by Chris Cavanagh, Sunbury Leader
New Romsey coach Dean Helmers said 2013 was a “year from hell” on the injury front for the club and the Redbacks were ready to hit back and contend for a Riddell District Football League flag.
Romsey flew through the first part of last season and had a 9-1 record before injuries rocked the squad, the Redbacks finishing the season 10-6.
In Round 7 last season, 10 of the side’s best 22 players were unavailable and only five Romsey players played all 18 games for the club.
By comparison, premier Riddell had 10 players play 18 games or more.
Romsey’s year expired in the semi-finals with a 95-point loss to the eventual champion.
Helmers, 37, replaces outgoing coach Mark Pederson at Romsey, and says there is a “buzz” around the club, which last won a flag in 2011.
“I think you need that buzz if you’re looking at winning a premiership, which I think every club is,” Helmers said.
“I think you need that excitement and belief that you can go all the way and there’s certainly that belief at Romsey at the moment.”
Helmers says that the majority of the squad has re-signed and the club has secured two forwards from the RDFL.
Phillip Lobb joins from Doutta Stars, while Wally Saad has come across from the Northern Saints.
“We wanted to get another key forward to take a bit of the pressure off Matt Davidson so we brought in Phill Lobb…and he played exceptionally well in our last practice match so I’m expecting pretty big things from him,” Helmers said.
“There’s a fine line between recruiting a few players to top up and going too far and you start upsetting the local boys”.
“I don’t think I need to over-recruit realistically because I believe in the list we’ve got”.
Last Modified on 14/01/2014 16:17