AFL Outer-East: Finals on the radar as youthful Mount Evelyn looks to take next step

Mount Evelyn coach Mark Fisher will look for continuing improvement from his young list as it sets about pushing for finals in the inaugural season of the AFL Outer East’s second tier.

Mount Evelyn coach Mark Fisher is confident his young side will press for finals Picture: James Ross

Mount Evelyn coach Mark Fisher will look for continuing improvement from his young list as it sets about pushing for finals in the inaugural season of the AFL Outer East’s second tier.

In what was the tightest season of AFL Yarra Ranges Division 1 footy in many a year, the Rovers pressed the flag fancies for much of last season before finishing 9-9 for sixth place, a game out of the finals. ​

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While an encouraging showing by a young side, Fisher said Mount Evelyn could not rest on its laurels in 2019 as Division 1 looks likely to be the tightest of the three grades. ​

“It was very hard last season,” he said. “There were four very strong sides (Wandin, Woori Yallock, Olinda Ferny Creek and Upwey Tecoma) and they cleared out a bit. And then Healesville came late.”​

But it gets no easier down a grade 12 months later. ​

Mount Evelyn and Monbulk will again challenge, while Emerald and Warburton Millgrove look much improved. Throw in a big SEFNL club like Pakenham and competition for finals places will be red hot. ​

“All the clubs over the summer have recruited really well, we look at clearances and facebook pages,” Fisher said. “It’s going to be a really level competition. ​

“I don’t think we’ll know until about halfway (through the season) to get a gauge (on rankings).”​

With the young Rovers now having “16 or 17 more games under their belts”, Fisher said a finals shot bleeps loudly on the radar. ​

Olinda Ferny Creek v Mt Evelyn Picture: Lawrence Pinder

“We’re not shying away from that,” he said. “We’ve been very open about that. On paper, we should be really strong. As to what that will mean, we’ll see in a few weeks. ​

“We’re not there just to be running around, we’ve got a real opportunity and we’re having a real crack.”​

Numbers have been more than encouraging during the pre-season, Fisher saying Mount had 72 registered senior players and 22 under-18s. ​

“The twos won the flag (last season) and they will be good again this year particularly with the greater depth we’ll have.”​

Fisher has set his side two benchmarks to ensure on-field improvement, better ball movement and a tighter defensive showing. ​

“We were a bit predictable with our ball movement last year, this year we want to change that around,” he said. “Because our ball movement will be better, we’ll hang on to the ball longer.”​

And Number 1 on the ‘to be ironed out’ list? ​

“Lapses in games where we got scored heavily against, there were concentration points where we gave up too much,” Fisher said. ​

“(We need) hardness of mind, where we stay in the game for 120 minutes. ​

“But training has been very structured over summer and we are a bit ahead of where we were last year.”​

Mount Evelyn will open its AFL Outer East season with a big Sunday clash against Warburton Millgrove at the Mount Evelyn Recreation Reserve on April 14.