BEN Camilleri has been around long enough to know team success is the sum of many parts. Which is why the Mildura veteran is not surprised that his team have won four on the trot to move firmly into finals contention.
“We have always been building, but it many ways it has come down to having a bit of continuity with our full team in, as well as adding a few other players to the list,” he said.
“We are virtually at full strength at the moment, so that always plays a big part.
“The other thing is there is more depth in the seconds with four or five guys who are pushing for spots, and the thirds are on top, so that lifts the intensity at training and makes for a good feeling at the club. It all adds up.”
Camilleri, who is among a core group of senior Demons leading the finals charge, is himself enjoying a rich vein of form, highlighted by a best-on-ground display against South Mildura last Saturday that earned him the Holcroft Lawyers Player of the Round award.
After a career spent mostly across half-back and in midfield, the 29-year-old has been used in attack at times this season, and sparked the Demons with three goals in their crucial win over the fourth-placed Bulldogs.
“I’m just happy to play wherever the team needs me, it doesn’t really matter,” he said.
“I think we are pretty lucky that there are a lot of guys in the team my age who have played together for a long time, but then we have a good mix of the young blokes coming through as well, so I think the balance is pretty right.
“After missing last year I think everyone feels a bit refreshed and the older you get the more hungry for success you get, I guess, because there mightn’t be many more opportunities.”
Mildura takes on premiership favourites Imperials in the clash of the traditional rivals on Saturday, before then meeting reigning premiers Irymple, in what shapes as a crucial fortnight for the club.
But Camilleri said his team were embracing the challenge.
“It’s a good test to see where we’re at, no doubt,” he said. “Before the COVID break, we lost to Irymple by four points and possibly should have won, so we will give it a crack.”
And as for his own career beyond 2021?
“I’m 30 at the end of the year, but the body is still not too bad, so I think I’ve got a couple left in me still,” he said.
