EDFL: East Keilor start the Premier Division 4-0 under new coach Tim Bongetti
East Keilor’s stunning 4-0 start to the EDFL Premier Division season has opposition clubs on high alert. But here’s why it’s all been almost four years in the making.
Essendon
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East Keilor has shaken up the EDFL Premier Division.
A 4-0 start to the season, the latest win a shock victory over Strathmore, has many wondering just how far they can go.
Some say the Cougars’ hot start is what the top division needed.
Others have bemoaned their rapid rise.
But the negativity which some might direct towards East Keilor doesn’t concern anyone involved with the club.
Before their eyes, a plan “three-and-a-half years” in the making is emerging before their eyes.
Leading the charge in the club’s first top division season since 2006 is former coach turned president Pat Christofi.
“We’ve been working on building the club from the ground up,” he said.
“The groundwork has been done. We started with a plan of three phases – planning, timing and executing.
“We’re in the third and final stage now.
“People are interested and that’s being reflected in our crowd numbers.
“We wanted to get to the Premier Division and remain there. Not make up the numbers but push the better teams.”
Christofi was the club’s senior mentor when it lost the 2019 grand final to Craigieburn.
The wiped out 2020 season only delayed the Cougars plans even further.
Then in 2021, it was the clear Division 1 premiership favourite before the season was again cancelled due to Covid.
Before the season started, Christofi had claimed he would step aside if his side didn’t want the flag.
“If I expect my players to reach the ultimate level, I should be expecting the same from myself,” Christofi said at the time.
Fortunately, EDFL officials decided to award the club promotion to the top tier ahead of 2022 despite no finals series being played.
“In 2019, we weren’t ready (to go up to the Premier Division,” Christofi said.
“But we were ready to be patient.
“We didn’t want to be a club who would be pushed around if we had gone up.
“It certainly helped us to recruit for 2021 and 2022 when the players we had all dropped a point.
“Covid worked in our favour in some ways.”
As part of the club’s move into the Premier Division, Christofi stepped aside and handed the reins to Tim Bongetti.
Bongetti was named captain when he first signed for the Cougars.
Despite his heavy off-field workload, Christofi is still heavily involved helping to run the bench alongside Euan Jackson.
Bongetti has taken on the role of a playing coach.
“I always had intentions of handing over to him (at one stage) from day one,” Christofi said.
“At first it was very hard but now I’m dealing with it quite well. All I’ve ever wanted to do is what is right for the club.
“I didn’t want it to become about me.”
For Bongetti, he couldn’t have imagined a better start to life as a senior coach.
He said he knew a big off-season of recruits including Dale Marshall, Frank Campisi and Nick Grabowski was required for his side to take the next step.
They followed in the footsteps of former AFL defender Heath Shaw, who signed for the club before 2021.
“If we were going to compete every week we needed to recruit,” he said.
“We knew we were going to be maxxed out in terms of player points (East Keilor have used their allocated maximum of 46 in every game) so we had to be smart.
“It does play in your head at selection but we’ve been working through it and unfortunately had to make some hard calls.”
Grabowski has come in to make an immediate impact with 10 goals in his first two senior games.
He had started the year in the reserves.
“We brought Grabowski back into the team because we thought we needed more firepower,” Bongetti said.
“Unfortunately it meant Rodney Van Riet, who was a small defender, came out of the side (he has now returned to WRFL club Deer Park).
“But he bit his tongue and knew he had to do his time in the 2s because he was a little bit behind during pre-season.”
Meanwhile, Lachie Rayner, who is on Essendon’s VFL list, and ruckman Chris Stewart have been among the standouts.
Dean Muir, who played in the reserves last season, has been named in the best on three occasions.
Despite standout performances across the park, Bongetti said one element stands out above everything else.
“The bond is unbelievable,” he said.
“The boys believe in each other and that belief can take you a long way.”
That belief is also being felt in the club’s rapidly rising junior program.
Christofi says he spends “double the time” looking after the next generation of Cougars stars than he does the seniors.
“For me, it’s about being involved and present,” he said.
“Whether it’s being there at 7.30 on a Sunday morning to help clean up after a senior home game or popping around to all of our junior games every weekend.
“Our juniors are our future.
“We want to be a powerhouse and be up there with Keilor, Maribyrnong Park and those clubs.
“But it takes time and effort to get there.”
The Cougars will look to continue their winning ways against Maribyrnong Park on Saturday.
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