By Nicholas Creely
“We want to play finals”
These are the firm words of Keysborough coach Matt Ferguson who is desperate to see his club reach up the higher echelon of the ladder.
The Burras enjoyed a stunning entry into the Southern Football League in 2015, finishing second on the table with 15 wins and just three losses.
But footy is a funny old game and the Burras were knocked out in straight sets, ending their chance at a historic flag.
Come the 2016 season and the Burras didn’t play finals, winning just seven games in a discouraging campaign.
But the club wants to roar back into relevance and is believes that the squad assembled for 2017 is as talented a group as the Burras have ever put on the park.
“We believe we’ve got the talent to play finals and last year was a disappointing year with results, but we blooded around 20 blokes under 23 years old who played senior footy last year,” Ferguson said.
“We believe we’ve got natural improvement and we’ve recruited brilliantly. With that we think we’ve got fairly strong depth along the line.
“I think the club has gone through another rebuild in a way and we are even more prepared then we were when we first came into the Southern League.”
The Burras have brought in some massive inclusions including returning star Tim Werner, Chris Bryan and a TAC Cup star in Jacob Bakes.
“Tim Werner, who was a Narre Warren premiership player and former player, has come on as a playing assistant coach.
“He is a schoolteacher and been amazing off-field, and on-field he is an absolute jet – he is one of the best players I’ve ever seen in local footy,” Ferguson said.
“Chris Bryan, who is someone who has played AFL, is massive for us.
“Last year we struggled for a mobile tall forward and he has just been amazing for us – he has so much footy knowledge which I lean on – not many defenders will look forward to playing against him.
“We are so excited about what Jacob brings too – he is a very highly skilled player.”
The club has also announced that it will field an Under 19s side in 2017 in what is an exciting development for its youth programs.
“We’ll have an Under 19s this year in a joint venture with Carrum-Patterson Lakes, so that’s exciting, too.
“It reinforces the path that we’re going down – kids like him (Jacob Bakes) can see the care and importance we put on young players.”
The Burras began their season on 1 April with a brilliant come from behind win against Highett.
