By Nick Creely
Make no mistake about it, 2018 looms as a massive year for Springvale Districts.
The Dees are gearing up to make a splash this season, after a tough season of close losses in 2017 saw them finish second last in Southern Football League Division 2.
President Sean Francis explained that 2017 was a steep, while painful learning curve for his young and developing club, but something that is driving them to greater heights.
“We had a bit of a tough year last year, we were really competitive and we lost a bunch of close games and finished second last; the league decided to relegate us, so it was very disappointing,” he said.
“We tried everything we could to stay up, but the rules are the rules; we’ve never played Division 3 before, and we’d like to think we’ll do pretty well.
“The past two years, our average age is anywhere between 21 and 23, and we had a couple of older blokes, and we’ve been quite inexperienced; our guys have started to take their footy a bit more seriously, and we had a lot of recruits last year, and they’ll take time to gel together.
“When you’re losing games by a goal, you just need to find that extra 10 per cent from somewhere.”
Francis said that with a band of new recruits, such as George Angelopoulos, Sam Raru, Jared Henshaw and Nathan Brown, as well as a full year under coach Kris Thompson, the vibe around the club is pure excitement ahead of a massive Good Friday clash against competition newcomers Hampton Park to kick off the season.
“It’s been a learning curve, we’ve recruited well and everyone’s on board; we have a full year under Kris Thompson, and we’re hoping to get the results on the board,” he said.
“It’s definitely an unknown, it’s our first venture into Div 3, and the way the league is set up now with an extra division means it’s going to be a lot more competitive all round.
We think it’s (Good Friday match) a really good chance for us a club to push our brand, and the league as well; it’s a standalone game for the league, and it’s a great chance to get a few people watching and get some bums on seats.
“Hampton Park are an unknown; they’ve had a well-documented rough trot of recent times, and their hopes are high as well; we don’t really know much about them, and they probably don’t know much about us.
