NFL 2019: Laurimar confident finals surge no flash in pan as it targets Division 3 success
Laurimar coach Justin Sherman is adamant the club is far from satisfied after its maiden Northern Football League finals appearance last year.
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Laurimar coach Justin Sherman is adamant the club is far from satisfied after its maiden Northern Football League finals appearance last year.
In their second season at senior level, the Power rose from eighth on the Division 3 ladder to finish fourth before succumbing in the first week of finals to South Morang.
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That taste of finals has only served as further motivation for Laurimar as it plots a tilt at a historic premiership in its second season under former Western Bulldog and Brisbane Lion Sherman.
“We are under no illusion that people know who we are now,” Sherman said.
“We could probably get away with a little bit last year, if you like.
“With a new coach and new game style, new players, teams adapting and learning all that as the year unfolded.
“(I’ve) said to the boys this year we have got to step things up.”
Sherman targeted greater experience to complement the club’s emerging talent and has been buoyed by the addition of a crop of players including Kieran Sheehan (Watsonia) and Joel Regan (Tongala).
“We’re starting to attract the better quality of player now,” Sherman said.
“Guys are starting to come down to the club and realising that there is an opportunity. For us, that’s really exciting.
“We’ve got a great culture down at the Power and we welcome anyone with open arms, whether it’s the first bloke or the 55th bloke.”
He said the club’s welcoming culture had been the key reason it had been successful only two years after building a senior list from scratch.
“(It is) the way the new guys come in and have an impact for us, but also the way the existing boys welcome them in,” he said.
“We’re pretty lucky to have that.”
Laurimar has locked in practice matches with Springbank (March 16) and Kinglake (March 23) as it ramps up preparations for its season opener against Reservoir on April 6.
“We’re a known senior club and that’s how we see ourselves,” Sherman said.
“We’re a senior club and if you’re a senior club you have got to continue to step up every year, get better and find ways to improve.
“That’s where we find ourselves at the moment.”
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