Yarrawonga has landed a late recruiting coup in Seymour best and fairest Harry Wheeler.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The inside midfielder committed to the Pigeons on Sunday night.
“He’ll be a scorcher in this league,” jubilant coach Damian Sexton said.
“He finds the footy, he’s just a ball magnet basically.”
He’ll be a scorcher in this league. He finds the footy, he’s just a ball magnet basically.
- Damian Sexton
Wheeler started training with the Pigeons last month and played in the club’s interclub trial on Friday night.
“He played really well, you can tell he’s a good player,” Sexton said.
The Lions played in last year’s Goulburn Valley preliminary final, falling to Shepparton.
The Pigeons also made the penultimate weekend in the O and M, losing a 15-point lead at the three-minute mark of the final term to eventual premiers Wangaratta.
It’s been a quiet off-season for the Pigeons, with Wheeler their first ‘name’ recruit.
Admittedly, the introduction of the player points system has reduced the number of profile signings, but the other teams in last year’s finals series have certainly picked up more.
“He’s going to move to Yarrawonga, he’s a good mate of (star player) Mark Whiley’s, so that was the connection,” Sexton said.
The points allocation – which restricts teams to 38 points with a player straight from AFL likely to attract the maximum of six – has changed clubs’ thinking.
“The direction I was given and I’ve always been about it … you’ve got to utilise local talent because local talent brings local people,” Sexton said.
“It also brings parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, so when you go to the community and ask them for a sponsorship, they love it if they’ve got a connection with one of your players.
“Gone are the days, with the points system, if you’re not on the front foot, breeding your own, you’re going to end up in all sorts.”
Yarrawonga will start its season at home with a blockbuster against grand finalists Albury on Easter Sunday.
