Last season's nail-biting escape from relegation feels like a distant ghost as the Suns prepare to rise again, fuelled with the fire of promise, as another Victorian Premier League Two campaign waits in the wings.
And with new challenges comes new blood.
The Orangemen have gone down the English route again with their recruiting blitz, bringing in two bright-eyed youngsters to help bolster the Suns’ stocks for 2025.
Having announced Christos Papakonstantinou earlier in the month, the Suns have enlisted the services of Tommy Blennerhassett and Danny Edwards, two UK imports hailing from professional academy backgrounds.
Blennerhassett, a nimble forward with a nose for goal, is one that coach Craig Carley is hoping can live up to his reputation as a bagsman.
“Tommy has been a goal scorer everywhere he’s gone,” Carley said.
“He came with a huge reputation as a youngster for scoring a lot of goals — I think he scored the two winning goals in the FA Youth Cup final back in the UK for MK Dons.
“He got loaned out to a couple of teams whilst he was on the books of MK Dons too.
“He’s young, he’s quick, he works hard and I really do think he’ll suit our style of play.”
While Blennerhassett will cause havoc in the forward line, compatriot Edwards will seek to conduct the midfield as a versatile ball-player.
The technician has professional first team experience at Fleetwood Town, featuring in the Football League and the FA Cup.
It’s that kind of class that Carley wants to harness in his system next season as the Suns seek to improve on their 10th placing in the 2024 VPL2 campaign.
“He certainly comes with high-level pedigree and he’s playing now at a high-level standard back in the UK,” Carley said.
“We’re really excited to have him; he’s a versatile player who can play anywhere in midfield and he’ll add a bit of quality to our side as well.
“I’m really looking forward to welcoming him to the squad.”
Edwards and Blennerhassett are expected to bring a hunger sharpened by the crucible of English non-league and professional football and are expected to arrive in Shepparton in early January.
Carley also indicated the club was currently finalising its OFC/Asian import slot, which will be announced in the next fortnight.
But what about the locals?
The Goulburn Valley base is well into pre-season with Carley believing his charges are “ahead of where we should be in terms of fitness”, and after a competitive hit-out against PlaySport Agency at the weekend, all signs are pointing north for the Suns.
“Saturday’s game was really good against a quality side,” he said.
“I thought we performed really well with a youngish squad against a touring team from the UK of players who are all looking to secure Visa spots over in Australia.
“Boys certainly didn’t look out of place and there were plenty that impressed, (so) hopefully we can kick on this year.
“It’s a bit of a rebuild for the club, but it seems to be the story just with the logistics of where we are in terms of players coming and going.
“It’s an exciting project; we want to be a club that develops as many junior local players as we possibly can and blood them in a senior environment and we’ll continue to do that.”
