CLIMBING the top of the Division 2 mountain to be crowned premiers in season 2012 has seemed an eternity ago in the years following for Epping.
The jubilation on the mid-September Saturday afternoon as the Blues defeated North Heidelberg by just four points had been in stark contrast to the Club’s 2013 and 2014 campaigns.
Epping was to become the first in League history to be relegated in consecutive seasons, bowing out of Division 1 in 2013 and Division 2 in 2014.
Percentage played a cruel role in the Epping plight on both occasions, as the Blues experienced drops of rollercoaster proportions.
After winning just four games in 2013 and five in 2014, Epping was headed for Division 3 in 2015.
But, as ’13 and ’14 were in stark contrast to 2012, 2015 has been a breath of fresh air on the preceding two seasons.
The Blues’ rollercoaster seems to be arresting, as they currently sit second on percentage on the Division 3 ladder behind South Morang.
Steve Power, a former captain, took over the reins as senior coach in 2014, where Epping has seen a list overhaul with youth, seemingly coming to fruition so far this season.
“I’ve been an Epping boy pretty much my whole life, and I really wanted the challenge of trying to develop,” Power said.
“I’d coached juniors (at Epping) in the years leading up and I know the way with football clubs are these days, how important the juniors are to your senior list.
“It was one area that I really wanted to focus on and start promoting some of our young kids into our side.”
Power’s close relationship with the junior program at Epping has been monumental in the rebuild and invaluable in gaining a mutual understanding between player and coach.
“With those juniors, they understand the way I coach. They understand my philosophy on football in regards to preparation and things like that, so it’s an easy transition for them,” Power said.
“It’s not daunting for them at all to go from under 17s then into the senior group of a footy club. The big thing at the moment for our younger blokes is to understand that you don’t play football forever, and obviously there’s an opportunity for us this year."
The building of a stable, sustainable culture has not been easy, and in Power’s maiden season in 2014, he admits it was a tough ask, but the necessary move.
“It was a tough time at the footy club (and) a tough year to come in to, to be honest.”
“We knew that it was going to be a tough job with such a young list, but I think (it was) just trying to get that culture of the juniors coming up through the seniors.”
With the experience of Daniel Moore, Peter McMahon and Shane Wood all staying at the club, the younger Blues have continued to learn in 2015, according to Power.
“Those guys stuck fat with the footy club. They could have easily decided to leave,” he said.
Power does not undersell the importance of Moore leading the Blues out of the abyss, either.
“He’s such a great leader at our footy club and a well-respected player in the NFL, we worked really hard with making sure he stayed at our footy club,” Power said.
“I think the other blokes like Shane Wood and Pete Mack (McMahon) then thought that if he (Moore) is prepared to stay, then we’re prepared to stay as well and help these young kids out.”
Epping’s only loss for the season has been by four points against Reservoir in Round 2.
The Blues get their chance to exact revenge on the Mustangs this week when the pair face-off again at Crispe Park.
For Steve Power and his men, the message is simple as the belief has risen in 2015 like it once did on a jubilant mid-September Saturday afternoon in 2012.
“(It’s) the importance of seizing the moment and this year is a moment for our footy club,” he said.
