), Matt Ryan (defender/midfielder, Hurstbridge TBC) & Allan Yas (defender, Northern Saints TBC)
Keys Outs: Brenden Egberts (Mernda), Panayiotis Rubeidis (Craigieburn) & Scott Poynter (Tullamarine)
First Month: Northern Saints (away), Coburg Districts (away), East Sunbury (away) & Keilor Park (home)
