Kangas bounce into 2024
THE Cohuna Kangas have wasted no time building their list for next season, with several big name signings set to join new coach Jack Geary at the Kangas next season.
Ryan Semmel and Jayden Cordy will arrive at the club while former Kangas Jackson Williams, William Lee, Jacob Mitchell and Sam Leitch will return home in the hope of delivering a drought-breaking senior premiership.
Midfielder-forward Semmel has an impressive CV, including three Cheatley Medals as the HDFNL’s best-and-fairest player and six club senior best and fairests.
He has also represented Victoria Country during more than 300 senior games.
The other big recruit will be Lee, who has spent the past seven seasons at Golden Square alongside Geary.
Lee is expected to help strengthen Cohuna’s key defensive stocks, having played 51 senior games for the club previously, including the Kangas’ 2013 grand final loss to Kerang before his departure.
Also slotting into the backline will be Cordy, who has played at the Ballarat Swans, Golden Square and more recently Huntly in the HDFNL, where he was senior coach last season.
Returnee Mitchell has spent the past 10 seasons playing with Northcote Park and Banyule in the midfield, while both Williams and Leitch have spent the past two seasons playing in the midfield with Port Melbourne Colts.
The six recruits will help to fill the vacancies left by Rhys Free and former coach Tyson Findlay, with Free confirmed as joining the Noosa Tigers next season and Findlay set to return to his home club North Bendigo.
The club also announced the re-signings of key players Joel Helman, Jarrod Findlay, Sam McGlone, Dylan Johnstone, Brenton Conforti, Jack Donat, Daniel Coates, Riley Hird, Cooper Mcloughlan, Dylan Friedberger and Tyson Farrant last week.
Eagle O’Meara flies high
ZAC O’Meara capped off a breakout season for the Mallee Eagles in 2023, winning his first senior best and fairest at the club’s presentation night recently.
Having moved to play across half back in recent seasons, O’Meara held off former Jack Betts Medallist Harry Allen to be crowned the Eagles’ premier player in a season when they finished ninth with four wins and 12 losses.
Laura Fay claimed victory in the Mallee Eagles’ A grade best and fairest netball vote count, beating goal shooter Kellie Walker.
It’s been a big post-season for Allen, who has also been confirmed as senior co-coach of the Eagles, alongside Brent Macleod, next season.
The Eagles midfielders will replace Brent Sheahan, who stepped down in August after two years in the role.
Blues on the move
KERANG will have a new-look side in 2024 with the confirmed departures of three premiership players to Newstead last week.
Michael Dalrymple, Hayden Hall and Adam Hunter will depart, along with regular senior player Michael Runciman, who was best on ground for Kerang in this year’s reserves grand final.
Dalrymple will join Newstead as co-coach, with the quartet joining Troy Coates and Troy Davis in not pulling on the navy blue next season after the two veterans announced their retirements following the club’s 10-point grand final win over Kerang last month.
Rebuild in progress at Saints
WHILE Tooleybuc-Manangatang are yet to confirm their senior coach for next season, that hasn’t prevented the club announcing several key signings, with former players Jackson Morris and Zac Nicholls joining former SANFL footballer Elliot Chalmers in donning the red, white and black in 2024.
Chalmers, who is currently playing for NTFL premier league club PINT, joins the Saints as an inside midfielder, having previously played with SANFL teams Glenelg and North Adelaide.
Morris and Nicholls will return from injury next season for Tooleybuc-Manangatang, Morris having missed his entire 2023 season for Tyntynder with a knee injury.
Also returning in 2024 will be leading goalkicker Josh Williams and best and fairest runner-up Blake Grant, who have been announced as re-signing for next season by the club.
