16 DAYS – DONVALE JUNIORS

2014 EFL Pre-Season Wiki | Tomorrow: Templestowe

DONVALE Junior Football Club president Mark Djordevic speaks to Sam Gastin as his club prepares for the 2014 season.

Sam Gastin: Overall, were you satisfied with what the club achieved, both on and off the field, in 2013?

Mark Djordevic: Yeah we were. We had a lot of kids who played for the Oakleigh Chargers and Eastern Ranges, so that was really positive. And Michael Apeness being drafted to Fremantle put a real buzz around the place too. A couple of our teams made junior finals, including our Under 14’s who made the Grand Final. While they got beaten in that, it was a great experience for them.

Approximately how many teams do you think you will field in 2014?

We’re hoping to have eight sides that’ll take the field this year.

What has the feeling been like around the club over the pre-season?

The juniors have been really positive despite the senior club having a few issues. But the junior club is up and about. We’re very happy with the way we’re going and we’re obviously trying to help out the seniors where we can as well.

We’ve got our first practice matches this weekend when the junior club will play Greensborough from the Northern Football League, so we’re looking forward to that. We’ve also got a family day on Sunday March 30. We’ll have a club photo, jumper presentation and BBQ, with hopefully a couple of Collingwood players in attendance. So that’s really exciting too.

If you had to pick one, which team do you think is the club’s best chance of winning a premiership this season?

I think our Under 17’s, Under 15’s and Under 13’s are looking really positive, so we’re hoping that they do well this year. But at the end of the day, it’s not really about premierships. It’s about developing the kids and having fun. That’s the main purpose of our footy club.

Is there a particular age group of players that you need as soon as possible to fill a team ahead of Round 1?

We’ve had a few issues with our Under 14’s and Under 12’s. If we get those sides up we’ll have eight sides for the year and that’d be fantastic.

If any players are interested in playing for Donvale Junior Football Club this season, what do they have to do?

Anyone wanting to play can contact me [Mark Djordevic] on my mobile (0407 615 690) or contact the club via our website or on donvale@efnl.org.au.