One of the Kyabram District League’s top contenders over the past three years, from the outside looking in it appears the Towners are poised for a rebuild after star talent in the ilk of Jack Exell, Josh Mellington, Nick Brazil and Fintan Brazil all found new homes in the off-season.
But when it comes to country footy, you never have a true indication of where you sit until every side hits the park in round one, and with a host of exciting youngsters now leading the way, Armstrong is hoping his new-look squad will surprise pundits this season.
“We’re tracking along pretty well and have managed to advance on our pre-season over the past few weeks,” Armstrong said.
“There is no doubt that we will be a bit of an unknown this season, we’ve managed to pick up a few handy recruits which is exciting, but you never know how you’ll gel until the real stuff starts.
“But coming into the season we are more than confident we’ll be competitive, that is the main thing, what grows from there and beyond I am not sure.”
There is no doubt the Towners have had their struggles over the summer months.
Over the early portion of the pre-season, numbers on the track were so low that the club was forced to put a call-out on social media to try and attract enough players to be able to field two senior sides.
But now, with the season just over a fortnight away, Violet Town finds itself in a much more settled position — with Pras Sayakhot, Tom McKay, Andrew Padbury and Brandon Ebert — all coming on board to give the seniors a much-needed boost.
Violet Town fans have been able to catch a glimpse of the new-look squad in action over the past fortnight in a pair of practice matches against Ovens and King outfits Benalla All Blacks and North Wangaratta.
While the scoreboard did not paint a favourable picture in either contest, Armstrong said there were enough positive signs moving forward into round one.
“Barring the scores I actually thought we were good in general play, which is all I can ask as a coach in practice matches,” he said.
“Most of our recruits didn’t play in either practice game, so those two matches weren’t a true indication of what we’ll be as a team this year.
“After getting a taste over these past couple of weeks, we are now super excited to get into the real stuff.”
He said watching the development of the club’s young talent will be the most exciting aspect of the job this season.
“I am more than happy with what our young kids as a whole have shown me throughout the pre-season,” he said.
“There is so much potential in these young blokes and I think they will all benefit greatly from having more exposure to senior footy this year.
“The youngsters will have more of a say on what we do this year as the future of the club.”
On the netball side of things, 2023 is shaping up to be a very exciting year as the Towners look to take the next step into A-grade premiership contention.
Taking the solo reins as senior coach this season, senior coach Kolby Wild said she had been thrilled with the pre-season and confident they could go to the next level.
“We’ve been in a bit of a building phase for the past few seasons, and are hoping that this is the year everything really starts to come together,” Wild said as part of the McPherson Media Group 2023 Football and Netball magazine.
“Recruiting-wise we’ve done a great job in adding more speed into the squad which is something we lacked a bit of last year.
“So overall, things are looking very positive at the moment and hopefully that translates into more finals netball.”
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