When Darryl O'Reilly was last at the helm, his club was the envy of AFL Cairns. It was the 1990's, the Centrals Trinity Beach Bulldogs were the benchmark and it was not often that they did not feature in the big dance. He left after 16 years on the board and has since watched as the Northern Beaches club's record of success was slowly torn down. Last year was the worst as players, coaches and staff were either let go or left of their own accord, forcing many of the players left to run on in both reserves and seniors in the one day to avoid a forfeit.
They finished the year with only three wins and copped some monumental hidings. O'Reilly, watching the torment from the sidelines, answered the SOS with three games remaining last year - and has stayed on to right the ship in 2013. "It's a pretty big job, considering where we were," the football and sponsorship manager said. "It split the club in half but we've got a new committee with a vision for the future and we want to see players recommit." O'Reilly helped build - literally - the club in the last era of dominance and is determined to reconstruct the proud organisation again.
"We started with a shed and built it up and that's what we've done again, building a clubhouse for the players to instil the culture again," he said. Enlisted on the front line is Peter Seymour, who is held in high regard in Victorian country league Ovens and Murray. The long-time Yarrawonga mentor is no stranger to the situation the Bulldogs face. In fact, it mirrors the one the Pigeons had when he got there in 1997. "The week before we lost by 247 points. But we turned that around in one week and won the next," he said. "I've been here before."
While numbers are still not brilliant, the acquisition of Seymour means some fresh playing blood in the ranks and some reputable experience in the dugout. And while on one is dreaming of winning premierships, they know that winning games is the only way to get the club back on track. "It's being competitive. It's like a car tyre. Once it's full all good, but when it's flat it's a lot of hard work. I'd say we're about half full at the moment," Seymour said.
Last Modified on 04/04/2013 17:40