LOWER PLENTY coach Vin Dattoli says an increased work ethic and improved training standards are required for his team to push up the Division 1 ladder.
The Bears finished the 2013 season in ninth place, only avoiding relegation by percentage for the second consecutive season.
After crossing over from West Preston-Lakeside at the conclusion of the 2012 season, Dattoli said his new side finished “about par” in his first season at the helm, with two of the club’s four wins coming against teams who competed in the finals.
Dattoli said Lower Plenty had the ability to contend with the best in Division 1 – as exemplified by its shock Round 9 win at Heidelberg – but had a way to go to match the best teams’ work rate.
“I don’t think we lack ability, but I do think we’ve got a lot of work to do on our work rate to compliment our game plan,” he told NFL.org.au.
“I think where we have struggled is that we’ve had a very immature group of players when it comes to experience with work rate or work ethic.
“There are a lot of players around the fringe that could elevate themselves if they really take on board the work rate.”
Dattoli understands what it takes to turn an emerging club into a premiership contender.
In his first two years at J.E Moore Park he lifted West Preston-Lakeside from eighth place to a premiership, before also reaching the finals in his last two years at the club.
He said much emphasis would be spent this summer working on his players’ fitness levels and foot skills as the Bears aim to double their wins tally next year.
“The fitness and strength component is going to be massive for us,” he said.
“We’re challenging some guys that want to play in the midfield and putting the onus back on them.
“It’s asking them ‘Do you want to play in the midfield?’ If the answer is yes, the ball is in your court and go to work.
“We’ll also have a massive focus on our foot skills being better than what they were last year because we felt we turned the footy over way too much in the wrong areas of the ground.”
The Bears’ fortunes in 2014 have already received a significant boost, with both ruckman Patty Flynn and utility Bill Barden set to permanently play with the club after relinquishing their VFL duties.
The club has also secured the services of Damien Smith from West Preston-Lakeside and Diamond Creek youngster Oliver Parks, while Ben Gill will make a welcome return after he departed following the Bears’ Division 2 premiership triumph in 2011.
The trio will certainly bolster Lower Plenty’s forward line, with Smith a member of the Roosters 2010 premiership team under Dattoli, while Gill booted 70 goals in his last season with the Bears.
Couple the names alongside joint best and fairest winners Darcy Barden and Matt Vasilevski and young gun Will Morley and suddenly the nucleus of the Bears squad looks quite imposing.
“When you look at our team, you’re looking at Patty Flynn, Darcy and Billy (Barden), Vas (Matt Vasilevski), Will Morley and Damien Smith – they’re six blokes off the top of my head who could walk into any side in the competition,” Dattoli said.
“If you’re top six guys could walk into any side in the competition and potentially be amongst their best four players, you’re going to have a very good side,” he said.
Dattoli said his challenge was to now add greater depth to assist the side’s key players, something which is being addressed during the summer months.
“The thing that we’ve been focusing heavily on is depth.
“There are other recruits that we’ve picked up that no-one is going to know name-wise, but they are going to obviously add a lot more pressure within training because guys are going to be fighting for spots.
“Last year we were a bit generous with giving games out, which is okay because it was part of the development, but there will be a lot more pressure on guys really knuckling down within that application perspective because our game plan is built on work rate.
“We’re going to have a much harder edge than last year.”
All being well, Dattoli said his side is capable of winning 10 games in 2014. Given Eltham made the 2013 finals on the back of eight wins and a draw, that figure could well put Lower Plenty in finals contention.
Its 2014 campaign begins with a home match against Eltham – the same team it beat by 17 points in the opening round of the 2013 season. It also takes on West Preston-Lakeside, Bundoora and Whittlesea (home) in the first month of the season.
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