By Tara Murray
Bacchus Marsh is sticking with the same playing group as it hopes to bounce back from a disappointing 2018 season.
For much of this year, the Cobras were considered one of the favourites, before fading late and being knocked out in the first week of the finals.
Even though he wasn’t at the club this year, new Cobras coach Peter Davey knows motivation runs high within the playing group.
Davey replaces Travis Hodgson, who stepped away from the Cobras with a year left on his contract.
“From a motivational point of view, we’ve been hurt from the last two years and we want to get back and win premierships,” Davey said.
“We’ll be doing everything to get the boys right.”
The Cobras were one of the later teams to get back on the track, with their first pre-season session in the first week of December.
Davey said they started later due to fading late last season and wanting to make sure they peaked at the right time next season.
It didn’t stop the players doing their own training.
“The guys have had an individual running group for the last six weeks,” Davey said.
“Jake Owen has been running it.”
With pre-season under way the Cobras have been working on some changes to the game plan which come naturally under a
new coach.
Fitness is another key area, and Davey has brought in a mate who ran Geelong’s fitness program a couple of years ago.
Davey said the two worked together as his old club, Banyule, which Davey said was the fittest team in the competition.
Off field, the Cobras have been one of the quietest teams on the player movement front.
Ben Speight, who played one season with the Cobras, has moved on due to moving for work commitments.
Trent Angwin, who is contracted at the Cobras, has been linked to Darley after the club made an announcement on its Facebook page.
Davey said he was bemused that signing a contracted player would be announced on social media.
On the other side, the Cobras have not announced any new players of yet.
Harrison King, who combined playing with the Cobras and Werribee’s VFL side last season, will play full-time with the Cobras which is a boost.
Davey said they deliberately did not go on a recruiting spree.
“We haven’t been overly active,” he said.
“That is the path we’ve chosen to go down. Looking at the list we’re really happy with the list.
“We want to bring in and promote the young guys into the side.”
Davey said there may be some positional changes next year. He had one-on-one meetings with everyone which included discussing what they thought was their best positions.
“I’ve thrown the carrot out there,” he sad. “They have to do the work and I will reward them.
“I will do some things differently, but I’m not planning to turn things on their
heads.”
