Southern league 2019: Dingley strengthens list with a string of recruits

Unceremoniously bounced out of the finals last year as it chased a fourth consecutive premiership, Dingley has bolstered its squad for the 2019 season.

Top-liner Marcus Freeman is back at Dingley.

Shane Morwood admits he hasn’t looked far beyond Dingley’s Round 1 opponent.

But he’s been thinking about his Dingoes’ first-up foe, Cheltenham.

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“I know what they’ll be saying — ‘Come on, let’s go out and beat these bastards!’’ Morwood said with a laugh.

“Let’s hope it’s a great day and a great game — and we win by a point.’’

The former Collingwood star is preparing for his ninth season as coach of Dingley, and he’s mustard-keen.

Last year the Dingoes were striving for their fourth consecutive flag, and after struggling for early wins they flashed home to make the top five and defeat St Kilda City in the elimination final.

That’s where their rousing run stopped; they were flattened by Mordialloc in the first semi-final.

Even Morwood had a perplexing day, coming out so late after half-time that he had to jump the fence to make it back to the bench on the outer wing at the Springvale ground.

“By the time I got back there I think they (Mordialloc) had kicked three goals,’’ Morwood said.

“But you would never have thought seven days earlier Mordialloc would do that and we would perform like that. That’s the amazing thing about the game, isn’t it?’’

Three in a row: the Dingoes celebrate a hat-trick of premierships.

The Dingoes’ lack of numbers hurt last year — they regularly had to call up Under 19s and Thirds players to fill the reserves team.

But Morwood said their depth would be far greater this year. “It will be the exact opposite,’’ he said. “We’ll have plenty of guys to choose from. Our list will be stronger, so I would expect more consistency over the year. Last year we only got ourselves going in the last eight games to scrape into the five. We were in an in-form team but in that position, one loss and you’re out, basically. I worked out after Round 11, we had to win 11 games in a row to win the flag. Hard task for any team.’’

The Dingoes appear to have recruited well, but Morwood said the quality of the signings would be better assessed after a few rounds.

“Until you see them play, you don’t have a great understanding of what they can bring to the club,’’ he said.

Shane Morwood calling the shots last year.

Newcomers include experienced former Cheltenham defender Daniel Campisano, who was with Chelsea Heights last year but had stints in the VFL and the Eastern league; Benalla trio Sam MacGrgregor, Teague McMaster and Brody Jones; ruckman Ray Lengyel and veteran goalkicker Troy Parker from St Kilda City; nuggety Alex Whalebone from the Albert league; tall onballer Adam Caplan from the VAFA; Tasmanian youngster Judah Edmunds (brother of senior man Will); and former Noble Park pair Will Kelly and Matt Jones.

And premiership players Marcus Freeman, Josh Pickford and Josh Ellis, missing last year, are back.

St Kilda City’s Troy Parker has joined Dingley.

Macgregor is expected to have an impact in the Southern league as a centre half forward, boosting the forward line with Parker, who slotted 47 goals for City last year.

Teague is a defender and Brody Jones is an onballer.

Just as Dingley has had an influx of players, so too have Cheltenham, Port Melbourne Colts, Mordialloc, East Malvern and St Kilda City, and Morwood said it was healthy for the Southern league.

The Dingoes and Cheltenham start the season at the Jack Barker Oval on Saturday, April 6.