Moyston-Willaura will enter the 2021 Mininera and District Football season with a sense of renewed hope after 18 months of player recruiting and development.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In 2019 the Puma's side struggled, as they finished eleventh on the ladder with just one win to their name.
But new senior coaches Terry Keilar and Jake Robinson have their sights firmly set on regaining the respect of the competition.
"We have done a fair bit of recruiting from 2019 to the start of the 2021 season," Keilar said.
"In 2019 the senior team had a tough year, but the club itself had a strong year and then we went hard in terms of recruiting for 2020.
READ MORE:
Keilar said he and the other coaches have been excited by the development of their players, with the club keenly awaiting round one against Wickliffe-Lake Bolac on Saturday, April 17 at home.
"We just want to play to our strengths and move the ball quickly and play a bit of risky football, but we also want to get out there and have some fun together," he said.
"Really what we are aiming for this year is to earn a level of respect within the Mininera League from other clubs and also from the local community.
"That is not just how we play football it is also about how we conduct ourselves and represent the Moyston-Willura football club."
Keilar said he is expecting reigning premiers Great Western and contenders Tatyoon to be at the pointy end of the competition as well as the Ararat Eagles and Woorndoo Mortlake Football Club who have both recruited strongly.
Despite a strong level of competition set for the 2021 Mininera and District Football League season, Keilar said he is hoping his new side can challenge for the finals.
"It has been positive to watch the team develop and build that rapport and all of our players have shown that improvement in skill level and fitness over the preseason," he said.
OTHER NEWS:
"We are hopeful we will be competitive to win enough games to make finals, but there is a lot of football to play between now and then."
At the end of the 2019 season the club lost just a couple of players including Reece Kettle and Ethan Blake.
But heading into their round one the club is expecting to field new faces such as co-coach Jake Robinson, Jacob Bates, Aaron Pianta, Riley Hamilton and Logan McGuiness.
The club has also added new and returning faces with Pat Higgins, Aaron Byron, Zac Lowder, Harrison Cronin, Reece Cronin, Josh Pianta and Josh Bywater also getting ready to pull on the teal, black and white in round one.
If you can see this message, you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Stawell Times-News, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and for allowing us to continue telling Stawell's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great town.