Following a strong first year in the Western Region Football League’s top flight Point Cook Centrals are keen to back it up.
While the Sharks only mustered up three wins for the 2023 season, nine of their losses were by just 12 points or under and one of the wins came against eventual premiers Werribee Districts in round 15.
With relegation off the cards for this season, coach Dean Chambers said the Sharks are ready to establish themselves as a bonafide division 1 side, with a suite of fresh faces arriving at the club to make this dream a reality.
“We’ve worked pretty hard straight after last year and we understood that we had to top up our playing list to get a bit more competitive,” he said.
“We had a super year [in 2023], so we just had to bottom up and strengthen our depth and now including the under-18 kids coming through there’s about 25 new players going into senior footy next year.
“So we’re really buoyant about where we can take the club next year and it’s all in front of us now, so it’s up to us and the boys are really keen.
“There’s always a lot of apprehension about going into the first year of division 1 but having had a taste of it and seeing how competitive we were, we’re pretty excited to see where we can take the group.”
Williamstown Victorian Football League-listed on baller Zac Banch headlines the off season recruits for the Sharks. With the midfielder being described by former Werribee coach John Lamont as one of the best on ballers he has seen in the Goulburn Valley Football League.
“He’s had a couple of runs with us and he’s excited about the opportunity,” Chambers said. “We don’t want to see much of him during the year, we want to see him at the highest level but when he comes back to us I’m sure he’ll add to our already strengthened midfield.”
Another of the Sharks’ recruiting targets they were able to deliver on was to welcome back its homegrown talent, with a strong group of former Sharks re-joining the club.
Cassius White has returned after featuring on Sandringham’s VFL list for the past three seasons and Melton South in the Ballarat Football League. Ethan Stankic also returns to the club after playing with Altona in recent times. Matty Davis will also be a welcome return to the club after spending time at both Altona and Deer Park. Domenic De Lia also returns after plying his trade at Werribee Districts.
It isn’t just a return of former players that Chambers is relying on to bolster his team up the ladder with the Sharks also bringing in a host of recruits from rival clubs.
Three-time Deer Park premiership player Mark Galea has arrived at the club, alongside fellow former WRFL inter-league player James McVey. Former Werribee VFL player Pele Manivong has also come to the club as has former Keilor player Mark Polycarpou.
With a fresh crop of players to work with, the plan is simple for Chambers and his team.
“We just want to stay engaged in games a lot longer and really capitalise on our good starts,” he said.
“We’ve just got to play four-quarter footy and fitness has been a real focus of ours during the pre-season.
“The players have already come back a lot fitter than what they did heading into 2023, so that should hold us in good stead.”
