The competition returns this weekend and the region’s finest young players are gearing up to go into battle against some of the top clubs in Victoria, in what will surely be a gruelling few months of football.
The Suns under-20s managed an impressive fifth on the ladder last season with a large part of their success accredited to Vance’s preparation of the squad in the lead-up to the season.
It was a huge relief to players and staff when he made the decision to sign on for another year and again expected the very best from his young charges.
‘‘Preseason has gone really well for the 20s, the hardest thing is installing the work ethic needed to be competitive in new players that come up from the juniors,’’ Vance said.
‘‘My expectations for this season are the same as last season, to finish top of the table.
‘‘I feel like we could have done that last year but injuries and promotions to the first team meant it was not possible.’’
Despite prolific forwards Alou Koul and Fraser Gosstray pushing for seniors spots, gifted youngsters such as Elijah Brooker and Stefan Pigatto are breaking through the ranks, providing talent by the truckload across all areas of the pitch.
‘‘Players coming through are very, very important at a club like GV Suns. We have to be able to develop our own talent because of our location on the map as it can be difficult to attract players from Melbourne,’’ Vance said.
‘‘But results and performance wise I am happy with how we are looking going into the first game this weekend.’’
The Suns’ young guns travel to Melbourne today to play Springvale White Eagles, at 3pm.
