Aberfeldie boosted by inclusions of Mark Austin and Tom Hislop for 2018 EDFL season

Aberfeldie has returned to training hungry to repeat last season’s EDFL success, with coach Adam Potter enthusiastic about the talented bunch of emerging players at his fingertips.

Tom Hislop has returned to Aberfeldie. Picture: RICHARD SERONG

POWERHOUSE Aberfeldie has returned to training hungry to repeat last season’s Essendon District Football League success, with coach Adam Potter enthusiastic about the talented bunch of emerging players at his fingertips.

While the Gorillas have added two players with AFL experience over summer — Mark Austin and Tom Hislop — improvement in their senior core and the next generation will ultimately determine the Premier Division club’s fortunes this year.

Abers have qualified for the past five deciders, winning the ultimate prize in 2015 and ’17 under Potter’s guidance, and there is little reason to suggest they won’t be there at the pointy end again, with Dean Blackwell the only noteworthy departure.

“Definitely not going overboard with our recruiting — it’s more on a needs basis and growing again and making sure the troops are nice and fit and ready to go for Round 1 against Pascoe Vale,” Potter said.

“We’re upbeat about 2018 and the players who have played in both (premierships), they’re quite experienced now. They’re really positive an enthusiastic about this year as well.”

With prime movers such as Luke Blackwell, Joshua Toy, Sam Cattapan, Kyle Reimers, Luke Davis, Ryan Allan and Zach and Caleb Hislop, it is easy to see why Aberfeldie has established itself as a perennial contender.

But Potter expects the likes of Daniel Thompson and Jack Binns to only get better, while Victor Carboni, Jackson Barrett, Mitchell Gleeson and Stefan Rasinac are tipped to play bigger roles this season.

Former Western Bulldogs and Carlton defender Austin has put pen to paper after spending last year on the sidelines because of a knee reconstruction.

Ex-Essendon and Richmond midfielder Tom Hislop has also returned to Abers after two seasons away.

“The temptation to play with his two brothers and the fact he’s had a couple of years off to get his body right at 29 years of age I think ... he was keen to come back and having him back with us is a real positive,” Potter said of Hislop.

“We’re looking forward to him having an impact and everything’s going right so far. He’s been doing all the work and he’s in good shape.

“He (Austin) is in really good spirits, really positive about his body and it’s holding up well.

“We’re hopeful we’ll see good things from him. He’s still at an age (28) where he can impact at this level, that’s for sure.”

Aberfeldie will tackle Pascoe Vale in Round 1 at Clifton Park on April 7.

The club will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2018 and will also field a women’s side for the first time.