Greenvale Kangaroos plan to tap into the local talent in Melbourne’s north-west and the Macedon Ranges to develop its Premier Cricket side.
The Kangaroos, who have finished on the bottom of the Premier Cricket ladder for the past two seasons, will be building from the bottom up.
Kangaroos’ coach Stan Nell said Sunbury and Macedon Ranges were full of talented players who could play Premier Cricket.
“We’re trying to … create opportunities for players in the north-west and Macedon Ranges area,” he said. “We’re after players who have played first 11 cricket for their clubs and are keen to play Premier Cricket.
“We’d be keen to chat to players to see where they’re playing and what they want from their cricket.”
He said the club would also be happy to look at players who had previous Premier Cricket experience and wanted to have a second crack.
“We have a good group of young players and we need a bit of experience around them.”
Nell said players from Sunbury and the Macedon Ranges had steered away from coming to the Kangaroos.
He estimated at least 20 players drove past the club to go to other Premier Cricket clubs.
“When we were at Arden Street [and still North Melbourne] we got a lot of players from the area,” he said.
“Since we’ve shifted they seem to be going to Footscray, Essendon, Northcote and Carlton and driving past us. We would be a completely different club if we could get some of them to play for us.”
And there are also opportunities outside the playing group.
“We are looking for three to four ambitious coaches who would possibly like to do an apprenticeship in Premier Cricket.
“It’s a high-performance environment and provides the chance for coaches to upskill, before possibly taking those skills back to local clubs.”
Nell said he was confident of keeping the team together.
“Most have committed to play for us,” he said. “There’s been a bit of interest from county clubs and players from Sri Lanka. We’ll see how that fits in with our development.”
For more information contact Nell on 0413 809 820
