Roos preach patience on rebuild

KANGAROO Flat head of football Jason Stevens insists he’s seeing signs of progress despite a so far winless BFNL season by the Roos.

The Roos, under coach Tyrone Downie, have made no secret of their preparedness to play the long game in their bid for success down the track.

While stranded at the bottom of the league ladder at 0-12, the emphasis at Dower Park remains on developing a culture of positivity, consistency and development.

Stevens and Downie see no reason for the Roos to deviate from their developmental path.

“We’ve got a plan. When Tigger and I came back on board, we had a real plan to drive where we want to take the footy club,” Stevens said.

“I think we are on track with that plan.

“Results obviously haven’t gone our way this year, but the players and the culture they have actually developed, and the progression they have shown against our key indicators, has been fantastic.

“We are pretty confident that we can jump next year. There are some examples of clubs that have done that in recent times.

“South Bendigo wasn’t travelling fantastically this time last year but are now performing really well.

“So, we think we can jump well next year.

“We have a couple of early signings, as much as you can have at this early stage of proceedings – some commitments from players.

“We’re really keen to put together a side that can be competitive in the premier comp in central Vic, which is what we want to be in.”

Those words would be music to the ears of BFNL officials, given whispers linking the Roos to a move away from the BFNL, at a time when Gisborne has indicated its desire to move to the Ballarat league.

Stevens said a priority going forward would be reversing the trend of quality young players leaving the club and hopefully welcoming them back into the fold.

“There’s a core of players we had at Kangaroo Flat that we’d like to get back to the club and we’ll continue to do that,” he said.

 

“That’s a definite target.

“We have some 2019 under-18 premiership players that are elsewhere that we’d love to get back and who I know pretty well from my time in that role.

“We’ve got some players we are pretty confident we will bring back, as well as having commitments from some that will be there.

“And our local group that we’ve got currently are all committed to sticking around.”

The Roos are adamant for progress this season not to be measured in wins and losses.

Stevens pointed to positives away from the scoreboard, including the development of some of their more promising younger players.

“Aaron Nevins as one of your leaders is clearly playing some really good footy; Zach Bird and Xav Coghill were in the (interleague team against the VAFA); Jay Newman, Lachie Raymond. There’s plenty of guys who have played plenty of senior footy now, who have been exposed at a higher level and are learning week-in, week-out,” Stevens said.

“You could probably throw a ring around six to eight guys in that category.

“We are by a long way the youngest team that rolls out every week.

“Take Langy (300-gamer Nick Lang) out of our side and they average age comes right down,” Stevens quipped.

“We are a young group, but we are happy with the growth they have shown, which will be important going forward.”

Stevens hopes some reward for effort and perseverance might come in the form of a win before the end of the season.

The Roos face a tough run following last Saturday’s xx-point loss to Golden Square.

They face Strathfieldsaye this weekend ahead of games against South Bendigo (fourth) and Eaglehawk (third), before ending their season with another clash against the Bloods.

“We’re hopeful, but if it (a win) doesn’t come, we’ll continue to look at our indicators and try to perform as best as we can against those,” Stevens said.

“They are looking positive at the moment.

“We have been able to show our game style and show that it does work.

“We have been able to handball through a lot of sides, which has been good. Early in the season we didn’t think we could do that with the elite (teams), but progress has come.

“We’ve been competitive around the contest – our stats are showing up for us. “We’re evening our inside 50s compared to opponents – that’s a big step forward.”