Melton Centrals appear to have every chance of charging up the Riddell District Football League ladder over the next month.
After a tough first half of the year, which has the developing Centrals in 11th spot, they take on Wallan, Lancefield, Broadford and Rockbank in the next four rounds.
None of those is in the top six and all appear unlikely to play finals.
The timing looks to be just right for the Centrals who, despite an 87-point loss to Romsey at the weekend, continue to show signs of improvement.
Under new coach Glenn Hopkins, Centrals secured their second win of the season earlier this month, beating Kilmore by 44 points.
The match was even more one-sided than the final margin indicated, with Melton enjoying 19 more scoring shots than their opposition.
Hopkins said the improvement up forward started at the defensive end of the ground.
“We’ve been working to create that spare man,” he said.
“We did that well against Diggers Rest earlier in the season and certainly against Kilmore. We got the ball quickly off half-back and that meant we had a lot of space in our forward line.
“It was much more open, with the ball travelling in there quickly. That was really a by-product of us working hard on getting the ball away from the back-line in a more economical fashion.”
The signs of a brighter future are shining through.
So far this season seven members of the club’s under-18s side have been called up for their senior debut and the club averages three under-18s a week in the first team.
“We will continue to play under-18s in our seniors,” Hopkins said. “They’re good enough and it’s a really good grounding.
“Considering it’s only the second year of under-18s at the club, it’s really exciting to see how quickly they’re improving.”
With a batch of promising juniors on the way through, the Centrals also have plenty of top-line senior talent.
Melton’s recruiting department can be given a big tick, with off-season acquisition Rex Hickman dominating up forward and in the ruck.
“We see Rex as being that strong, focal point up forward,” Hopkins said.
“You can certainly build a team around that. His energy and athleticism make it easy to play him in a lot of different spots. He’s been excellent on the track and on the ground.”
