PYRAMID HILL
PROFILE
IT should mark a big year, but losing grand finalist is perhaps the most hated label in football.
And coach Nathan Fitzpatrick knows there is going to have to be some real bite in the Bulldogs to get them back to that one day in September this year.
Pyramid Hill is one of those rare clubs that does nearly all its pre-season in another town, but the geographic spread of its playing roster makes Bendigo home until the real action begins.
Fitzpatrick, a Bendigo boy himself, was lured by good mate Zach Alford to the Hill as an under-18 in 2013 and he has been there ever since – and now enters his third year as coach.
Considering his club has not won a flag since 1950, the 16-point loss to Marong was a particularly bitter pill for players and supporters to swallow.
“On the upside, that game has left the boys pretty motivated and with more than half the squad made up of locals or long-term players, they are pretty hungry to get back there and turn it around,” Fitzpatrick said.
“We were so close, so we haven’t had to tinker with too much in our game plan, and we have added a swag of new, and familiar, faces to the squad in the off-season and only lost three from our grand-final side.
“Now we have a really good spread of experience and youth, with ages ranging from 20 to 35 and most players in the 20 to 30 bracket, and we are planning to be back there in September to end the drought.”
While Fitzpatrick’s career ended with a knee a few years ago, he managed to convince Alford to return this year and said he represented the “good players and good people we want at Pyramid Hill”.
“When you look at how far and wide we are spread, it is obvious people are here because they want to be, not just for a pay packet,” he said.
Now the season is almost here, trainings are being split between Bendigo and Pyramid Hill and the momentum is peaking at the right time.
Fitzpatrick, who left Golden Square in Bendigo to make Pyramid Hill his football home, is hoping 2024 will prove to be the club’s golden year.
FROM THE COACH
“The people who have joined us are genuinely invested in Pyramid Hill and have increased the team’s depth and bring success with them. With around 30 looking for a game I’m not looking forward to that first selection night. But we are hungry, there will be competition for places, which is always a bonus for any coaching team and hopefully we can consign 1950 – and the memory of 2023 – to the history books.”
KEY PLAYER
Zach Alford: While he is coming back from injuries he is a player Fitzpatrick describes as “the barometer” because he will be the club’s driver of intensity – on and off the field. As an experienced midfield and forward player, his return to the Bulldogs has been well received and a big season is anticipated.
INS & OUTS
INS: Ben Knight (North Bendigo), Damon Hemphill (Modewarre), Mick Dundon (Seymour), Brady Dickins (returning), Jack Timmins (returning from ACL), Brad Ladson (returning), Jayden Cowling (Charlton), Jack Burns (Huntly), Bailey Scott (Modewarre).
OUTS: Declan Slingoe (Castlemaine), Tom Hetherington (Kerang), Billy Micevski (retired).
