Ben Turner discusses plans for Old Paradians ahead of maiden Northern league campaign

Old Paradians shift to the Northern league caught the attention of new coach Ben Turner, who reveals how the club is building for its maiden campaign in 2024.

Ben Turner will coach Old Paradians in 2024. Picture: George Salpigtidis

Ben Turner had kept an eye on Old Paradians but it was the club’s move to the Northern Football Netball League that finally caught his attention.

Being a teacher at Parade College, the “old boys” were always an interest but Turner had been entrenched in the NFNL.

So when the Raiders jumped across from the VAFA he was keen to get involved and coach the club in its maiden voyage in a new competition.

Now the hard work begins, putting a playing group together that will be competitive in NFNL Division 3.

“Being a staff member at the school you certainly keep an eye on what the old boys are doing and how they’ve been going,” Turner said.

“They’ve had some seasons that have been strong and then there’s been others that have been a struggle.

“I’ve often watched on but being in the amateurs it hasn’t necessarily been where my background’s been, in terms of the Northern league, but once the move was made it certainly peaked my interest to get involved.

“The commitment from the (current) playing group has been really strong.

“A lot of the guys want to be part of the journey, so our retention has been really strong.

“Our recruiting has been really active but at the same time, we’ve got commitments from guys to come to training, but we’ve got no one to announce at this point.

“We’ve got a lot of commitments from guys that are interested and we’re hoping to land a few.

“We’re trying to build the best list we can, so we’re encouraging all players that want to play for Old Paradians to come down to training on November 13 and be a part of the excitement.”

Paradians finished seventh in Division 2 – the sixth rung of the amateur pyramid – this season with a 6-1-11 record.

It was a disappointing campaign after reaching the preliminary final the season prior and sitting fourth when the 2021 season was called off.

Justin Whitcher departed and the club explored the possibility of shifting to the Northern league to try and keep the club sustainable.

Turner arrives at Garvey Oval after two years as an assistant at Banyule, helping the Bears win a Division 2 flag in 2022 before retaining their place in the top flight this year.

He won a Division 2 premiership as head coach at Lower Plenty in 2019 and had success at Greensborough as well.

Turner is confident the Raiders can follow in the footsteps of Banyule and Old Eltham Collegians and be competitive after crossing from the VAFA.

“It’s exciting, there’s a real buzz around the club at the moment,” he said.

“The unknown nature of shifting competition and what that looks like for the players and the people involved at the footy club.

“This is the first time I’ll be involved in Division 3 and we certainly hope (we’re competitive) as a club.

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“We feel like, clearly as a new club coming in, you’ve got to start somewhere, so we’ll cut our teeth in 2024.

“We feel like it’s a move for the benefit of the football club and strengthen the club’s position.”

The addition of Old Paradians and fellow VAFA club Ivanhoe will see Division 3 expand to 11 clubs in 2024.

The Raiders begin pre-season training on November 13.