New era for the Roos
It is the end of an era in Dimboola. For the first time in more than 20 years, erstwhile club stalwart Al Mckinnon will not pull on the green and gold jumper of the Roos.
Mckinnon departed Dimboola for the Horsham Demons at the end of last season, closing the door on one of the most decorated careers in the history of Dimboola.
Mckinnon played more than 350 games, captained the team to a premiership in 2013 and coached the Roos for the past two seasons.
Two men – Justin Beugelaar and Matthew Everett – will fill the coaching void left by Mckinnon in 2019.
Everett will coach from the bench and is currently taking the team through its paces in pre-season training, while Beugelaar plays for Darwin-based Waratah in the Northern Territory Football League.
Everett said the club was adjusting to life without Mckinnon.
“Obviously there has been a disagreement somewhere along the line because you don’t just up and leave after playing your whole life at a footy club,” he said.
“I’m not sure what it was because I was on the outer a bit last year – I was coaching the under-14s.
“He’s not young, but he is super fit and looks after himself, so I’m sure he’ll be able to have an impact at Horsham.
“It’s disappointing because he’s a premiership captain and has played some pretty good footy over his time at ‘Dimmy’.
“We’ve got some good kids coming through at the minute and his leadership is going to be missed, that’s for sure.”
Everett said the club was aiming to challenge for a top five berth after claiming the past three wooden spoons.
The Roos have recruited several players to aid them in their goal, including new assistant coach and midfielder Sam Godden and Timothy Mosquito, who made four appearances for the team in 2017.
Both Godden and Mosquito are from Darwin but will relocate to Melbourne for the season to reduce travel time and costs.
Former best and fairest winner Ben Miller will return to the club after playing for West Adelaide in the SANFL reserves last season.
Brothers Ash and Tom Clugston and Matt Millward will cross to Dimboola from Jeparit-rainbow in the Horsham District league.
Everett said the club was also hopeful of retaining Josh Edgar – last season’s best and fairest – and Shannon Keam.
He said players returning from injuries would also help bolster the side.
“Jackson O’neill and Jayden Lehmann both did knees in the first three rounds last year and it looks like they’ll be right to play in round one,” he said.
“They’ll be like new recruits really – we didn’t have them all year.
“Lochie Phillips only played a few games last year and had to have an operation on his hand.
“You couldn’t have written a script for what happened with all the injuries we had last year.
“Jaye Macumber was meant to run the bench as an assistant and he got struck down with rheumatoid arthritis about three games into the year.
“It was chaos, so hopefully we can have a bit more luck with our injuries.
“At one stage we had seven under-17s playing in the seniors towards the end of the year, and you’re going to struggle against good sides if that’s the case, especially at Wimmera league level.”
Everett said the one upside of last year’s injuries was the experience it afforded some of the younger Roos.
He said if the team’s young brigade improved its ball use and learned the team structure, Dimboola could challenge for a finals spot this year.