EDFL 2019: Glenroy takes positives from challenging Premier Division season

After battling a long injury list for much of the season, Glenroy managed to preserve its Premier Division status, and coach Ross Terranova sees plenty of reasons to be exited about the future.

Jack Sandric on the burst for Glenroy this year. Picture: Hamish Blair

Glenroy overcame a frustrating run with injury to preserve its EDFL Premier Division status with coach Ross Terranova insisting the club’s future is bright.

While the Roys have had several of their good players unavailable for large chunks of 2019 and spent most of the year fighting off the threat of relegation, it has given Terranova the chance to blood some young talent.

Thirty-eight players featured for Glenroy’s senior side in its second season in the EDFL’s top flight after claiming the Division 1 flag in 2017.

Aaron Kite, Jayden Walker, Josh Trembearth, Jack Wallace, Josh Ksiazek and Jay O’Donoghue all had long injury lay-offs, testing the Roys’ depth.

VFL commitments with Coburg limited the availability of Jonty Neaves and Tyson Lever, while dual best-and-fairest winner Matt Walker copped a six-week suspension in July.

Glenroy coach Ross Terranova calls the shots. Picture: Ian Currie

“We just now need to make sure we improve on what we’ve done in 2019,” Terranova said.

“Hopefully we’ll get better purely by the blokes getting older and so forth.

“But our group is young, really young.

“Our core midfield between Tanner Nilsson, (Daniel) Ferraro, Matt Walker and those sorts of blokes — they’re early 20s. They haven’t reached 22, 23 yet. (Adam) Del Busso is the same and they all come from the same group.

“There’s plenty of positives and plenty of things to look forward to at Glenroy.”

Terranova said his club would be active over summer, pointing to the need for targeted recruiting.

ALL THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE EDFL

STRATHMORE COACH ISSUES WARNING TO ABERS

SUNBURY KANGAROOS COMPLETE PERFECT SEASON

EAST KEILOR SILENCES DOUBTERS, EYES FLAG

EDFL PREMIERSHIP COACH MAKES SHOCK BACKFLIP

EDFL BOSS EXPECTS NO CHANGES TO SENIOR STRUCTURE

Glenroy attracted the likes of Jack Sandric and Neaves last off-season, who were strong contributors, while Ferraro, Nilsson, Daniel Riley, Judd Brewster and skipper Travis Dulic were among the club’s standout performers this season.

“You’re always going to be busy and talking to people,” Terranova said.

“We want to make sure we identify the right blokes and what’s important for our group. There’s no point going out and getting players we’ve already got.

“We need to identify the players we don’t have, and they’re the blokes we’ll target.

“Our first and foremost thing is to make sure all of our (existing) players are happy with everything that’s going on and get those guys going, and then identify the areas we need to fix.”

The Roys recorded a draw against contender Pascoe Vale in Round 6 and a 13-point loss in the Round 15 return clash, while they knocked off Strathmore by a solitary point in Round 12 in their best win of the season.

Terranova said those results showed his team was capable of matching it with some of the competition’s best sides.

“The competition is fairly close, other than Abers and Keilor. I think the scores have reflected that. There haven’t been many beltings,” he said.

“Our retention is very good at the footy club, so we’ll just keep topping up.”

WHAT A LEADER LOCAL FOOTY SUBSCRIPTION GIVES YOU ACCESS TO

— Match reports, features, player and coach movements and analysis of all the leagues across Melbourne.

— Unprecedented AFL coverage.

— All the latest football news from across the country including Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and Courier-Mail.

— Latest news and videos from the world’s leading leagues.

— Exclusive digital stories and videos before they go to print.