A MIX of active recruiting and a diligent junior development program has driven St Mary’s in the off-season as it looks to break its Division 3 finals drought.
Senior coach Con Borg is upbeat about the new recruits’ pre-seasons, as he looks to guide the Burra into its first finals series since 2012.
In a boost for the club, 2013 Division 3 Coaches Player of the Year Dillan Ronalds has returned to the fold after two years at Division 1 outfit Lower Plenty.
Borg believes Ronalds will make a welcome return to the midfield.
“(Dillan) stuck to his word, he said he’d be gone for two years,” Borg told NFL.org.au.
“He’s going to be a massive bonus for us because the guys really look up to him. He’s the big-bodied midfielder that we’re missing.”
Exciting young on-baller Isaac Edgar has also joined the club after a handful of senior games for Heidelberg. Edgar has also featured for La Trobe University and the Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup.
“(Isaac) is an Albury kid. Two years ago he was under-19s there, it was actually under (new South Morang senior coach) Dean Grainger. He didn’t play last year, he took the year off but he’s joined the club,” Borg said.
Originally from Mildura, ruckman Ashby Smith has also joined the Burra.
“Ashby’s a mate of Isaac Edgar’s,” Borg said.
“He has played in Tiwi Islands and also Mildura. He’s got a volleyball background and he looks impressive at training.”
Aside from Lower Plenty and Heidelberg, the Burra have also recruited from other Division 1 clubs, Montmorency and Bundoora.
“Drew Schleibs is from Montmorency and played Div 1 over the past few years. He’s only a young guy himself, he’s only 21-22, but he’s come with big wraps from Montmorency,” Borg said.
“Adrian Coco is from Bundoora, but hasn’t played senior footy yet. I know they were disappointed to lose him and he should fit in well.”
The new recruits have already had a positive influence on the club this pre-season, according to Borg.
“You’d expect them to be able to bring a bit of professionalism to the club which they have already at training, except Isaac Edgar who’s still in Albury and will be back for our practice matches.”
As well as being an active recruiter in the off-season, St Mary’s continues to nurture its home-grown talent, in a long-term plan hatched two years ago.
“We made the decision a couple of years ago that we decided to play kids that were all eligible for under-19s at that stage,” Borg said.
“A lot of them were first-year 19s. I think we played 22 under-19s two years ago and they could only play a maximum of nine games because they did want to qualify for under-19s finals.
“I think it’s going to pay off.”
The St Mary’s youth has Borg excited about the season ahead.
“Last year was really their first full season of senior footy for about two thirds of the side,” he said.
“I’m really excited to see the guys who have been there for a couple of years and developed under the game plan. You can just see they’re at that age now where just overnight they’ll turn from boys to men.
“They’ve all grown up together, they’ve known each other since five, six, seven years of age and come through the strong junior program.”
And player retention continues to remain a strength at Whatmough Park.
“Luke Douglas is the only one at this stage looks who we might not have, and that’s due to work commitments,” Borg said.
“Everyone else is on board, we had everyone signed up before the last round last year. They’re a tight-knit group.”
Borg has changed the pre-season approach this year, to ensure the Burra are fit and firing for round one, with a heavier emphasis on ball work.
“It’s all been ball work. We’ve gone the other way,” he said.
“We had James Ind and Liam O’Donnell out from Round 2 last year and we’ve always had injuries.
“We’ve gone about it a bit differently this year, using the balls in full-ground drills and getting our running that way.
“There are some rules we’ve got in place to ensure the guys do get their running and they’ve stuck to that.
“The main thing is we don’t have anyone on the injured list at the moment.”
