By Lance Jenkinson
John Curnow will remain at the helm of the Werribee Giants for a second season in the Baseball Victoria summer league division 2 competition.
The club stalwart impressed with his guidance in his first season in charge as a player-coach and there was no hesitation from the club to re-appoint him.
“As a club, we’re really happy to have him on board,” Giants president Ryan Balzer said.
“He got us to the finals last year with a very strong regular season.
“He’s exactly what the club needs right now in terms of the roster that we have for the seniors.”
Curnow is a homegrown product of the Werribee Giants.
The 37-year-old has played baseball for 25 years, starting in the Giants juniors and working his way up through the club ranks.
Only three of those years were spent away from Werribee as he tried his hand in a higher division with Newport Rams.
Curnow’s passion for the game is only surpassed by his love for the Giants.
“He’s from the club, he loves the club and will do anything for the club, so the boys appreciate that,” Balzer said.
Werribee is in the midst of its recruitment drive. The Giants are engaging with overseas imports, but none have resulted in securing a signature as yet.
“We’re still scouting,” Balzer said.
“We’re talking to a number of international players, but haven’t signed anyone at this stage.”
Werribee has traditionally enjoyed strong retention in its men’s ranks.
The Giants expect most of last year’s squad to be back again this summer.
“With our firsts and seconds, we’ve had good player retention,” Balzer said.
“We’ve played finals in about six of the last seven years and that comes down to having the same group and a couple of additions on the peripheral.
After bowing out in a wild semi-final series against Newport Rams last season, which included an 18-17 game two loss, Werribee has one thing on its mind ahead of next season.
“We need to win finals games,” Balzer said.
“All those years that we’ve done well in the regular season and unfortunately when it comes to finals, we just can’t get across the line.
“There’s no secret about it, we’ve just got to win those finals games.”
