Montmorency coach Garry Ramsay says a top-three finish is the expectation for his side ahead of the 2020 Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 campaign.
The Magpies last year returned to the finals for the first time since 2014 in Ramsay’s first season at the helm after crossing from Macleod.
They have since enjoyed a fruitful off-season, signing former Collingwood and Carlton forward Alex Fasolo and 2018 best and fairest Ben Kennedy, who spent last year with Williamstown in the VFL.
The former AFL duo will be joined at Montmorency Park by Lewis Fasolo (Sydney University), Tom Michael (St Albans) and Bailey Brown (South Morang).
Ramsay said the time had now come for the club to raise expectations after six seasons without a finals win.
“We’ve created some stability and now it’s time to have some success,” Ramsay told NFNL.org.au.
“It’s been five years since the club has had a winning season. Even last year we finished up going 9-10 and that’s not good enough for a big club like Montmorency.
“The first goal will be to have a winning season by winning more games than we lose. Then second, definitely is to finish top-three.
“We anticipate with the list that we’ve got that we should be finishing top-three and that will be the expectation.”
Ramsay said Fasolo and Kennedy had made a seamless transition into the club and expected both to play big roles in the upcoming campaign.
“They’re both going to add something different and I’m really looking forward to having the two of them in our side,” Ramsay said.
“Alex has probably been one of our most enthusiastic on the track. He’ll be a really good leader.
“Ben is just a hard worker. He’s quiet, but he’s probably going to be our toughest player each Saturday.
“Ben will be a midfielder, with a little bit of time forward. Alex will be a forward, with a little bit of time in the midfield.”
The return of Kennedy ensures Montmorency will boast one of the competition’s strongest midfields this year.
The 2018 Coaches MVP runner-up is set to line-up beside the likes of Jesse Donaldson, Stephen McCallum, Matthew Hunt and Blake Murphy.
Ramsay said the Magpies would enter the season confident it’s on-ball division could match it with any opposition.
“It’s a midfield where you’re probably comfortable to go head-to-head with the opposition without playing a tagger,” he said.
“We’re comfortable that our midfield will be pretty strong.”
Ramsay said the club would be patient with recruits Lewis Fasolo and Tom Michael, who are both returning to football after long layoffs, but had been impressed by Bailey Brown to this point of pre-season.
While there has been an influx of high-quality talent entering the doors, Montmorency has also managed to retain most of its 2019 playing list.
The only players to depart are Brent Fotheringham, who has returned to Western Australia, and Xavier Cahill, who has joined Watsonia.
Ramsay said last year’s heavy defeat in the elimination final had provided his club with added motivation during the off-season.
Montmorency’s 2019 season came to a crashing halt when it managed just one goal in the 77-point loss to eventual premier West Preston-Lakeside.
“The good thing about the final was we realised how far away we were,” he said.
“It was probably a really good reality check. When you look at the body shapes and the fitness levels – we were a long way off it.
“We got beaten by the side that won the premiership by a fair way, so we have a lot of improving to do. We’ve set about doing that.”
Ramsay said he had noticed a marked improvement in the playing group’s professionalism and attitude during the course of pre-season.
“I’ve probably got 12 or 15 players who are training five times a week, doing three extra sessions on their own,” he said.
“They’ve put on a lot of muscle. They don’t look like kids anymore.
“I see a massive improvement with their input and the extra work they do.”
Montmorency’s practice match schedule sees it take on Airport West this Sunday, before taking on Bundoora and North Ringwood over the following fortnight.
The Magpies commence their 2020 campaign with a night fixture against Northcote Park at Bill Lawry Oval on Friday April 3.
