By Luke D'Anello
Narre Warren is not planning a quiet arrival in the Southern Football Netball League.
It is of little surprise when you consider the Magpies' enviable record.
The club claimed Mornington Peninsula league flags in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 before winning Outer East premierships in 2019, 2022 and 2024.
It means Narre Warren has secured nine of 17 available senior flags, with COVID forcing the shutdown of the 2020 season and a premature end to 2021.
But division one of the Southern league provides a new challenge this year, and the Magpies made their mark immediately with an opening-round win over Cranbourne before Saturday's loss against East Brighton.
Coach Steven Kidd stopped short of talking premierships this year and said a finals berth would be a successful outcome. But he made it clear Narre Warren had high ambitions as it chases more silverware.
"We're probably just setting our sights on hopefully trying to just make finals. I mean, that's probably the goal, just to get into the finals this year and then see what happens from there," Kidd said.
"That was probably our aim going into the year to A) be competition and B) just try and win enough games to get into the finals if we can.
"That'll give us some indication as to what we need to do if we want to be right up in the top couple and pushing for a flag maybe in years to come.
"But you never put a ceiling too much on things, I think. But, yeah, that's the goal."
Kidd said his side's depth would be a key factor in its ability to make an impact in what promises to be an engrossing top-flight season.
The Magpies claimed senior and reserves premierships in 2024 and boast several young guns who they believe have a promising future.
But there will be no easy games and no shortage of mouth-watering match-ups in division one this season, with most clubs recruiting strongly.
"I think our depth is strong. The reserves, they've got some good players there, and obviously the (under-) 19s as well," Kidd said.
"There's probably a handful of kids down there that I expect to be playing a bit of senior footy at some stage this year as well. I think we're in a good position come later in the year, if injuries start to set in a little bit.
"We're definitely expecting every week to be hard fought. There's never going to be any easy ones."
Kidd said the club remained in a development phase despite its recent success in the Outer East league.
He said his players would benefit from "having to play with more intensity for longer" in Southern.
"We sort of felt that last year. At the start of last year, or at the end of the 2023 season, we did lose probably a handful of pretty experienced players, so we brought some through last year and they probably exceeded what we expected," he said.
"But we still felt like they were in a development phase."
Narre Warren will next tackle Port Melbourne Colts away from home on Anzac Day.
