EFL 2019: Doncaster hoping to pick up numbers to field reserves side

Doncaster needs to find another dozen players in the coming weeks to ensure it can field a reserves side for the rest of the Eastern Football League season.

Nick Komen is one of several players that has been unavailable for Doncaster. Picture: Stuart Milligan

Doncaster has conceded it could forfeit its reserves side again this season at it battles a player shortage.

The Sharks pulled the pin on their development team for the Round 11 clash against Vermont and are searching for players to help see out the season.

The club made the decision on Friday night as it only had 16 players available.

Doncaster has made the past three finals series but only has two wins this year, owing largely to a lengthy injury and unavailability list.

Its depth has been further tested by not having an under-19s side.

The seniors also went goalless on Saturday, kicking 0.11 in a regrettable and forgettable day for the club.

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“We had a couple of guys pull out late on Friday from the senior side and that forced a couple of the seconds guys up, which left us with too few,” Doncaster coach Stewart Kemperman said.

“It was upward of 30-odd players that were unavailable for us.”

Doncaster’s reserves sit ninth on the table with a percentage of 23.27.

When asked if there was a chance its reserves could forfeit again before the end of the season, Kemperman said: “I think the chance is real week to week.

“I’d be naive to say, ‘no, there is no chance at all’. We have very much a heightened awareness of it now having had it happen once.

“Hopefully we can galvanise the group and the club and make sure that it is just a one-off.”

Kemperman noted Doncaster was not the only club that had struggled to fill a seconds side in recent seasons.

Doncaster coach Stewart Kemperman. Picture: Stuart Milligan

Knox forfeited its reserves team 12 months ago, and Balwyn had insufficient players for its development game in Round 18 last year before rallying to ensure the game went ahead.

Kemperman said the Sharks needed to find a dozen players for the final seven games.

One EFL club official said the “concerns going forward are huge” for suburban clubs.

“If you look at the bigger picture, there’s not grassroots people in the running of the game,” the official said.

“I’ve had conversations with leading people at the AFL and you start talking about Eastern football (and) they’re not interested.

“With sport now, it’s a more competitive base. We’ve got a multicultural society with interests in different sports away from AFL.”

Doncaster’s unavailabilities include first-choice players Angelo Rambaldi, Luke Stacker, Todd Vander Haar, James Siakavalis, Ewen ‘Frank’ McKenzie, Jessie Finnen, Tom Bartholomew, Jake Kalanj and Nick Komen.

Doncaster defender Angelo Rambaldi is overseas. Picture: Stuart Milligan

The Sharks are advertising for a football operations manager, and Kemperman said the club needed to add to its list to remain competitive in EFL Premier Division.

“It’s hard enough doing that in the current landscape of footy. If you don’t have the juniors coming through to give you those homegrown players that are valuable one-pointers, it makes it hard to get many from elsewhere because of the points that they carry,” he said.

“There is a massive job ahead of us as a club to firstly get our under-19s up and going.

“We’ve already made a start on that and then identifying players to play at the footy club.

“We really need just to keep working and engaging with these guys and helping them understand they are a vital part of the club going forward.”

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