Yarraville-Seddon Eagles hope to stay in top division next year despite winless start to WRFL season

YARRAVILLE-Seddon is hoping to stay in Division 1 next season, despite being winless at the half way point of the Western Region Football League season.

YARRAVILLE-Seddon  is hoping to stay in Division 1 next season, despite being winless at the halfway point of the Western Region Football League season.

The Eagles sit on the bottom of the ladder after nine rounds and have suffered several heavy defeats so far in 2014.

They have had five losses of 99 points or more in coach Jesse Smith’s first season, not helped by season-ending injuries to key players.

Alan Smith medallist for 2013, Jesse Lampi, has not played since signing from Sanctuary Lakes, while Andrew Willis has been sidelined since Round 2.

But Yarraville-Seddon football manager David Bongetti said there’s still life left this season.

“We’ve have a couple of bad injuries and we don’t have the depth to cover,” Bongetti said.

“It’s a very young list. We’d like to stay in games for longer.

“At the start of the season we would have hoped for three or four wins.”

The league will decide at the end of the season whether it will relegate the bottom side in Division 1 side, and Bongetti is hoping the Eagles can survive the drop.

“We see growth organically coming through the juniors,” he said.

“I think we’re better off slowly making our way up the ladder.

“Socially, everyone has jelled really well, and hopefully that means we don’t lose anyone.”

Bongetti said Smith had the full support of the club.

“The coach has now had a taste of what it’s like,” Bongetti said.

“Probably on any given weekend, 80 per cent of our team has been under 22 years old.

“We’ve exposed Andy Panow to some senior games — he’s only 17 — and we plan on (exposing) another.

“We’d like to be competitive in all games and put more scoreboard pressure on.”

The Eagles went down by 45 points against second-placed Werribee Districts on Saturday, 10.15 (75) to 4.6 (30).

Yarraville-Seddon will next host Sunshine on Saturday.