BANYULE coach Jason Plant says building respect within the competition is his club’s priority as it prepares for its inaugural season in the Northern Football League.
Just 50 days remain until the Bears make their league debut against neighbour Heidelberg West at R.J. Brockwell Oval.
The April 11 match will conclude a busy off-season for the club, who officially crossed to the NFL from the VAFA in October.
As preparations ramp up before the start of the 2015 season, first-year coach Plant said earning the respect of his club’s Division 3 opponents was paramount.
“The fact is we’ve never played a game in the league before so the first thing we want to do is to start building respect in the competition. We’re working really hard to do that,” Plant told NFL.org.au.
“We haven’t been very successful the last couple of years and we’re viewing this as a real fresh start.
“We think it’s going to be an extra step up in fitness and physicality so they’re the areas we’re working on.
“We’ve been really excited about the energy around going into a new competition. We’re trying to build a lot of momentum entering the Northern Football League.”
The move to the NFL has already sparked a revival within the club following two lean seasons on the field while competing in the VAFA’s Premier C competition.
Banyule won just three games in 2014 and five in 2013 for consecutive ninth-place finishes in the 10-team competition.
But since making the move to the NFL a number of former players and supporters have returned to the club, as excitement generates ahead of embarking on a new chapter.
“The fact that it’s our first year in a new competition, there’s a lot of energy and there hasn’t had to be too much work put in to get the guys motivated and get their fitness levels up,” Plant said.
“The players have taken it on themselves, they’ve been excellent.
“The club voted pretty overwhelmingly to go across to the Northern Football League and since then there has been a heap of support and a lot more people getting around the club.”
Arguably the biggest change Banyule has encountered since joining the NFL has been the introduction of player payments – something which is prohibited in the VAFA.
Plant said his club had harnessed plenty of advice on how much money it should be spending on its playing list and believed his club had been conservative with its spending.
Macleod utility Kyle Shepard-Mueller, West Preston’s Andries Jurgens and Hurstbridge midfielder Brent Hay have all committed to Banyule for the upcoming season.
They join fellow signings Alex Bottomley, a key forward from Ocean Grove, and Gippsland midfielder Eamon Charles.
“It (player payments) is unique for the Banyule footy club and it’s really hard to tell if it’s made a difference or not,” Plant said.
“You would think the ability to offer guys a little bit of money to play on a Saturday would make a difference but the guys who have played with us the last few years are not that worried about that.
“It’s been good to offer guys who haven’t played at our footy club a bit of money to come across (but) we’re not going in there and paying overs, we want to pay market price and then build from there.”
Plant said reigning best and fairest winner Adam Barclay (pictured) had enjoyed a solid pre-season, along with forwards Devin McDonald and Michael Italia and former Heidelberg player Luke Giles.
While hopeful his side could match it against anyone in third division, Plant said he expected the 2015 season to be a learning experience for his club.
“I think every side in Division 3 is looking at making finals, playing off in a Grand Final and hopefully winning it and we’re no different.
“Everyone who supports Banyule would like to see us go up but the reality is we’ve never played a game in the league so there are a lot of unknowns.
“We just want to prepare ourselves the best that we can to give ourselves the best opportunity to have success.”
Banyule took on Division 1 preliminary finalist Macleod in a mid-week practice match and has three more warm up games booked against Panton Hill, Echuca United and Richmond Amateurs.
Plant believes the upcoming matches will have his side in good condition for its Round 1 showdown with Heidelberg West, a fixture the club is very much looking forward to.
“They are definitely a club we’re looking forward to building a rivalry against,” Plant said.
“They’ve been great in terms of us requesting to play against them and then them enabling us to play that first game at home.
“We’re hoping to get a lot of support down there and a big crowd. The club is has just built a new balcony out the front so hopefully it will be a great place to watch the footy.”
