Coach expects players to power on

NEWCOMB coach Rory Nicol has put the onus on his young stars to prove they’re at the Bellarine Football League standard.

While four key recruits in Joel Geue, Andrew Mead-Harding, Aaron McKinnis and Jake Kearney will help fill holes in the Power outfit, the third-year coach says the growth will come from those who have been at the club.

“At the end of the day, the improvement has got to come from the guys that played last year,” Nicol said. “They’ve got to get better and there’s scope there for them to get better because they’re young and inexperienced.

“It come down to that 22 at 2 o’clock, whether they can step up and flex their muscle and grit their teeth, and come and announce themselves as Bellarine footballers. They’re 21, 22 years of age and they need to announce themselves this year to say, ‘We are quality Bellarine footballers, we’re going to step up and be that’.”

Nicol said his list runs deeper this year than it did in 2017.

“There are a few new guys that will have an impact at senior level, so I think it will make us more even across the board,” he said. “I guess the top 12-15 players (last year) were good at BFL level. We’ve probably added another six or seven that will be about the same, so we’ll be pretty even.”

With the threat of relegation hanging over the club’s head, Nicol has set the target of five wins to stay in the BFL.

“Obviously we’re in the gun,” he said. “We’ve got to go out there and start to kick 14, 15, 16 goals. You don’t win many games kicking 12 goals.”