By Tara Murray
Williamstown is hoping keeping the core group and a few tweaks will help it progress past the semi finals in the Victorian Football League.
The Seagulls have been knocked out by the Brisbane Lions in Brisbane the past two seasons, unable to get over that hurdle.
Speaking before the kick off of the season, new senior assistant coach Danny Ryan said it had been a really strong pre-season.
“This group has a real appetite for hard work, my first year at the club I’ve been really impressed by the maturity level and the ability to do the work,” he said.
“There are some new concepts in the game plan. A lot of it is the same, 90 per cent of it is the same as last year few little changes,
“But they’ve worked hard with a smile on their face and hopefully we’ll see the fruits of it.”
The Seagulls have been able to keep their core group together, with Ryan saying he thinks that 25 of their top 30 players have returned.
He said it’s something that you don’t always see at VFL level.
“This is really consistent and so our retention has been a great factor and I think that’ll help just with the flow on affect all the way through.”
The Seagulls are also hoping for a good injury run after several key players missed big chunks last season.
The Seagulls managed to add some new signings in the off season, led by former Adelaide forward Lachie Gollant.
“He has been amazing, coming out of an AFL system,” Ryan said. “We have a lot of players that are ex-AFL and he is the fresh one.
“He’s brought some leadership and great experience to the forward line and I’m really looking forward to him strutting his stuff.”
Calder Cannons captain Damon Hollow and former Vic Country player Ben Kennedy are two of the younger signings.
Ryan said they would likely see Hollow play some different positions while he finds his feet and that Kennedy had been impressive from day one.
Now having made the semi finals the past two years, Ryan said there would be a few keys to trying to get past that hurdle.
“We have been working on the mental side of it, we’re planning and preparing that we will go to Brisbane to beat Brisbane to play in a grand final,” he said.
“We have fallen at the past few years. That’s the planning and prep to overcome that hurdle and go at least one step further
“They are building consistently, like painting a house you add another layer of paint each year.
“It’s a bit of a combination things, hopefully at the end of the year we can’t put it on any one thing, it’s a collection of things together.”
Meanwhile. the Seagulls have announced co-captains with Finn O’Dwyer stepping up and joining Cam Polson.
