PROFILE
Some shrewd recruiting, along with the retention of their 2022 side, has put the spotlight on Nyah-Nyah West United as one of the early teams to watch this season.
While the Demons appear primed to be one of the Central Murray’s big improvers, to those inside the four walls, it’s been a slow and methodical process, with a long-term focus on youth development and local player retention set to finally bear fruit.
There will be eight new players who could potentially pull on a Demons guernsey for the first time – including new joint coach Nick O’Neill – when they host Koondrook-Barham in Round 1, with fellow joint coach Corey Daniels excited about the new look team the Demons recruiting committee has managed to put together.
“An area we needed to target was both our midfield and our forward line and bolster both areas of the ground for us this season,” Daniels said.
“Kayne Davidson’s going to be really exciting for us and it will be exciting to see what he can do alongside his brother, Brady – although they’re both very different players, with Kayne being more of an inside mid.”
“Kain Proctor is the one that comes with really big wraps on him, though – he’s played a really high standard of footy in the past and we’re really excited to have him in the midfield, along with Dom Gallo, ‘Walshy’ (Joel Walsh) and Nick O’Neill.”
“We’ve recruited pretty heavily in that mid-forward bracket with players that can play both roles, which will only add to our versatility.”
While NNW United’s new faces will give them a fresh look, it’s expected their real improvement will come from their home-grown talent that it’s hoped will continue to develop with some more senior and hardened bodies now around the contest.
Charlie Boulton and Campbell Everitt are two such youngsters who appear ready for breakout seasons, after strong 2022 campaigns in the seniors, while Zach Threadgold and Joseph Violi are also well on the way to developing into solid senior contributors.
The biggest issue facing NNW United and their hopes of making a run at the finals could well be the same issue that stymied their 2022 campaign, with injuries already having an impact. The Demons will be without defender Dean Harrop for at least the first five rounds of the season after ankle surgery – while of greater concern is the potential season-long absence of full back Cal Dobbin, who injured his ACL during training in recent months.
For Daniels, O’Neill and the NNW United brains trust, the focus now is on what they can control and not what they can’t – and that includes the way they want to play the game.
“We’re going to be able to run – we don’t have a lot of height throughout the group, but we have a lot of midfielders and a lot of pace, so we’ll be using that to our advantage,” Daniels said.
“We’ve had a fairly big focus on improving our kicking and making good decisions with the ball and hopefully we can put that into match play as well.”
“The other element to our game that we’ve been working on is our defensive pressure, we want to get the ball in our half of the ground and keep it in there – it’s what the good sides have been able to do like Kerang and Woorinen and we want to do that, too.”
“We feel like we’ve improved in that area and we’ve still got a fair way to go, but we want to be a strong defensive side as well.”
FROM THE COACH
“It’s all about taking the next step for us. It starts against Koondrook-Barham and hopefully we can get a win and go from there – but we’re under no illusions that it’s also going to take a lot of hard work along the way as well.”
INs & OUTs
INs
Kain Proctor (Bundoora) Midfielder
Nick O’Neill (North Heidelberg) Forward
Kayne Davidson (Harcourt) Midfielder
Dom Gallo (Woorinen) Small Forward
Joel Walsh (overseas) Midfielder
Chris Daniele (Portarlington) Forward
Brayden Bigham (Wagga Tigers) Forward
Liam White (Tyntynder)
Tristan Dalbon (Tyntynder)
OUTs
Zac Caccaviello (Nullawil)
Cal Dobbin (ACL)
Frank Violi
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2023
While finals are certainly on the radar, whether NNW United is absolutely ready to challenge for the top five is still questionable. They have done a remarkable job with recruiting and have certainly improved their depth, which they will need if they have another poor run with injuries like last season.
Finals hopes depebd on key forward Brent Arho and midfielders Dylan Mclachlan and Matt Duffy – with the playing future of all three and how many games, if any, they will feature in for the Demons still to be decided. They have a favourable draw, with only two double up games against last year’s top five sides in Kerang and Lake Boga.
KEY PLAYER
Alex Erlandson
Can play forward, back or in the ruck and is without doubt the Demons’ barometer. The former Best & Fairest will spend most of his time this season in defence, especially in the absence of Cal Dobbin. NNW United’s dearth of talls will be an issue, meaning Erlandson will need to be at his absolute best every week if his team is to start climbing the ladder in 2023.
BIG IMPROVER
Charlie Boulton
Won last year’s Central Murray Colts Best & Fairest in a canter and was one of his club’s shining lights up forward by the end of last season. Played nine senior games in 2022, but saved his best for last, booting four of his side’s five goals against Woorinen in the final round. Has been training with the Bendigo Pioneers this pre-season and exposure to a higher standard of football may well see the young Demon elevate his game.
THE BURNING QUESTION
How big of a loss will Cal Dobbin be for the Demons down back?
At first glance, the loss of just one player wouldn’t ordinarily be such a big concern – however Dobbin’s impact on NNW United’s defensive structure is seriously underrated. Compounding his absence is that of fellow key defender Dean Harrop, who will also miss the early rounds of the season with injury, leaving the Demons dangerously exposed down back. Dobbin’s ability to read the play and shut down some of the Central Murray’s best key forwards is impossible to replace – and the Demons may have to rely on their pressure further up the ground to help cover for their much-loved defender’s absence.
NNW UNITED PREDICTED BEST 22
B. Campbell Everitt – Dean Harrop – Joel Campbell
HB. Corey Daniels – Alex Erlandson – Jaydyn Stirling
C. Ethan Saville – Kain Proctor – Nic Threadgold
HF. Charlie Boulton – Nick O’Neill – Joel Walsh
F. Zack Threadgold – Chris Daniele – Jarrod Skinner
R. Blake Larkings – Brady Davidson – Kayne Davidson
INT. Dom Gallo – Brayden Bigham – Liam White – Joseph Violi
