NEW Grubber recruits got a taste of pre-season training last week as Ocean Grove stepped up its preparations for the 2010 season at Collendina Caravan Park, writes Mark Heenan.
The two-hour session attracted more than 40 Ocean Grove players in the blustery conditions at Collendina.
Prized recruits include Ex-North Shore GFL playing coach Bernie Lynch (pictured), Greg Costello (Former Newcomb and Thomson GDFL premiership player), Matt Guthrie (Belmont Lions), Daniel Maloney (Ex-Geelong VFL listed player), Ryan Baker, Andrew Strachan and Rohan O’Callaghan who joins the Grubbers in a playing assistant role (Swan Hill region).
Ocean Grove coach Cameron McGregor said a major part of the off-season recruiting drive was to appoint players between the 25-30 aged bracket with previous coaching and leadership experience.
“Obviously we have lost about a dozen blokes, but we’ve gained about eight or nine in return,” Ocean Grove coach Cameron McGregor said.
“It is good we have got the core of the senior list still playing.
“To get five guys at the club that are 25 plus, two of them with (previous) coaching experience, that’s going to help (our younger playing group) come on a bit quicker.
“What we have picked up is what we lacked last year which was 25-30 year old players (and) we lacked some key position players.”
Despite the departures of Ben Ricardo (Geelong West) and Kelly Williams (Leopold) to GFL clubs, McGregor said Rohan O’Callaghan’s previous midfield and coaching experience will assist veteran and ball magnet James Dalton, Ocean Grove’s 2009 Best and fairest winner, enormously.
McGregor is also excited after bolstering his ruck stocks for 2010, with two-metre tall Matt Guthrie, a national swimming title holder, joining Ocean Grove from the Belmont Lions.
“He (Guthrie) is a handy pick-up, any one that is six foot and seven (inches) and wants a game a football we will certainly embrace them,” he said.
Off the field, the Grubbers wasted no time in appointing Gavin Berry, Recruitment Officer with the Port Adelaide (AFL) Football Club, as its new Chairman of Selectors.
“Gavin has a huge amount of experience with Port Adelaide’s recruiting and he will give us enormous amount of expertise and ideas to our coaching department,”Ocean Grove president Geoff Cunningham said.
Ocean Grove hosts last year’s BFL premiers Drysdale in Round 1 on April 3.
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