Russell, who has joined the Heathcote league club from Rochester after three COVID-19-riddled seasons, was a shining light in the club’s practice match with Kyabram district league club Undera on Saturday.
He is returning to the HDFL and will face his old club, Heathcote, in round five.
Club president Darren Trewick, who is returning for a second tenure as president of Elmore, was candid in his description of the off-season.
“We’ve been able to pick up some pretty handy talent.
“It’s been a long-term goal of the recruiting committee, certainly not a one-year thing. We’ve been on a rebuilding phase for many years, as people would attest to.
“We’ve retained most of our footballers, which has allowed us to be able to recruit and stay under our points allocation,” he said.
"We have better players with less points, because we have been able to retain them,“ he said.
Russell will ruck this season in tandem with Jarrod Kyne, his understudy at Rochester last season, while former Bendigo Pioneer Nathan Kay will play in the midfield.
Kay, a former Bendigo Pioneers player and star Rochester junior, kicked 14 goals in 18 games at senior Goulburn Valley League level last season.
Trewick said Undera, due to unavailability of players, didn’t provide a lot of opposition, so it was hard to judge where the club was at.
Danny Brewster, who has coached Elmore in previous years, was Undera’s best player.
“We pretty much had our whole team in for the match. There was a full contingent of seconds and seniors, but we only played six 20-minute quarters
“We don’t have another practice match booked yet, I know they are working on it,” he said.
The Heathcote league season starts on April 15, with Elmore drawn to play Huntly, who finished eighth last year with only two wins.
The following week they face Colbinabbin, who finished third last year. They then face bottom team from 2022 Leitchville-Gunbower and non-finalists White Hills and Heathcote.
Trewick said there was a determination in the football ranks on the back of the netball success last year.
“It is starting to filter through the club,” he said.
Elmore won the A-grade and A-reserve premierships and were involved in four netball grand finals.
The club’s A-grade netball team is almost identical to last year’s, apart from Kelsey Niven and Allira Holmes, who will be sidelined due to pregnancy.
Last year’s A-grade title win was the first in 54 years.
The senior football team will again be coached by Dylan Friedberger, who was appointed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic-impacted years.
The club’s last winning grand final was 2007 and its last finals appearance was an elimination final six years ago.
Facing only one of the top four teams from last year in the opening five weeks is an ideal lead-in to the season for the club.
