Six players from Melton’s 2015 finals campaign will not return to the sub-district cricket club next season.
Leading the list of departures is former competition best and fairest winner Michael Allen, who has signed on to play at Oakleigh.
Allen’s brother, Nathan, along with Thomas Rogers, Nathan Geisler, Steve Buhagiar and Waddington Mwayenga are the other first XI players who have called time on their careers at the Lions.
Refusing to hit the panic button, Melton president Kevin Vernon says the vacancies will create opportunities for the club’s younger players.
“We have half a dozen good young fellas down at the club who are 18,19 or 20 and have been in the system for two or three years,” he said.
“They’ve been performing well but just haven’t been able to get the opportunity because of the strength of the first XI.
“We’re hoping they will step up and be able to get that chance, where they haven’t in the last few years.”
With Vernon saying the club is unlikely to target big-name recruits in the off-season, the loss of proven-quality players is a tough start to the coaching career of Michael Alexander.
Alexander, who will also play on as a top-order batsman, was appointed to the head coaching position last month.
Meanwhile, Melton is still waiting to hear whether its bid to join the Victorian Premier Cricket competition for the 2016-17 season has been successful.
The Lions are one of three clubs, along with Werribee and Plenty Valley, vying for the promotion.
Vernon said the uncertainty placed the club in a tricky position when it came to planning.
“We don’t know what we’re doing next year,” he said. “It’s difficult to talk to players and coaching staff about two and three-year deals when you don’t know where you’re playing next year.
“We need to develop young local players and if we get the opportunity to go into Premier Cricket we have people at the club who want to be in it.”
