THE Southern Roos look to be in for a great season with several handy pickups along with retaining a large majority of its 2016 grand final playing squad.
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At the helm of the side is none other than Paul Cleaver who has developed a strong side from home-grown talent.
The most notable pickup for the Roos is Nick Pekin, a player who has played with the best in the Wimmera League at club and representative levels.
Pekin is a great asset to any side and returning to his home club at his peak will prove fruitful for himself and the Roos.
Cleaver has one goal and that is ‘to be the best we can.’
Cleaver said the side had trained before Christmas then had four weeks off before hitting the track again in February.
The club has a great culture within with Cleaver using the phrase ‘great energy’ to describe the atmosphere between members.
Cleaver said it is best to look after the players you have first before plucking players from other teams.
“At the start we really focused on just retaining our list and retaining the guys we have got,” he said.
If the side can manager a larger average week-in week-out score Clever will be happy.
“One thing we looked at last year when we reviewed the season is we probably didn’t kick big enough scores,” he said.
A top two finish will be on the cards for the Roos who managed a grand final placing from sixth in 2016.
Five minutes with Paul Cleaver
Who do you expect will take a step up this season?
Nick Pekin and Greg Hamilton are handy pickups and we have a core of the next generation starting to come through in Tom Hutchins, Sam Roeslar, Angus Dunden and Stuart McFarlane.
Where do expect improvement to come?
Keeping almost our entire 2016 group means most of our improvement will come from within.
Who are the leaders within the group?
Two assistant coaches and captain Michael Phelan as well as a good core group of young players like Murray Staude, Callum Hobbs, Eric Guthrie, Hamish Ellis and Anthony Close.
