Tara Murray
A fitter and stronger Point Cook will be on show in the Western Region Football League division 1 competition this season.
After being out ran late in games last season, the Bulldogs under new coach Clay Smith have made that a big focus during the pre-season.
Now with their season starting on Good Friday, Smith is keen to see how they go.
“I’ve been counting down the days,” he said.
“The pre-season has been really good and looking really fit. We hired a strength and conditioning coach and he has helped build up the fitness.
“Fitness was one area that we had to work on. I think late in quarters and games, we fell away a little bit last year.
“We’ve put the GPS on the boys and are trying to get the best out of them.”
The other area the Bulldogs looked to address was adding a bit more experience at the top end.
Former Western Bulldogs and Geelong forward Luke Dalhaus is the biggest name signing, reuniting with Smith, with the two playing at the Bulldogs together.
Shaun Wyatt and Simon Deery are both good mates of Smith and wanted to come play for him.
Leading Ballarat Football League ruck Daniel Burton has returned to his local club, while former Geelong rookie Paul Tsapatolis will also play for his local team.
Smith said he’s excited to see what those guys can do on the field.
“I’m mates with a lot of boys I’ve brought to the club,” he said. “They’re not just good players, but good people who I’ve known for a long time.
“I lived with a couple of them for five-six years. I played with Shaun between 10 and 18 and then lived with him and Simon. We played one game together for Footscray when I was coming back through the reserves.
“I played with Luke for seven years and then we’ve got a couple of other local boys in Daniel and Paul.”
Smith said early on some of the existing group was a bit nervous about the arrival of the new guys, but had since realised the benefit of having that experience at the club.
Smith said he was keen to see what the new recruits could do on the field.
Another one he was keen to see was Kristian Adorno, who didn’t play last season due to a knee injury, and is putting together a really strong pre-season.
The Bulldogs start their season against Hoppers Crossing in a local blockbuster. It’s the only division 1 game on Good Friday.
With it being his first season, Smith said they hadn’t put any expectations on the group.
“I’ve got an open mind,” he said.
“We go into every game thinking we can win and wanting to win,” he said.
“We’re a new group that hasn’t played a lot of football together. The more games together, the more we know each other and the better we get.
“Hopefully that results in finals at the end of the year.”
