Two Victorian players sign with Palm Beach Currumbin QAFL team

A VFL young gun and an established Victorian tall have made the move to Queensland in order to help Palm Beach Currumbin’s bid to win back the QAFL premiership.

A VFL young gun and an established Victorian tall have made the move to Queensland in order to help Palm Beach Currumbin’s bid to win back the QAFL premiership.

Casey Demons halfback-winger Matthew Gahan and Corowa Rutherglen Football Club ruck-forward Jack Bates have signed with the Lions for the 2020 season.

Both have arrived at the club with big plaudits from Lions coach Jess Sinclair who hopes to guide the club to what would be its fourth-straight QAFL grand final.

Gahan, 19, played four games for the Demons, the Victorian Football League affiliate to AFL club Melbourne, and has chosen to pursue a season in Queensland after being overlooked at the 2019 draft.

“He can seriously play,” Sinclair said of his recruit.

Matthew Gahan of the Stingrays is tackled during the round 11 TAC Cup match between Dandenong and Geelong at Shepley Oval on July 7, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Defina/AFL Media)

“He is an elite user of the ball and puts himself in the right spots.”

Bates, 22, is coming off a season playing in the Ovens and Murray Football League where he featured in 17 games.

“Jack looks more than handy. He has already trained with us and we are pretty excited about him,” Sinclair said.

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Sinclair said the club was also close to securing another high quality young player from Victoria for the 2020 season while they are unsure if Angus Munro and Adam McKenzie, who both played in last year’s losing grand final team against Surfers Paradise, will be playing this year.

Both have commitments in Brisbane that will make it difficult to train and play for Palm Beach Currumbin.

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