There is genuine excitement at Great Western for the 2019 Mininera District Football League season, signing some big names to help their push towards a finals berth.
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The Lions have poached players from surrounding clubs to bolster their stocks for the season ahead and continue their upward trend set in 2018.
Jeremy Cronin, Ashley Leggett, Adam Mullane, Cody Virgona and Andrew Cameron have all signed on for Great Western for the 2019 campaign.
Cronin and Leggett join the Lions from rival Mininera league clubs Moyston-Willaura and Ararat Eagles respectively while Mullane, Virgona and Cameron are all coming from Horsham District league club Swifts.
Leggett comes across as a reliable defender while the three Swifts players can rotate through the midfield and forward line.
Cronin will add some size to the Lions, playing as either key forward or in the ruck.
Cameron is arguably the pick of the bunch, having served as an assistant coach at the Baggies and also kicking 121 goals in his last two seasons as a small to medium-sized forward.
“It’s been a pleasing offseason so far being able to fill some of the positions we identified we needed to improve on in 2018,” Great Western football operations manager Matt Delzotto said.
“We are still on the lookout for some more talent to continue to improve the list going into a big 2019 season.”
Another crucial aspect for the Lions has been player retention, with the vast majority of last year’s list going around again. Lions coach Will Bell said the squad has much more depth now.
“We were after players to fill specific roles and we have done that,” he said.
“It was really pivotal for our team’s growth to get those positions filled.
“Last season we had so many injuries we didn’t have the guys to come in and fill the holes but I feel like our depth is going to be a lot better next season.”
Great Western won five games in 2018 and were one of the most-improved sides in the league.
Bell said finals are on the agenda.
“We are definitely looking to improve our win tally and our biggest aim would be a top five finish,” he said.
“It is something we haven’t been able to achieve in this league but I feel like if we stay fit we can get very close to it.”
In addition the five new signings, it is also likely the Lions will be home to more players from the Tiwi Islands in 2019.
Steve Lorenzo made the long journey south for the 2018 season and will return with a bigger group of footballers from the region up north next season.
“The club is continuing its relationship with the Tiwi Islands and will host a crop of exciting talent from the top end for the 2019 season,” Delzotto said.
The Lions are currently in pre-season training ahead of the 2019 campaign.
