BILLABONG CROWS
Coach: John Simpson
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Last year: Tenth (5-12-1)
Gains: Tiernan Miller (Belconnen), Mackinley Miller (Glenelg reserves) Tom Dore (Wollongong), Cooper Vickery, Will Handsaker, Matt Kelly and Adam Lamb
Losses: George Sandral (CDHBU)
Most recent finals appearance: 2019
Most recent flag: None in Hume league
Q&A with JOHN SIMPSON
Who starts the season flag favourites and why?: Howlong. They were extremely difficult to play against last year. Unfortunately finals didn't go the way they would have liked. No doubt the Spiders will be back hungrier than ever this year.
Your likely top-six?: Osborne, Holbrook, Howlong, Billabong Crows, Jindera and Lockhart... in no particular order
Which rival club is likely to be the biggest improver?: Lockhart. We had two really good hit outs with Lockhart last year and I expect that the Demons will be pushing for finals if they can keep their list together.
Best player in the competition?: Ben Baker or Hamish Clark...Take your pick
Best recruit in the competition over the off-season?: Max Hillier...another stunning recruiting coup by Osborne.
Which recruit at your club excites you the most and why?: Mac Miller. Tall, powerful, athletic and straight out of the SANFL. He's going to take some stopping!
Who has been the standout at pre-season training so far?: Tim Austin. Tim has a mountain of talent and is in the best shape he has been in a long time. He's powerful, has great skills and is amazingly agile for a bloke his size.
How tough was recruiting this off-season compared to previous experiences?: It's never an easy assignment. We often feel like we are at the end of the recruitment line. Travel to and from Oaklands/Urana during the week is often too daunting for prospective recruits. We have doubled down on our numbers coming from Canberra in an effort to make sure everyone can get to training...even if we are training in two venues during the week!
What have the numbers been like at pre-season training?: We're really happy with our numbers. We have been getting 35+ between our Canberra and local training sessions.
What are your expectations this season?: We want to play finals. We finished with five wins and a draw last year and just need to turn those matches where we lost by a couple of goals into wins to be in the hunt.
WE SAY: The Billabong Crows were a lot more competitive last season, snaring five wins but arguably their best performance was forcing a draw with eventual grand finalists Holbrook. The merged identity has added further depth to the list with coach John Simpson set to have a stronger list at his disposal this season. After having eight recruits from Canberra last season the Crows have added siblings Mackinley and Tiernan Miller and will have four Miller brothers in the navy blue, red and yellow. Tom Dore returns to his junior club after playing in a flag for Wollongong where he was skipper and will help fill the hole left by George Sandral crossing to rival club CDHBU. Tim Austin has been able to get himself in terrific shape over the pre-season and will be like a new recruit for the Crows and provide some flexibility to their big man stocks. While it's hard to see the Crows playing finals, eight wins is a realistic goal at Ark Park which would see them start climbing the ladder again and give their loyal supporters something to cheer about.
PREDICTION: Eighth
