Eastern league: Nick Batsanis returns to Templestowe
The Dockers have hit the recruiting market hard, landing a dual Eastern league premiership skipper – but there could be more big names to come.
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Templestowe has hit the ground running under incoming coach Anthony McGregor, with the signing of a dual Eastern league premiership skipper.
Nick Batsanis has put pen to paper at the Division 2 club, crossing from MPFNL club Rosebud where he served as a playing assistant this season.
He returns to the Dockers where he previously played 40 games and won the 2013 best and fairest, last playing for the club in 2015.
He led Doncaster East to back-to-back flags in 2018 and ’19 before joining Rosebud where he looked to develop his coaching.
The midfielder was named in the Eastern league’s Team of the Year on three occasions from 2016 to 2018 – including 2017 as captain.
Batsanis’ strong connection and friendships at the Dockers helped lure him back to where he took out the club’s top honour as a youngster.
He will be a one-pointer and will continue his work as an assistant coach, overseeing a young Templestowe outfit which finished eighth with a 1-11 record this season.
McGregor said Batsanis’ experience would be a major boost to the group.
“The one thing that they (the players) all said and wanted was some leadership and experience – sometimes it was like boys playing men (in 2021), and you get that when there were a heap of kids playing their first season,” McGregor said.
“It’s exciting.”
Batsanis is the first major signing among of a swag of boom recruits expected to be confirmed by the club soon.
Meanwhile, McGregor lands in the Dockers’ head coaching gig after a season as an assistant at Premier Division club, Doncaster.
He served as Warrandyte coach in Division 3 from 2018 to 2020, taking the club to a semi-final in 2019 after coaching stints in the Northern league.
McGregor takes over from outgoing Dockers coach Craig Decorsey, who led the club from 2017.
McGregor said the list’s “potential to grow” attracted him to Porter St after the club blooded several names this season – a similarity he sees from when he first landed at Warrandyte.
He’s also a local to the area where he runs a butcher business with his two brothers in Templestowe Lower – McGregor’s Artisan Butchery and Catering.
“They (Templestowe) got a lot of games into young kids (this season), and you can’t beat games experience,” he said.
“Tempy’s probably a little bit the same in regards to the similar situation that Warrandyte were in when I took over – they’re starting at the beginning and I think they need a bit of direction.”
He said his desire to coach hadn’t waned after parting ways with Warrandyte last year.
“I think if it’s in your blood – it’s like playing, you just want to be involved around footy clubs and you want to be able to develop a system within a group,” McGregor said.
“I’ve got nothing to prove – I think the way I go about coaching seems to work at local level.
“What I did at Warrandyte, they bought in and I think that’s half the battle, and I think that’s what we need at Templestowe.”
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