New Dubbo Demons coach Michael Daly believes the side is more than capable of becoming a competitive force in the Central West AFL competition after taking over from Kim Woodman.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Demons began their pre-season training after Daly took over late last year and the new coach said he’s been impressed by the attitude of players after the club only won three matches last season.
“We were struggling last season for numbers and even in mid-season we only had about eight blokes at training and that just doesn’t help,” he said.
“But we’ve had about 15 training in the pre-season so that’s really promising and the guys are keen.”
Daly has been a regular player for the Demons in recent years but afterWoodman decided to step aside, Daly made the move from the leadership group to the top role.
“I really wanted the challenge, it’s all pretty new to me and I’ve never done it before but I saw a few things I think I can improve on and we proved last year that the we can play well,” he said.
Daly pointed to the fact his side defeated the Orange Tigers, who went on to win the premiership, last season as a sign of the talent in his side but said the departure of last season’s best and fairest player, Sandy Lawrence, will leave a big dent in the side.
“We’ve definitely got the ability but we’ve lost a few players, Sandy has gone back to Echuca to work and that’s a big hit but we’ve got a couple of blokes coming back who didn’t play last season,” he said.
Terry Lyons, who missed the majority of last season through injury, and Pat Jackson have both signalled their intent to return to the field in 2014 and while the signs have been positive Daly said he would like a few more new players to join his side before round one.
“We’ve got some good numbers but we need a few more because it’s a bit of a daunting task at the moment and I want to build on what the previous coaches have done,” he said.
With training well under way Daly said his side are already planning for their annual pre-season match against Tumbarumba, the Isaac Cornell Cup, a match which honours the life of a player who represented both towns before tragically losing his life at a young age.
“That’s our main pre-season match and we’re pretty excited but it is daunting at the same time because we’ve got work to do,” he said. “We play for the love of the game but we want to win as well and out on the field is the ultimate test.”
Daly said anyone keen to play for the Demons in 2014 is welcome to attend training at 5pm at South Dubbo Oval every Tuesday and Thursday.