St Albans preparing to be more competitive in 2023 after ‘invaluable’ winless season
St Albans did not win a game in 2022, but coach Alex Tortora believes the Supersaints are better off with a difficult campaign ahead of 2023.
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ST Albans coach Alex Tortora believes his club is ready to take a step forward in 2023, but he concedes it might be another year of growing pains.
The Supersaints went winless through 2022, finishing last on the GFL ladder with a percentage of 32.49 while the club tried to blood its young list.
Tortora said it was ultimately the right decision for the season, but his goals for next year were higher.
“We now have 10 to 15 guys on our list who have 15 to 18 games of senior GFL experience under their belt that probably didn’t have any before 2022, that experience is invaluable,” he said
“If we can stick together with this group, we know that organic growth will come and players will develop together and become more competitive.
“We’ve tried hard to sign some experienced guys, we know that we can fill gaps with those types of players, but most of that type of player want to go to a team that’s going to contend for premierships.
“We’re not there yet, we know we’re rebuilding but we’re hoping we can show that we’re in a position that we can get better through these young guys developing.”
The Supersaints signed Harley Cobb back to the club, while Joss Howlett and Fletcher Keck will join St Albans as new recruits for 2023.
Tortora said the club was prioritising key position players and rucks to recruit, with the midfield group “set” for the future.
“Our midfield is quite strong, we’ve got some good young players like Sam Donegan and Jacob Russell in there,” he said.
“It’s no secret that we need some more key position players, we need to get a bit taller across the ground.
“In saying that, we want to grow from the inside out, and give these guys a real chance of developing into really good footballers in the future.
“You’ve got to have about 75 per cent of youthful, organic growth and then top up in other areas that you’re lacking, so we’re not trying to bring in too many guys.
“We do need experience, so for our young group it would be good to get in some leaders and help out.
“My wishes would be tall, experienced GFL campaigners that have been there and done that, but they’re hard to come by.
“If we do keep this core together, I think it will be the next group of St Albans players that take us forward and give us a chance to compete.”
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