EFL 2019: Croydon to back its junior products as it looks to climb the Division 1 ladder
Croydon will continue to back the development of its homegrown players as it looks to challenge the second-tier’s top sides this year.
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Croydon will continue to back the development of its homegrown players as it looks to challenge the second-tier’s top sides this year.
The Blues have kept a low-profile during the Eastern Football League off-season, adding the promising pair of Ben Cardamone and Riley Costantino to its list.
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Cardamone has played with the Eastern Ranges for the past two years, while Costantino played five senior games at Premier division club Norwood last season.
Croydon squared its campaign at 9-9 last year but had a 1-7 record against the top four sides and an average losing margin of 44 points against the 2018 finalists.
Coach Morris D’Alessandro said the side’s improvement in 2019 would come from its youth.
He said there had been “no significant outs”.
“The path we’ve taken, probably a few years back, is to put some real faith in our junior program,” D’Alessandro said.
“They’re coming up to their second and third years of senior footy and I think we’ll get a real improvement out of those boys and they’ll really establish themselves in the competition.”
D’Alessandro said it was hoped Cardamone and Costantino would have an impact on the Division 1 competition this year.
“We feel like we’re a good club to come to, especially for young players looking to make in roads into a footy career,” he said.
“We’re really comfortable with our list and we’ve got some good kids coming through from the colts.
“Our second and third-year players are starting to get to around that 30, 40-game mark so we feel they’re really going to improve. We’ve got full faith in the group.”
Croydon fought back from a 3-7 start last year to win six of its last eight games, evidence the Blues’ decision to focus on their emerging talent was starting to pay off.
Division 1 is tipped to be one of the tightest competitions in the EFL this year, with East Ringwood and Knox relegated from the top-flight last season.
D’Alessandro said he wanted his side to challenge the competition’s best.
“The changing landscape of the competition, with two teams coming down from the top division, it is going to be a really strong competition,” he said.
“We really matched it with most sides, a few of the sides we struggled with last year so we’re obviously looking at improving and challenging those top-level sides.”
Croydon opens its season against Mooroolbark at Heights Reserve on April 6.
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