Burra to bounce back

By Brad Kingsbury
ON PAPER the Keysborough senior football side looks largely the same as the one that finished a disappointing 10th in 2009, however any opponent that thinks the Burra will again be easy pickings is in for a rude shock.
Under former Frankston Dolphins reserves coach Brad Canavan, the underperformance of last season has become a distant memory as the players set about the task of returning to the pointy end of the Casey Cardinia League ladder.
They have embraced Canavan’s new, modern training methods and are further advanced in both mental and physical fitness than they have been for several seasons at this stage of the year.
Suddenly and ominously a familiar bunch of hungry and experienced footballers has the Rowley Allen Reserve buzzing with hope again.
Together with a new game style, Canavan has added several young players to the squad including former Doveton on-baller Ben Hoskin, and the club has also increased its depth with a timely influx of under 18s.
Most local football pundits expect a huge improvement on last year’s effort, but Canavan is not making any rash predictions.
“My motto is that we expect to play finals and that’s the standard that we are setting this year,” he said.
“We gauge a finals place as a degree of success but the key to our success this year will be us knowing each other and instinctively what to do in the three phases of the game-when we have the ball, when they have it and when it’s in dispute.”
“I want to be an adaptable side because the opposition is different with their own strengths and weaknesses and we must be able to counter all situations.”
It is Canavan’s first senior appointment after an extended apprenticeship that included three seasons in the VFL with the Dolphins.