The Whittlesea Pacers Big V senior teams are both displaying fresh looks this season.
The men’s state championship team and the women’s division 1 side have undergone huge player turnovers since the previous season, when both struggled for wins.
New Pacers coaching director Shannon Bodley said the club was very intent on rebuilding this year – all four Big V sides, senior and junior, have new coaches this season.
Bodley said the women’s side was hoping to rebound after a tough season in the state championship division.
In its first season in the top division, the team won one game and was relegated.
“There’s been some changes this year with some players retiring and others have left,” Bodley said.
“We’ve having some rebuilding with me as coaching director and a new women’s coach in Mark McCathrion.
“Darcy Saunders, Jade Wise and Giulia Dinunzio have come back from last season.
“Nicole Cameron has come back to the club, while Bec [Romeo] has come across [from Hume City Broncos], while our import, Jess Scannell, knows the league, having played in it the last two seasons.”
Bodley said that this season there would be good depth in the women’s team.
“Bec has come down to division 1 to get some good minutes. We spoke during the off season and that was her big thing.
“Darcy Saunders has been around for a long time, but was injured last year. Hopefully, we’ll get to see her return to the all-star 5 form she showed at Warrnambool.”
Bodley, who coached the women’s side to the division 1 championship in 2015, said all involved were aiming to head back up to the top division.
“The first thing is to make finals,” he said.
At the weekend, the Pacers had a 76-55 win over Latrobe City Energy. The result of the game against Camberwell Dragons was unavailable.
The Whittlesea men’s side will be a mixture of youth and experience, with a completely different line-up to last season.
“We’ve had four or five youth league players step up,” Bodley said. “And we’ve got five senior players from around the league that can mentor them. We’re still waiting on our second import and a kid from New Zealand to come out. They’ve been delayed.”
Jonathan Maybank, who had to sit out last season due to visa issues, has already shown signs he will be a more than handy player at this level, having previously played in division 2.
Bodley said Maybank’s work with the younger players had also stood out.
“They’ve been in grand finals for two years in a row and the whole idea was to get them ready for the next step,” he said.
Bodley said that while he would love to see the side sneak into finals, the first aim was to win more games than last season, when they won just three matches.
The men’s side won its first game of the season on Saturday night with a 102-101 overtime victory against Diamond Valley Eagles.
