RETURNED coach Darcy Lewis is confident Dennington has filled gaps in its list as it eyes Warrnambool and District league success in 2015.
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Lewis, who has taken over from Ben Parkinson, has worked the phone since September as the Dogs seek to improve on their preliminary final appearance.
His recruiting campaign has netted two players with Hampden league experience, Cobden onballer Leigh Evans and Terang Mortlake ruckman Justin Wallace.
Evans will be an assistant coach while Wallace has committed to football after spending last winter playing with Big V basketball side Warrnambool Seahawks.
Among other new signings, Tim Chatfield will finally line up with Dennington after sitting out 2014 following a failed attempt to be cleared from East Warrnambool.
North Warrnambool Eagles’ Brenton O’Rourke and Warrnambool trio Jake Boyle, Grayden Russell and Jimmy Sclanders are also headed to the club.
The final piece in the recruiting puzzle is former Horsham and District league ruckman John Dixon, who has moved to the area.
“I made a point of what I needed and focused on getting them,” Lewis said.
“Dennington has a reputation of being a good club over the last few years. We’ve got a side that has got to finals each year but needs to go a step further.
“A lot of guys are keen to help us out. I made a point as well that that’s recruiting finished. I’m not going to start pushing people out the door for no reason.
“By all means, our door is always open for new players to try out but I haven’t rang anyone for a couple of weeks. Once we signed Leigh, he was the last one.”
Lewis said he was pleased to secure Evans, an onballer who played every match last season, as an assistant coach. “This is a step up for him. He’s definitely the right choice for the job,” he said.
He said Lock would benefit from sharing the ruck duties with Wallace and Dixon, as well as potentially Luke Duncan or himself.
“Locky has been fantastic but it’s not doing his football justice having to do it on his own,” Lewis said.
Evans, 25, said work commitments and family were behind his decision to play at Dennington. The plumber will shift to Warrnambool early next year.
“I’m already working down here. It’s got real busy. I can’t keep travelling. I committed myself down here to do 12 months, see how things work out,” he said.
He said leaving Cobden, which has appointed Wayne Robertson and Paul Foster to coach, was “the hardest decision I’ve had to make”.
“I’ll definitely be back at Cobden. It’s a matter of working myself out first and going from there,” he said.
“I love the club, love all the people there. I’ve come down to work. That’s all it’s come to, the work situation and the travelling.”
Evans spent much of 2012 and 2013 on the sidelines nursing broken collarbones. But he was back to his best last season in the Bombers’ midfield.
He thought Lewis would use him as a midfield rotation in 2015 “but I’m happy to play anywhere”.
“With the assistant coach Darcy has offered, it’s something I’ll grab with both hands and learn off him,” he said.
Dennington had its last training session for 2014 on Wednesday night and will resume in early January.