Lalor secures premiership duo, appoint Tim Peck as captain for 2020
Lalor is looking to make its move up the NFL Division 3 ladder this season after a raft of recruits, including a pair of North Heidelberg premiership winners, while Tim Peck will take over the captaincy duties.
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Lalor coach Gary Cutler says his club is ready to challenge for finals again in 2020.
The Bloods have won just 10 games in the four seasons since finishing NFL Division 2 runner-up in 2015 and only beaten Reservoir in the two years since being relegated to Division 3 in 2017.
However, a strong off-season recruiting campaign has seen “15 or 16 new faces” arrive at Lalor Reserve.
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Cutler has trumpeted the arrival of North Heidelberg premiership player Paz Saccuzzo as a playing assistant coach as one of the coups of the summer.
“He still had aspirations to play Div 1 and (North Heidelberg) wanted him to play there but we were lucky enough to win his services,” Cutler said.
“That was one of the areas we felt we needed to go out and get better at, adding some football IQ and adding some older heads around the young guys.”
Saccuzzo has spent the past two seasons with Bellarine league club Portarlington.
Two-time Bulldogs premiership player Louis Hill has also signed on after spending 2019 in the Picola and District league with Yarroweyah.
In another boost for the Bloods, Tim Peck is on track for a Round 1 return after a knee injury restricted the midfielder to three games in 2019.
The injury-prone star will take on the club captaincy after Josh Novelli’s defection to Watsonia.
“We only had him for three games last year at the back end of the season and he’s flying. He’s virtually a new player,” Cutler said.
Dylan Harvey and Steve Miles (both Fitzroy Stars), Anthony Reardon (Braybrook), Jessy Ellis (Heidelberg West), Andrew Tyrrell (Old Paradians) and Justin Bentley (Preston Bullants) have also arrived.
Cutler said Division 3 was wide open this season and declared Lalor was ready to start climbing the ladder.
“We definitely believe we’ll be more competitive than we were last year,” he said.
“There’s a really positive vibe around the place.
“Last year against South Morang we kicked 2.8 in the last quarter at their ground; Mernda, we got beaten by a point; Heidelberg West we were in it until we gave away some silly free kicks.”
The Bloods will face Old Eltham Collegians in the opening round on April 4.
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