Having been just an hour away from the ultimate premiership of all, with St Kilda in 1997, Justin Peckett is starting another season at Karingal on Saturday hoping and praying that this can be the year.
He has never played in a senior flag and says it's a driving point for him and his beloved Karingal Bulls in their 40th year celebrations throughout 2009.
We're wearing the club's old jumpers, of the Swans, including hooped socks, so it's a real walk back in time and our way of identifying with our history," he says.
In his third year as the club's playing-coach, 37-year-old Peckett says he has one of the youngest combines going around, making season 2009 a particularly exciting one.
"We have Pines at Pines on Saturday, so it's a tough one first up," he says. "They've spent some money and got some recruits. But we have also improved our list too and have had some encouraging form in the practice matches including a draw with Sorrento, so we're going in with a lot of confidence ourselves."
Having lifted his team into third place in his first year back home in 2007, Peckett and the Bulls finished seventh last year, injuries and inconsistency cruelling their year.
However, Peckett says the blooding of many fine young players in the last two years is set to see the club advance again.
"After (losing the) 2007 preliminary final, we lost quite a bit of experience, but we have recruited well, and many of the younger ones with games under their belt are now ready to take the next step," he said.
"Some of the young ones' improvement has been quite dramatic. We're expecting a top five finish this year for sure."
Peckett played just a half season last year with a hand injury and says he, too, is ready to play more of a senior role, 'probably as a floater' between half-back and half-forward.
He says the recruiting of Brendan Dunn from Frankston as the club's assistant-coach is a huge positive for the club, adding professionalism and passion to the leadership group.
"Having so many young ones around adds to your enthusiasm for training as you get older," he said.
"Like a lot of blokes, the older I got the grumpier I got. You start to question why you do things. Sometimes it's difficult, too, to accept that some are there just to enjoy having a kick and some for the social aspect.
"But there's no doubt as a group we are trying to improve ourselves and many of the boys have aspirations to play at higher levels."
Among those expecting to be stand-outs include captain Luke Van Raay, who is 27 and likely to play a key role in defence this year after being a jack-of-all-trades trouble-shooter for much of 2008. Reigning best and fairest David Hirst is just 19 and has been added to the leadership group. Another teenager, the will-o-the-wisp Steve Charalambous finished 2008 strongly and has made as rapid an advancement as anyone at the club in the last 12 months. "He has electrifying pace," says Peckett.
The team also has more marking and goalkicking power with Michael Bourke up forward and Kyle Docherty an enlistment from Mt Eliza.
Peckett deliberately lightened the training load on the senior list pre-Christmas, but with training three nights a week ever since January, the side is fit and primed to do well.
A father-of-six he works as a facilitator for Leading Teams Australia, which specialises in the delivery of leadership and team alignment training for elite sporting teams and organisations.
He says he has no intention to still be running around at 40 so if he is to deliver his premiership dream it needs to be either this year or next.
"I have a fair bit on my plate," he says. "If I wasn't 37 there would be no thought of retirement. But when you are the age I am you can only be a year by year proposition. You want to make a contribution and see the team and players improve. That's the bottom line."
He says it has been good to take a step back after 14 years and more than 200 games at St Kilda which including the 1997 losing Grand Final, a game in which the Saints led comfortably at half-time.
He says the professionalism of the AFL system dictates life for each and every player on team lists and it has been refreshing to take a step back and lead more of a 'normal' life.
Come Saturday at Pines, however, once the first siren sounds, it'll be full-on, Peckett typically-competitive as he chases his Grand Final goals.
Last Modified on 14/04/2009 12:43