The recent addition to the football vernacular of “speed on the ball” will be the basis of Portarlington’s game plan under new coach Darren Findlay.
The Demons commenced pre-season training last week with Findlay not mucking around as he gets to know a playing group keen to build on its three wins.
Those victories helped Portarlington avoid the Bellarine wooden spoon for the first time since 2018.
“Getting into the footys straight away is the key thing, hence why the balls are coming out straight away,” Findlay said.
“We’ll go through how we want to set up (and) how we want to play.
“Fast and quick… that will be our mantra.
“We won’t be a boring team.”
One of the most active clubs in the off-season, Findlay is “pretty confident” Portarlington has the talent to execute a game style that proved successful for him at Point Cook Centrals.
He also believes it’s a game style suited to the expanses of Ron Evans Oval.
“It’s a good ground, (and) we’ve got a lot of space to move, so it should suit how we want to play,” he said.
“And I think with the guys we’ve got coming in, they’ll play the roles that I want them to play.”
When asked about the Demons additions, which include Deer Park premiership ruckman Scott Greenhough, former Geelong VFL speedster Tom Panuccio, and Leopold trio Mitch Howard, Riley Hayden and Nick Lane, a smile breaks out across Findlay’s face.
“We’ve done pretty well,” he said.
“You can always improve on it, but I think if anyone had said at the start of the year we’d have picked up six quality players like that, most people would have jumped out of the trees.
“I’m pretty happy with what we’ve got so far – and this is just year one.
“This will be a base for further development going forward.”
Findlay says the environment he is trying to create at Portarlington will be vital to climbing out of the lower rungs of the ladder.
The Demons’ best finish since last playing finals in 1994 is seventh in the drought-shortened 2007 season, and they haven’t won more than five games in a season in 30 years.
“Making it a good, fun place to be around and getting success along the way,” Findlay said
“If you make it a fun, enjoyable place to be, the rest will sort itself out.
“That’s up to me as a coach to get their mindset right.”
Meanwhile, Barwon Heads has confirmed former co-coach Mitch Herbison will continue his glittering career in 2025.
The 36-year-old stood down from the role as Sam Schaller’s coaching partner at the end of the season.
“It’s great to be able to share with you all that Mitchell Herbison will be playing on in 2025!.” a Facebook statement from the Seagulls said.
“Fresh off 48 goals this year, including multiple goals in every game bar two, we can again look forward to Herbi’s experience and skill leading the way in our front half of the ground.”
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