THREE, two and, hopefully, one.
It is a countdown sequence Fitzroy Stars general manager Simon Minton-Connell hopes his club follows in 2014 as it looks to forget two near misses in as many seasons.
The Stars were bundled out of the 2012 finals series at the preliminary final stage by North Heidelberg before losing last season’s grand final to Whittlesea.
But after adding two former AFL players to its ranks, former Eastern Football League star and St Kilda forward Allan Murray and former Collingwood and Shepparton Swan Chris Egan, the club has reason to believe it can take the next step.
“We thought we were good enough and adding these couple will make us stronger,” Minton-Connell said.
“We thought if we were going to have a crack at it again we had to improve.
“I suppose the attitude is that we’ll be the hunted where we might have got under the guard a little bit last year.”
Murray (pictured above), a three-time premiership player with Balwyn, will add spark and experience to the Stars’ mix.
Minton-Connell said he was a player capable of impacting a game from midfield and inside the forward 50.
“He’ll play predominantly up forward but go through the middle at some stages,” he said.
“He moves really well.”
He said Egan was unlikely to play for the club before May after recent knee surgery.
“It was just to clean it up, there was a bit of stuff in there and he had a bit of patella tendon soreness,” he said.
Both players have signed two-year deals with the club, along with ruckman Clinton Edwards.
The Stars have reappointed Travis Hodgson as coach for 2014, a year they hope will be significant for the club for more reasons than on-field success.
The club has been working to secure enough players to launch its first under-19 side.
Minton-Connell said the Stars were still a few players short of the required numbers, hoping to secure a squad of about 30 to work with coaches Lionel Proctor and Brett Gray.
Any under-19 players interested in join the club can phone Simon Minton-Connell on 0406 531 581.
This article is courtesy of Leader Newspaper. Image courtesy of the Eastern Football League (EFL).
