TWO former Ovens and Murray players headline several new recruits at North Albury.
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After losing several key players in the off-season, Hoppers coach Jason Akermanis has hit back, signing Rory Muggivan and Ben Fulford in a recruiting spree.
Muggivan played at Lavington and Albury and comes to Bunton Park via Osborne, where he has played in a variety of roles including forward, back and in the midfield.
“I thought while I’m still young enough I thought I’d give the O and M another crack,” Muggivan said.
“Hopefully I can get into the midfield, but I suppose wherever the boss tells me to go.
“I’ve been out of the competition for a while so it’s hard to gauge, but the young guys are pretty unknown so they could be a surprise packet.
“Hopefully we can go a bit further than last season and make it past the first round of finals.”
Akermanis is excited about 27-year-old Muggivan, who also has VFL experience at Williamstown.
“He’s a big-bodied midfielder and it gives us a bit more flexibility,” Akermanis said.
“He will compliment Shaun Mannagh and Dom Brew and Lachie Taylor-Nugent and he will help our midfield rotations.”
Fulford returns to the Hoppers from Queanbeyan, where he has played for the past three seasons.
The talented cricketer also represented the ACT in football this season.
“It will be a good learning opportunity under one of the best footballers to ever play the game and I want to get home to see the family,” Fulford said.
“I’ve probably had the best year I’ve had in footy.”
The 21-year-old, who can play forward and back, will travel back from Canberra to play under Akermanis.
“He wants to play at home which is great,” Akermanis said.
“He’s got a lot of flexibility and he’s going to fit in nicely.”
The Hoppers have also picked up Daniel Mannagh from Murray Magpies, Callum Butler from Thurgoona and Joe Spurr from Walla.
Youngster Doulton Langlands, from junior club St Patrick’s, is also on board when his Murray Bushrangers commitments allow.
“We’ve recruited blokes who can play forward and back,” Akermanis said.
“Our midfield has got some depth and our defence has got some real quality.”
While the likes of Nick and Kris Holman, Adam Elias, Josh Lloyd and Jordan Harrington have left, Akermanis is excited about the 2016 season.
“The whole goal when we recruit is to replace the players we’ve lost with better players,” Akermanis said.
“This is the most talented list we’ve had in my time.
“We’ve got to get them to gel as quickly as possible.”
