Shute Shield Season Preview: EASTWOOD with John Manenti
by Paul Cook -
The strides taken by the Eastwood club since coach John Manenti took up the reigns halfway through the 2010 season are there for all to see – and admire. Four Minor Premierships in a row, two Grand Final appearances and one Shute Shield Premiership with 1st grade, while the club as a whole has contested six of the 16 grade finals during that time, including all four – a club record - last season.
To have done so on one of the smaller budgets in the Shute Shield only makes the achievements all the more impressive but Manenti isn’t one for back-slapping. While justifiably proud of their success in 2013, he also remembers that the Woodies only went home with one of those four potential trophies and also suffered a humbling 50-6 defeat at the hands of a rampant Sydney University in the season’s showpiece final.
With the squad relatively intact, the return of a