New Diggers Rest coach Shaun Sims says the club is primed for another crack at the Riddell league premiership after a tough pre-season.
The Burras, 2013 runners-up, have made changes on and off the field, with Sims taking on head coach duties after several years as a playing assistant.
He says the changes are all for the better.
“Pre-season’s been going really well; good training numbers since Christmas. It’s exciting at the moment with a few new faces down at the club,” Sims said.
PICTURE GALLERY: RDFL 2013 grand final
He’s hopeful of pulling on the boots himself at times this year, but his main priority will be coaching.
“It’s a decision we’ll make closer to the season.
“It depends on if we can get it running the way I’d like it to run, then I’ll consider playing. ”
After five years as an assistant coach at the Burras, Sims has an intimate knowledge of the team structure and playing stocks, with some changes during the summer giving him new options.
“We’ve brought in some real quality players.
“James Breen is another forward who kicked 90 goals last year … Patrick Jackson is a midfielder from the Essendon District league … Matt Krul comes from Rockbank – so we’ve got some good new faces.”
The club has also lost a few from the grand final side last year, with full-back Brett Caton, midfielder Craig Marshall and Nathan Richardson all departing.
Sims is expecting the club to challenge for the flag, with a few tweaks to the game style the key to going one step further.
“My expectation is to put the club in the best possible position at the end of the year,” he said.
“We had a really good season last year … losing the grand final by seven points, which is definitely there to motivate some guys.
“We’ll look to be a lot more organised around the ball and commit a bit more to team defence.
“We were a very attacking team last year, and we’ll continue that forward of centre,
but I think we need to tidy up our defensive acts.”
Diggers Rest will kick off its season on April 12 with a home game against Romsey.
