St Mary’s set to sign new recruits with plenty of points in its cap

The reigning back-to-back premiers have revealed a particular player their priority to sign as the club gets set to defend its title in 2023.

GFL Grand Final day Senior footy grand final between St Mary's and Leopold . St MaryÕs coaches Travis Robertson and Glenn Keast Picture: Mark Wilson

St Mary’s co-coach Travis Robertson has confirmed the club will go shopping for new recruits ahead of 2023, with a third-straight premiership firmly on the minds of the Saints.

The back-to-back premiers have lost at least one player from their premiership side, with Josh Jaska returning to his junior club Anglesea.

Robertson said the club had a clear vision of recruiting and remaining competitive in the future.

“We’ve got at least 10 kids coming out of our under-18s team from last year that have been together for quite some time that’s high quality and we want to see play senior footy next year,” he said.

“But we’re definitely going to recruit, we’ve got room to move with our points.

Josh Jaska (right) will return to Anglesea for 2023. Picture: Mark Wilson

“Our grand final side, if it rolled out tomorrow, would play at 26 points (out of 40), so there’s a bit of space to move.

“We’ll talk to 20 players to get two, that’s sort of how it works, but we’re going through that process from a variety of places, interstate and local, Bellarine teams, all sorts.”

The Saints have not announced any new recruits yet, but are expecting to target a ruck more as the primary focus ahead of 2023.

“Nick Nott is getting closer to the end than the start of his footy journey so we are trying to protect that, we’re in the market for a ruckman but they’re not that easy to find,” Robertson said.

“It’s not like the AFL where you can hone in on a genuine sort of player, we don’t have that luxury.

“When you land one you’re happy because every other club is trying to do the same thing.

St Mary’s is focused on winning another premiership. Picture: Mark Wilson

“How we structure up is generally based on how successful our recruiting has gone.”

Robertson said he did not expect to feel the pain of losing Jaska too much, with a dominant young key defender missing almost all of 2022 through injury.

“People quickly forget about a young bloke named Sam Bourke who only played three games last year,” he said.

“He’s a terrifically talented young man that’ll do preseason with Geelong in the VFL, and he’ll slot into that slot no problem.

“We are definitely worried if he plays VFL, but if he does play VFL then good luck to him, it’s great for him and it’s great for our program.

“We’ve got guys like Sam Christensen who missed the grand final, we’ve got Lachy Peck who can play both ends, so we’re not too depleted there.”

Originally published as St Mary’s set to sign new recruits with plenty of points in its cap