EDFL 2019: East Keilor coach Pat Christofi discusses grand final loss
East Keilor coach Pat Christofi has revealed the club has already started signing players for 2020 after the Cougars were outclassed by Craigieburn in the EDFL Division 1 decider.
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East Keilor was the best team during the home-and-away season but failed to deliver its best when it counted.
Finals are often a different ball game, and the Cougars were left to do the chasing on the wide expanses of Windy Hill.
A productive first year under coach Pat Christofi ended with a 37-point loss to Craigieburn in Saturday’s EDFL Division 1 decider.
But, when the pain of the missed opportunity subsides, East Keilor has plenty to be proud of.
The Cougars claimed the Division 2 flag just three seasons ago and were one win away from promotion to the top flight.
Eighteen months ago they were one of the competition’s hyped teams after a fruitful summer before claiming six victories from 16 games and missing finals.
But the club rebounded with aplomb, leaving it in a strong position to continue its climb.
“Finals were a lot different to the home-and-away season,” Christofi said in the aftermath of the 13.17 (95) to 7.16 (58) defeat to the Eagles.
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“I’m sure we’ll work on that and get better going forward.
“From where we’ve come to where we’ve ended up, it’s been a very good year. It’s very positive, happy with the year overall.
“It just goes to show we’ve got a bit of improving to do, which was obvious today, but we’ll work on the over the summer, get recruiting, and we’ll go again.”
With East Keilor’s reserves and seniors both qualifying for the grand final, the future appears bright.
But the Cougars have already started planning for 2020, Christofi revealing some big names had already put pen to paper.
“There’s six or seven big recruits that have been announced,” he said.
“We’re planning for 2020 and we have been for the past few weeks.”
Christofi said his team had “no excuses” after it struggled to find an answer to Craigieburn’s speed.
The Cougars beat the Eagles twice by a combined margin of 91 points during the regular rounds before Lance Whitnall’s side won the major semi and the grand final.
Ben Caluzzi, Ash Arrowsmith and Josh Grabowski worked hard for East Keilor, while Luke McCormack contributed two goals.
“They’ve been nothing but great,” Christofi said of his playing group.
“They’ve taken the losses well throughout the year and they’ve taken the wins in their stride.”
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