Port Melbourne’s reputation as one of the benchmark teams of the Peter Jackson VFL shows no signs of diminishing in 2013.
Under the guidance of revered coach Gary Ayres, the Borough have managed to retain the majority of their experienced list and added a couple of high caliber recruits to the mix.
The loss of star on-baller Sam Dywer and rebounding defender Stephen Brewer will no doubt have an impact but the club continues to boast an embarrassment of riches when it comes to senior players.
Power forward Dean Galea is back after clinching the Jim ‘Frosty’ Miller medal last season, while the evergreen John Baird and classy midfielders Shane Valenti and Toby Pinwill remain pillars of the Borough’s consistency.
Ruckman Wayde Skipper will again be pivotal to the Borough’s quest to finish in the top four, and he will receive much needed support this year from 200cm TAC Cup graduates Chris Prowse (Oakleigh Chargers) and Sam Gilmore (Northern Knights).
Down forward Chris Cain and Billy Burstin will again be expected to chime in with an important contribution in front of goal, along with Adrian Bonaddio who is likely to spend more time up forward this year..
Ayres said his core group of senior players were reflective of the club’s desire to achieve success as a stand-alone VFL side.
“The current crop of players have performed at a remarkable level for a long time but we’ve got to make sure we’re being innovative and looking for new ways to remain competitive against the AFL-aligned clubs,” he said.
“The culture they set as a playing group is really strong and if the new guys invest and buy into that then we’ll be able to keep moving forward as a club.”
Among the new faces at Port Melbourne is 2011 premiership hero Nathan Batsanis, who returns after a one-year stint at Norwood.
“Nathan is a hard running midfielder who was an important member of our 2011 premiership side and we really jumped at the chance to bring him back to the club,” Ayres said.
Other additions to the squad include rebounding defender Luke Rounds, who was delisted by Collingwood at the end of last season, and former Magpie Julian Rowe.
But despite the club’s credentials, Ayres said no team in the competition could be taken lightly in 2013.
“Just looking at the lists of all of the clubs and it seems every club will have improved on last year,” he said.
“We’re going to have to play pretty consistent footy, and win a lot of games to put ourselves in a position to challenge the likes of Geelong for the premiership.”
Port Melbourne
Coach: Gary Ayres
2012 Ladder position: 2nd (13 wins, 5 losses)
Finals finish: Lost grand final to Geelong
2012 Best & Fairest: John Baird
Key recruits: Luke Rounds (Colllingwood), Nathan Batsanis (Norwood) Julian Rowe (Old Carey), Danny Hughes (Box Hill Hawks)
Key losses: Sam Dwyer (Collingwood AFL) Stephen Brewer, Adam Bentick
First match: Werribee, Avalon Airport Oval, Saturday March 30
Last Modified on 21/03/2013 09:00