The yo-yo stops now for Yarraville-Footscray.
The Bulldogs are hellbent on making their mark in the Bowls Victoria premier division from 2015-16, and beyond.
Over the past three summers, the Dogs have won two division 1 premierships, and were relegated from the top-flight in between.
To put an end to the chopping and changing of divisions, the Bulldogs have recruited with the intention of sustaining their presence in Melbourne’s top bowls league.
“We need to stay there now,” Bulldogs’ coach Wayne Roberts told Star Weekly.
“We had that grounding in premier division for 12 months, two years ago, and they realise what it’s about now.
“They’re not going to go in blind … they know what it’s all about, and they’ve got to take the next step.”
Yarraville-Footscray launched the new season at its Francis Street home on Saturday, unfurling the division 1 flag, and rolling down a ceremonial first bowl of the season.
It was effectively the launch of a new era for the Bulldogs.
Last time it was in premier division, the club decided to reward the players who put it there, largely neglecting to recruit, instead giving those 16 players a shot at top-line bowls for the season.
Inevitably, the Bulldogs were relegated, but now they have experience to draw on.
Roberts wasted no time recruiting for this season.
The club has 17 new faces, with at least four considered a chance for the round one line-up, including Chris Ball, from Kew Heights, Nathan Murray of Richmond Union, Jamie Banks of Torquay and Dan Stewart of Grovedale.
“They’ve all been there, done that [in premier division], and they’re young,” Roberts said.
“They’re all under 25, so we’re slowly getting a younger side and, hopefully, we can keep them together.
“It’s going to be a two or three-year process, but we think we’re on the right track to have a reasonable side for the next few years.”
More importantly, the Bulldogs have retained the whole squad that took out the division 1 flag last season.
“Everyone that was part of the flag last year is still there,” Roberts said.
“We haven’t lost anybody; we’ve picked up a few, and it not only makes our top side stronger, it makes the other sides stronger.
“We’ve got two teams in division 2 this year, and we need one to jump up to division 1.
“It’s all positive.”
The new season begins in October.
