by Roslyn Lanigan, The Weekly Times
NEW Rupertswood Football Club coach Ben Jordan admits he’s been on “a bit of a journey” since leaving his junior club 20 years ago.
But he’s glad to be home.
Jordan, an accomplished footballer and last year’s Ballarat Football League interleague coach, put pen to paper at Rupertswood in October, returning to the club he last played for as a 17-year-old.
“It’s definitely good to be back, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do this year,” he said.
“Hopefully I can bring an exciting game style and a standard of footy that will be successful.”
Last year was Rupertswood’s first in the Riddell District Football League senior competition.
While the club — originally known as Salesian due to its location inside the grounds of Sunbury’s Salesian College — had fielded junior teams in the Riddell league since 1984, its under-18 and open-age teams last year made the switch from the Victorian Amateur Football Association to the more local RDFL.
It’s a move that has paid off in spades, according to Rupo president Paul Ross.
Player retention has improved, sponsorship is up and the once all-male VAFA club now boasts four netball teams.
“Our goal last year was to just be competitive,” Ross said.
“We made finals in all the netball grades and all the senior football grades, so we ticked all the boxes there.”
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Last Modified on 26/03/2014 09:42