Williamstown CYMS will make its long-awaited return to Fearon Reserve when it entertains Old Mentonians in Victorian Amateur Football Association Premier C on Saturday.
The CYs have spent the first seven rounds on the road, playing games at makeshift home bases Altona Green Park and Burbank Oval, while their Osborne Street ground was being re-surfaced.
The homecoming will be sweet, but the CYs results during their travels have been impressive.
They are nicely positioned in third place with a 4-3 record after last Saturday’s come-from-behind win over Kew by 33 points at Victoria Park.
But CYs coach Matthew Montebello would not swap any other venue for the home ground affectionately known as “the Fearon”.
“We’re looking forward to getting back on the Fearon and stamping our authority on our home ground,” he said. “It’s amazing how many people we get at our games there.
“The support we get from our community is fantastic. We want to see a huge crowd.”
Three years into life as a Premier C club, the CYs have done their apprenticeship with respectable finishes in the past two seasons, but now is the time for them to take the next step.
“We’re looking to, at a minimum, play finals,” Montebello said. “We want to be a team that other teams identify as a finals contender.
“To do that, you’ve got to win a lot more than the seven games we did last year.”
An encouraging sign was the numbers on the track during the pre-season, with upwards of 50 players slogging it out at each session.
“It was our best pre-season since we’ve been in Premier C,” Montebello said.
“We’ve pretty much had 45 to 50 blokes at training every single training session, so we seem to have everyone on board, all pushing for the same thing.”
Kallan Dawson has been a revelation for Williamstown CYMS this season.
Still a teenager, Dawson has shown maturity beyond his years by playing a major role in CYs’ early success.
“He’s an 18-year-old kid with two years of under-19s still to play,” Montebello said.
“A good six-foot-three running half-back, he’s a phenomenal talent and it’s really exciting coaching him.”
Nick Blackney has thrived as an under-sized ruckman. He was third on the big man depth chart last year, but has stepped up since the retirement of Steven Puhar and the unavailability of Tom Gill.
“He’s playing his heart out,” Montebello said.
Jack Connolly has been described as “maestro” of the backline, while the attack has been spearheaded by the Grays – Jack (18 goals) and Ben (17).
It promises to be a tantalising return clash at the Fearon on Saturday between the sides ranked third and fourth in the competition.
