BUNDOORA Football Club believes it can be even better in 2012 as it strives for back-to-back Northern Football League premierships.
Last season the Bulls knocked off fierce rivals Heidelberg Tigers, ending a 15-year premiership drought with a 10-point win. They had lost four grand finals in seven years to the Tigers.
But club president Brian Oakley has an ominous warning for the rest of the competition. “I firmly believe we will field a stronger side this year than last year,” he says. “We had a lot of very good players who were injured at times last year, but they’re right now and raring to go.”
The players had a good tune-up on March 18, competing in the Betstar Champions Cup, a round-robin tournament that pitted 2011 premiers from various metropolitan and country leagues against each other.
Bundoora went down in the semi-finals to Shepparton United, from the Goulburn Valley league.
But the match that drew the most interest was Bundoora’s clash with Western Region league club Spotswood.
Spotswood is home to former Collingwood player Jason Cloke, whose younger brother Cameron, a former Collingwood, Carlton and Port Adelaide player, plays with Bundoora.
Their father, David (a former Richmond and Collingwood player), watched from the sidelines as the Bulls won by a couple of goals.
Cameron Cloke says it was the first time he had played against his brother since they were both in the AFL system, although they see each other almost daily.
“He’s my boss. He owns a carpentry business,” he says. “There’s always a bit of banter.”
As for the season ahead, Cameron Cloke is confident about the Bulls’ chances.
“It’s been a good pre-season. Everyone is looking fit and, hopefully, we can go back-to-back,” he says.
It won’t be easy, he says, “But we’ll be striving hard for it.”
Cameron Cloke’s AFL career finished at the end of the 2010 season, when Port Adelaide delisted him. At the urging of a mate, he joined Bundoora, which he says was a “pretty easy decision”.
“I wanted to enjoy footy a bit more,” he said. “I did think it would be easier but it’s a very good standard of footy and there are a number of ex-AFL players playing. It’s really not much of a step back [from AFL].”
The Cloke brothers kept themselves fit over the summer by playing a few games with Northern Territory club Palmerston Magpies.
Cameron says the tight-knit family keeps a close eye on brother Travis’s exploits with Collingwood.
“Trav is my best mate and I think he’ll have an even bigger year this year.”
