Wangaratta Rovers have just landed a stunning recruiting coup in near 2m-tall Essendon VFL forward John Jorgensen.
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"We spoke to John last year and he was really close to coming across, but he got a late opportunity to go to Essendon," delighted Hawks' coach Sam Murray said.
"He also spent a fair bit of time with Toby (Murray's younger brother) at Essendon, so they stayed really close."
Rovers made the preliminary final in 2022, but dropped back to fifth this year, albeit with injuries impacting late in the season.
Any club without a key forward would desperately like a proven forward, with Jorgensen booting 20 goals at state level.
He also played for Richmond VFL in 2022.
"John's still got the aspirations to play AFL and we know that VFL footy is a really hard place for a forward to apply their craft, the numbers are getting harder within the VFL to get picked up and we spoke to John and used Toby as a really good example of someone who came out and had a really good year at Rovers and has attracted AFL interest, as well as some really strong SANFL interest," Murray suggested.
"Our conversations with John have been around that, we really want to help him prosper in his football career.
"We feel the Ovens and Murray is getting stronger and his ability to come in and be a key forward will put him in a really good position to put himself forward in the eyes of AFL and VFL clubs."
Jorgensen's signing continues a bumper recruiting period.
The Hawks recently snared highly rated Aberfeldie captain Samuel Cattapan and fellow Essendon District Football League club (Strathmore) captain Xavier Allison.
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Toby Murray is a confirmed departure to the SANFL, but the club will be quietly confident its building a team which could break what will be a 30-year premiership drought in 2024.
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