BY JUSTIN RAKE
Bunbury Bulldogs FC
The Bunbury Bulldogs Football Club is gearing up for a big season ahead, and after making a preliminary final in 2012, will be looking to go one up on last season’s performance.
Club President Tom Busher is looking forward to the upcoming season, and believes the Bulldogs preseason has been an excellent start to the year.
Busher believes the preseason of youngsters Cody Thomson, Jayden Glass, Ashley Eades, Brad Blake and Riley Hutchison have been nothing short of impressive.
Bunbury will begin their season with a blinding opening match against Carey Park in two weeks.
With the return of Liam McGuire from Carey Park and the addition of Troy Rake from Harvey, Bunbury will be looking to make a dominant stand against the Panthers in round 1.
The last flag for the Bulldogs came in 2001, which Busher declared a “long time between drinks”. However Bunbury will be eyeing that elusive premiership this season, and with the talent they put forth on the field it’s easy to see why.
Key recruits Jordan Adamson-Holmes, Sam Miles and Marc Re have all stayed on board this year, slotting in well with the abundance of local talent Bunbury holds.
Jesse Gribble will again lead the command, with the help of David Butler and Blake in the midfield.
Key backs Thomson and Travis Gray will also play a big part for the Bulldogs defence.
However the Bulldogs realise that the competition this year will be a hard bunch to beat.
“Whoever comes together the best and plays well as a team will be the best this season.” Busher said. “We’re obviously hoping to go one more than last year’s preliminary final, but I think the main aim is to just play finals football.”
Eades and Hutchison will be players to watch out for this year, with a solid preseason under their belts and a bit of pace to go with it.
Eades is a well-known surname at the Bunbury Football Club, and Ashley is quickly becoming a favourite among the Bulldogs supporters.
Busher states the key to success for his team this year will be “playing as a group”, which they did very well in the later stages of 2012.
The Bulldogs will be a force to be reckoned with this year in the SWFL, and are a genuine contender for the premiership.