YARRAVILLE-Seddon is hailing its merger an unmitigated success. The Eagles have realised their five-year ambition of returning to the Western Region Football League’s top flight.
Six years after the amalgamation of the Yarraville, Seddon and Kingsville Juniors football clubs, the Eagles are back among the big boys with a stable club, a thriving junior set-up and anticipating further growth through the Bradmill Precinct development in West Yarraville.
Asked if validation for the merger had arrived, Eagles president Karen Bermingham told the Weekly: ‘‘Yes, it has’’.
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‘‘Coming down from division 1, we had to rebuild as a club,’’ she said. ‘‘With the merger, so many players left. It’s been a massive job, a five-year plan to get back up and we got there.’’
The Eagles did it in style, too, going through the whole of 2012 without a blemish.
David Connell, who crossed from last year’s runners-up Albanvale to coach the Eagles, brought instant results. Connell sold a new game plan, targeted players with a harder edge to complement the smooth movers already at the club and generated a buzz of excitement with his enthusiasm for the role. Asked what Connell means to the club, Bermingham fired back: ‘‘After today, gold!’’
‘‘He had his vision, brought some new players into the club and they all just jelled,’’ she said.
This premiership success is one to be celebrated for Eagles young and old.
The merged club has embraced its rich history of eight division 1 [Seddon 5, Kingsville 2, Yarraville 1] and now five division 2 [Seddon 2, Kingsville 1, Yarraville 1, Yarraville-Seddon 1] premierships.
‘‘The culture at Yarraville is fantastic,’’ Bermingham said.
‘‘That’s why I stayed. Some of our supporters are 80. They still come down and write their notes and just love the club.’’
The Eagles want to be seen as a progressive club, which is why the merger came about in the first place.
The coaches and committee will have two days to celebrate their premiership glory before sinking their teeth into preparations for 2013, including the all-important recruiting process, where they will collide with the competition heavyweights. ‘‘We’ll have 48 hours to celebrate and it’s back to the footy,’’ Bermingham said.
