Tara Murray
Roxburgh Park is keen to take that next step and play finals in the Essendon District Football League division 1.
Having continued to show progress since they won the 2018 division 2 premiership and was promoted, coach Micheal Farrelly knows finals is the next step.
“We have grown over the years and the next step is playing finals footy,” he said.
“It’s a long journey, we are one and where we want to end up. It’s one week at a time and everyone needs to play their roles and results will take care of itself.”
Farrelly said if the pre-season is anything to go by, they are tracking in the right direction.
He said the group had been working really hard and there was a really strong culture and mate ship in the group.
“There’s a lot to like at the moment,” he said. “They’re working really hard and this is the strongest I’ve seen the group in a long time.”
The Magpies announced a number of new signings in the pre-season, meaning they’ve been part of pre-season since day one.
Ahmed Hamdan, Aidan Clarke, Jamie Bellam, Theo Miliopouslos, Nathan Carroll, Cooper McPharlane, Robbie Barnard and Blake Woodsford are the signings that have been announced by the club.
“They’ve all brought into what we’re doing,” Farrelly said.
“They’ve helped reinvigorate the guys who were on the list last year, guys on the fringe who are competing for spots.
“Competition is tough for spots. The comradery is high.”
Farrelly said the normal suspects were leading on the way on the track, along with Andrew Capuana who is running elite times in the time trials, while Harley Short was having his best pre-season since 2018.
Farrelly said the biggest thing for the group heading into the 2023 season was getting a bit more consistency throughout the season.
Last season the Magpies started well, before fading late and missing out on finals.
“We’ve fiddled with the game plan and modified a few things,” he said. “It will take a few rounds to become consistent with it.
“There will be some hiccups early in the year as we try to find that consistency. Hopefully we’ll have more wins than losses and we can make finals.”
Farrelly said off field the club was in the strongest position it had been for a number of years, with a lot of hard work put in the last three to four months.
The Magpies were set to start their season on Good Friday against Craigieburn, after deadline.
It’s the first time the two clubs have played on this day.
Farrelly said before the match that they were looking forward to the occasion.
“The two clubs have come together for a good cause,” he said. “It’s a privilege to play on the day and we don’t take it lightly.”
It was one of three EDFL matches on Good Friday. In premier division, Keilor hosted Strathmore, while in division 1 Hillside hosted Keilor Park.
