By Tara Murray
Roxburgh Park will get better as the Essendon District Football League women’s division 2 progresses.
After making the semi finals in their return to women’s football last season, the Magpies have had to reinvent themselves for this season.
Coach Kevin Allan said they had lost a fair bit of experience in the off season.
“It has been an interesting season so far,” he said.
“From the end of last season, we have lost six girls who are pregnant so it has been tough.
“Megan Allan, who was captain and in the team of the year is pregnant. Caitlin [McLeod], who finished second in our best and fairest is pregnant.
“Nat Tull-Boyle is pregnant. Last year we said that we were missing that middle age group and we’ve now lost a number of experienced girls.”
While losing so much experience, Allan said they were keen to see what the rest of the playing group could do in leadership roles.
He said it was a bit different without having some of those main voices on the field, but the new leaders, many in their early 20s, have played football for a long time.
Allan said they still have 25 or 26 players on the list with it all coming together late in the pre-season.
“We’re yet to have our best team on the park yet,” he said. “ There’s a lot of girls that have not played before.
“We’re reinventing ourselves. We’re improving each week and we are confident that we will be a better side in the second half of the season.”
Allan said the new challenge this season had been enjoyable and it wasn’t about the wins and losses, it was about getting the team to play football in the right way.
He said while many teams may have expected them to improve after a preliminary final last season, they will come out being a stronger and better side in the long term for the slow start to this year.
“It will strengthen us as a club,” he said. “We want to be a destination club and feel confident in that.
“It’s not about results, but we don’t want to get flogged either. We will get better as the season goes along.”
The Magpies face the Sunbury Kangaroos on Saturday.
