Club president Andrew Parkinson was speaking in positive terms following the end-of-season vote count that saw his son, and club captain Zak, win the club’s senior football best and fairest award.
Merrigum has parted company with this year’s coach Jaydon Stiles and, according to the president, is “well and truly off to the races with the appointment of a new coach’’.
Speculation that the role may be filled by Parkinson’s older son, Jake, is incorrect.
Jake is on the eve of another finals campaign with Kyabram, where he has played 16 games this season — regularly given the role of curtailing the opposition’s most dangerous mid-sized forward.
He has been a regular in the Bombers’ senior ranks since crossing to the Goulburn Valley League club in 2020, having twice been a runner-up in Merrigum’s best and fairest award before shifting leagues.
Between 2017-19, he played 49 games and kicked 59 goals with Merrigum, having returned to the Kyabram league club after playing in the 2013 Kyabram Under-18 premiership — captained by this year’s star Merrigum recruit Jarryd Pertzel.
Jake’s younger brother, Zak, now has one-upped his brother with the best and fairest victory.
He won the award from Jordan and Brodie Easton.
Zak also played in Kyabram junior ranks before returning to Merrigum in 2016 and played his first senior game in 2017.
Since 2018, the 24-year-old (four years younger than his brother) has played 72 senior games, this year mostly in the mid-field.
Merrigum ended the season 10th on the ladder, beating bottom-ranked Girgarre by a point and second-bottom Violet Town twice during the home and way rounds.
The Bulldogs picked up another four premiership points when Undera was disqualified from the round seven match (after beating the Bulldogs by 27 points on the scoreboard) and had their best win of the season in a thrilling four-point win against Avenel.
That match featured a guest appearance from former Collingwood Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan
It lost its final round match with Shepparton East by 76 points, having trailed by 59 points at half-time before kicking four goals to Shepp East’s six in the second half.
Without Stiles in the line-up Jarryd Pertzel kicked three goals and, apart from Parkinson, the team’s best players were again Jordan and Brodie Easton.
The club did field a reserve grade team, having had to forfeit two of the preceding three weeks.
Parkinson said a mixture of injuries and unavailability had forced the club to forfeit.
“It has been tough, the week before we forfeited we loaned some players to Violet Town for the reserves game. Then we had to forfeit the following week,” he said.
Parkinson said planning for next year was a focus of he and his committee, telling the Free Press to stay tuned for some big announcements.
* Ethan Moor won the Bulldogs reserve best and fairest, from Matt Findlay and Tommy Grinter.
Breanna Baker was the A-grade netball best and fairest, with Maddy Wilson runner-up and George Wilson third.
Jorja Tranter won the B-grade best and fairest, beating equal runners-up Tina Ferati and Amelia Lowe.
Anna Bray was the standout C-grade player, ahead of Blynda Tranter and Teneisha Deery, while Under-17s best and fairest award winner was Zeenat Ishola, with Angel Spencer runner-up and Jade Christou third.
At the Under-15s level, Alyssa Christou won the award, ahead of Brooklyn Hebbard and Tayla Horder.
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