Tatura is hoping to bring more bark and bite to 2024 compared to recent years.
The club recently announced its senior coaching line-up for the looming Goulburn Valley League tilt and it’s good news out of the Kennel with former Essendon gun Paul Barnard leading the charge once more.
He’s joined on the panel by current Freddo McMahon Perpetual Trophy-holder Ethan Penrith, Andrew Ciavarella and recently retired Ash Quinn.
Barnard labelled 2023, his first year at the helm, as an “assessment year” as Tatura adjusted to change, but now he feels the Bulldogs are poised for a step up as continuity begins to take hold.
“There’s some really good signs that the list has progressed somewhat (since last year),” Barnard said.
“We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us, but I’m pretty happy nearly 18 months on now and we’ve got a better understanding.
“I’ve got some really good assistant coaches that have come in; Ethan Penrith will come in as a playing assistant coach and we’re fortunate enough to retain Andrew Ciavarella, while Ash Quinn has retired from playing and is coming on board as my senior assistant.
“We feel like we’ve got a really good coaching group and a good structure off-field, we think our footy program is in the right space where it should be at the current level.”
Tatura has injected a flood of new talent into the blue, red and white for this season.
Pre-Christmas, the club announced the signings of ex-Port Adelaide man Aidyn Johnson and Jhdara Jones (Avondale Heights) as well as Lake Boga trio Tyle Williams, Jacob Simpson and Jake Warren.
More recently, Fayte Belmont-Wickliffe (Echuca United) and Ryan Hatch (Undera) have been added to the ranks, while Tim Wilson, Curtis Ryan and Jayden Armstrong are back from lengthy injuries.
And in a massive coup, big-bodied brothers Matt and Brad Ryan have returned from the Northern Territory Football League to wreak havoc on the GVL once again.
“We’ve made a concerted effort to add some height, some strength and skill to our list, so that’s been really pleasing from a recruiting perspective,” Barnard said.
“We’re going to be a lot taller, whereas last year we were a little bit shorter.”
It’s not just the new faces that excite Barnard.
Tatura easily owned one of the league’s greenest lists last season and with another year of senior football into the likes of Matt Rennie, Will Russell, Sean McAllister and Xavier Hutchison, the Bulldogs leader said this year could be anything for his young nucleus.
“I’m pretty bullish about the fact that they’ve bought into the footy program and they’re willing to roll their sleeves up and get better,” he said.
“We’ve got higher expectations of those boys now; a lot of them have been here for two or three years now and have come through our junior system and we want to really advance those boys.
“They should be ready to fire now, they’ve got a line of sight as to what the competition brings and how hard it is, but I’m very pragmatic in the way those boys can really take the next step.”