With the 2023 season just around the corner, EDFL Media will be previewing each club heading into Round One. Next, we chat to new Craigieburn coach Shane Jacobs who provides some insights on their 2023 campaign.
2022: 9th (2W, 16L, 70.61%)
Coach: Shane Jacobs (first season, replacing Justin Sherman)
PRE-SEASON FOCUS
"It's been about building good habits so far. It hasn't been easy, we won two games last year so we've started from the bottom up and let the young fellas know they'll be given a go and that we're going to rebuild the list from within. So it's been about teaching them the right way to go about it with good habits and good training."
LIST SHAPE
"We've brought in some new faces to the club because you need depth and experience, we've lost a couple of handy players from last year but we think we've covered them with what we've brought in. We've got Jakey Carlisle who'll be like a new recruit for us, he's our co-captain this year. Anthony Righele and John Bellino are our vice captains and they played four games between them last year, so they're like recruits as well! If you add that to the eight or nine new faces, we feel our list is a lot better than what people think it is.
"We don't just want to go out and recruit a premiership, this is a five-year plan. We want to develop our two Under 18s teams, we've got two in the 16s, a reserves team, a thirds team – so the numbers are good, we've just got to drive that now."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
"Riley Gaylard and Travis Keating have both come across from Bundoora, we're really looking forward to seeing what they can bring for us. We've also welcomed back two-time Craigieburn premiership players Sam Laffan."
2023 OUTLOOK
"We just want to be competitive and be in every game we play. We're not just going to come out and say, 'Yeah we're playing finals'. If that happens, great, but Rome wasn't built in a day and I've said that to the group all pre-season. We're going to get better as the year goes on, that's the way we're going about it.
"We want to be successful in Division One, but as a club we also want to be in Premier Division again and be a good side there."
LODGED TRANSFERS
In: Aiden Fyfe (Southport), Travis Williams (Bundoora), Riley Gaylard (Bundoora), Jack Carlyon (Bundoora), Joshua McNamara (Bundoora), Travis Keating (Bundoora), Jagveer Panesar (Campbelltown Junior), Kyle Lamprey (Epping), Nathan Kramer (Glenroy), Richard Ahmad (Hadfield), Joshua Gough (Jacana), Adam Cruickshank (Jacana), Corey Morrison (Keilor Park), Tannous Kabalan (Lalor), Daniel Ray (Lalor), Damien Quadara (Laurimar), John Symeoy (Laurimar), Hugh Hart (Macedon), Corey O'Connor (Maribyrnong Park), Jordan Middleton (Maribyrnong Park), Andrew Matheas (Maribyrnong Park), Matthew Osgood (Palmerston Magpies), Daniel Habchi (Preston Bullants), Andrew Shortis (Reservoir), Bailey Jensen (Reservoir), Jack Lane (Roxburgh Park), Alex Powell (Roxburgh Park) & Samuel Laffan (Tullamarine).
Out: Alex Lamanna (Roxburgh Park), Kyle Jackson (Tocumwal), Kyle Sutton (Roxburgh Park), James Orchard (Roxburgh Park), Seamus Lyons (Therry Penola), Matthew Lancaster (Greenvale), Antoine Lieutier (Narre South Saints), Gavin Cathie (Romsey), Ayden Bordon (Olinda Ferny Creek), Craig Poynter (Mernda), Matthew Siciliano (Mernda), Cody Ball (Avenel), Dane Whitnall (North Heidelberg), Robbie Barnard (Roxburgh Park), Joseph Mansoor (Northern Saints), Jack Evans (East Keilor), Joshua Young (Mernda), Billy Morrison (Mernda), Nathan Perrone (Eltham), Corey Middleton (Eltham), Damien Bugeja (Greenvale), Amos Farrell (Moulamein), Lucas Giacchi (Lalor), Mitchell Ford (Taylors Lakes) & Brodie White (North Heidelberg).
EDFL MEDIA SAYS
There have been some sweeping changes at DS Aitken Reserve with former Eagle Shane Jacobs set to take the helm as senior coach, bringing across a number of Bundoora players with him in the move back to the nest. It wasn't the 2022 Craigieburn would have hoped for notching just two wins, and with two being relegated from Division One in 2023, Jacobs aims to ensure the group remains competitive with a list that is stronger than we may think. Jake Carlisle should expect to be on the park more often than not this season as someone the EDFL community didn't get a chance to look at last year, while former Gold Coast-listed Aiden Fyfe will provide an additional boost when not on Port Melbourne VFL duties.
2023 FIXTURE
