EFL: Resurgent East Burwood confident it can remain a Division 4 premiership chance

EAST Burwood remains confident it can be a Division 4 premiership contender despite two recent losses to fellow flag fancies.

East Burwood coach Stuart Wynd.

EAST Burwood remains confident it can be a Division 4 premiership contender despite two recent losses to fellow flag fancies.

East Burwood sits in third with a 9-3 record and is just one win away from equalling its most number of wins in a season since 2012 when it was in Division 1.

But losses to Glen Waverley Hawks, Whitehorse Pioneers and a surprise slip up against Fair Park in the past month means the premiership race is wide open.

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With long-term injuries to Andre Angemi (broken ankle), Ben Miller (broken ankle) and Nathan Canning (knee), East Burwood coach Stuart Wynd said the Rams’ depth was being tested as they push for their first finals appearance since 2005.

“I think we’ve played close to 35 (players) already on our list, which is quite a few given we’re only just over halfway through the year,” Wynd said.

“We’re certainly going to be searching for guys who can step up and play a pretty significant role for us in the senior side. There will be some young kids getting some good opportunities.”

With a bevy of new players arriving in the summer, Wynd said his group had jelled better than expected but there remained room for improvement in his squad.

“I think we recruited 35 new players to the club,” he said.

“When I took over I think we only had 23 players on our list from East Burwood so we had to work pretty hard to bring as many guys as we could to give us that depth to make sure we had numbers in the reserves, which has been a huge problem over the years.

“We haven’t been winning games by a lot, we’ve been good enough to get over the line in most of our games but I still don’t think we’ve played a game where you sit back and go, ‘wow, everything has gone really well’.”

Returning Ram Adrian Gileno sits second on the leading goalkickers table with 46 goals, while Brett Handreck has proven to be a revelation.

“He hadn’t played for a few years, he just came down as a mate with Benny Miller and thought he’d have a kick,” Wynd said of Handreck.

“We didn’t really expect too much and he was a bit wobbly early on in the season but from about Round 2 or 3, after a couple of practice matches, he’s just got better and better.

“He’s so important for us, just a big target up forward, he takes a good mark and he kicks a couple of goals each week as well.”