Enthusiasm drives club

By Stuart Teather
IF enthusiasm counts for anything — and in football, it often does — Gembrook-Cockatoo Football Club will be a club on the rise in 2009.
The side was a lightweight in the Yarra Valley and Mountain District Football League’s (YVMDFL) senior competition in 2008, winning just three games and finishing second last.
Training numbers were down, on-field performance was disappointing and many local players were at other clubs.
Fast forward seven months and it is a completely different picture, according to new coach Travis Marsham.
“The commitment has been unbelievable, that’s the best thing,” he said.
“They were averaging 14 at training last year through the pre-season, we’ve averaged 58 this year, peaking at 70 at some points.
“It’s enthusiastic, everyone realises they’ve got to train to play, and then the result, I think we’ve seen improvement already, but we’ll just continue to improve.”
Marsham has been a big factor in reigniting the club, but he has had help from some fairly handy recruits.
Clark brothers Ricky and Lee have joined the club from the hugely successful Narre Warren in the Casey Cardinia Football League, where they helped guide the club to three consecutive premierships.
Lee will line up in the forward line while Ricky will be an assistant coach, as well as player.
Marsham’s other assistant coach needs little introduction — former AFL star Austinn Jones, who is fresh off a coaching stint at the Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup.
“When you watch them talk, Ricky coming from Narre (Warren), he was assistant coach in the last two premierships, his experience — they’re just drawn to him,” Marsham said.
“It’s the same with Aussie (Jones), when he speaks everyone listens.”
But the heart of any football club is the locals, and Marsham pointed to the return of Shannon Richardson and Tristian Whytecross as examples.
“They’ve come back, so it’s not only the recruits but some of the locals as well who’ve come back and got keen.”
Evergreen captain Craig Clarke will lead the club for his sixth season, in what everyone is hoping will be a boom year.
Based on what he had seen during the pre-season, Marsham said he thought the club could go a long way this year.
“When I first got there and looked at the age of the list I was hoping to maybe creep up to the finals in the next couple of years.
“Having seen the summer we’ve had and the recruits that we’ve got — we’ve got about 10 all up … I’d be hoping we’d be playing finals this year.”