NFL 2018: West Preston-Lakeside’s premiership road map pays off
WHEN he arrived at West Preston-Lakeside in 2016, Rob Maiorana was given a blueprint the Roosters hoped would lead to premiership success.
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IT WAS a premiership road map with four stops on the journey to success.
Rob Maiorana arrived at West Preston-Lakeside at the end of 2016 with the Northern Football League club dreaming of its first finals appearance in five years.
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The former Northern Blues assistant was given a blueprint the Roosters hoped would lead to their next Division 1 premiership.
“The mandate I got given was to rebuild the culture, get it a good place to be around,” he said.
“Introduce a really good football program, bring good people to the club, develop players.
“I think we have ticked all those boxes and it has happened pretty quickly. We had a pretty clear plan of what we wanted to do.”
West Preston-Lakeside’s ambition was realised on Saturday when it defeated Macleod by nine points, 11.12 (78) to 9.15 (69).
As he surveyed the swarm of red, white and blue which flooded Preston City Oval, a ground rich in football history, Maiorana contemplated how far the club had come in two years.
“There’s a lot of work that has gone into it and a lot of passion,” he said.
“It’s a fantastic club. They have been supportive of me and the players with whatever we have needed to make this happen.
“It makes a lot of people happy, football clubs.”
Nathan Valladares experienced three years without finals after arriving at J.E Moore Park following four seasons in the VFL Development League with Northern Blues.
The Roosters captain was hoisted onto the shoulders of grateful supporters after receiving his premiership medallion, just reward for his loyalty and dedication over five seasons.
“A lot of hard work has gone into this,” Valladares said.
“I came here five years ago and the club was probably a fringe finals team at that time.
“I thought we were going places.
“It has taken a bit longer than I would have liked, but this is the icing on the cake for a lot of half work over five years.”
Ruckman Mark Kovacevic, who was named best afield, said his joy was “hard to put into words”.
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