Bail, Strauss locked in as St Kevin’s prepares for jump to Premier ranks

ST KEVIN’S missed out on Mark Jamar but it has secured his former Melbourne teammates Rohan Bail and James Strauss for the 2016 VAFA season.

Collingwood v Melbourne. MCG. Alex Fasolo tackles James Strauss.

THE Essendon saga might have cost St Kevin’s a formidable ruck force in Mark Jamar, but the club has brought in two other former Demons as it prepares for its re-entry to VAFA Premier Division.

Rohan Bail, delisted by Melbourne at the end of last season, and James Strauss, let go at the end of 2014, have both joined Skobs.

Strauss was at Old Scotch last year.

Bail followed Jamar to St Kevin’s and was happy to stay when the big fellow joined the Bombers as cover for their suspended players.

Deniliquin midfielder Ash Morris, the Murray league’s 2014 best and fairest, and Nightcliff key defender Lachlan McKenzie are other significant signings.

And former Box Hill Hawks top-liner Luke “The Extractor’’ Andrews will be available for Round 1, having recovered from the knee injury he suffered in the 2014 VFL grand final.

Morris and McKenzie are both training with Richmond’s VFL squad, as is another likely pick-up, 2015 Dandenong Stingray Jack Holden.

Rohan Bail is lending his talents to the St Kevin’s campaign.

St Kevin’s has lost only two players from the 2015 premiership team: Phil Edgar (overseas) and Brad McCann (Euroa).

Defender Kel Williams has joined Richmond VFL but will play in the VAFA when not required by the Tigers.

Former league pair Steve Gilham and Steve Salopek will serve as playing assistants to senior coach Jon Edgar.

Edgar was co-coach with Daniel Harford last year but the ex-Hawk and Blue has had to step back owing to his media commitments. He will serve on the bench on match day and as the club’s director of coaching.

St Kevin’s went through last season undefeated but Edgar acknowledged the climb to Premier was steep.

“The big difference between Premier and Premier B is that there are no easy games in Premier,’’ he said.

“In Premier B last year there were games where, because of the side we had, we knew we were going to win and not have to exert too much doing it.

“There were some easy kills, so to speak, last year. There won’t be any easy kills in A grade.

Nightcliff’s Lachlan McKenzie, seen here wearing his Australian schoolboys jumper, has signed with Skobs.

Our blokes are going to have to play at B grade finals standard every week. Once you ease up, you get rolled … if we can maintain our best footy all year, we’ll be aiming for a spot in the four.

“As a footy club we want to put in the foundations to stay there for a very long time.’’

Edgar pointed out that “10 or 11’’ of its premiership players were aged 22 or under.

“We’ve kept all those kids and that’s where we reckon we’re going to improve,’’ he said.

“They’ve had two or three years of senior footy now and hopefully we can keep them for the next five or six or seven years and we can be solid in A grade for a long time.’’

Round 1 will put work and play in conflict for Edgar: Skobs play De La Salle and he is the director of sport at De La Salle College!