EDFL: Sunbury Kangaroos sign Clinton Young, lose eight flag winners
Sunbury Kangaroos are set to field a new-look line-up in EDFL Division 1 in 2020, but the club has secured an AFL premiership player.
Local Footy
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Footy. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Sunbury Kangaroos are aggressively chasing blue-chip talent in a bid to be competitive in EDFL Division 1 after losing three of their leading players.
Gun midfielders Tierone Cuffe and Matthew Quigley have departed, while Lachlan Baddeley is set to retire after booting 58 goals in 2019.
The trio featured in the top five in the best-and-fairest after the club completed an undefeated Division 2 season in its maiden EDFL campaign to earn promotion.
Premiership players Christian Monaco, Jeremy Murphy, Jared Pretty, Brad Slater and Matt Welsh have also retired.
Jacob Opie, Michael Spooner and Braiden Wilson are others to exit, the Kangaroos set to field a new-look line-up sprinkled with young talent.
With an ageing list and player points issues, coach Anthony Leydin said his team “will probably take some medicine to get some young kids through”.
He said finding replacements for Cuffe and Quigley was the top priority.
“With the departures, we’re in a good position financially to make some pretty good offers,” Leydin said.
“We’ve lost some pretty good players … we need to replace them and the money’s there.”
Hawthorn premiership player Clinton Young has put pen to paper with Sunbury Kangaroos in a significant boost
Young has coached Bendigo league outfit Gisborne for the past two seasons and has taken up an assistant coaching role with Williamstown this year.
Leydin said Young’s commitments at VFL level would limit him to “nine, 10 or 11 games” barring injury.
But his influence at training and on game day is set to be crucial for a club which has lost valuable experience.
EDFL CLUBS TO STAGE FUNDRAISER FOR BUSHFIRE VICTIMS
ALL THE LATEST LOCAL FOOTY NEWS
“There’s no substitute for someone of his pedigree, background and experience,” Leydin said.
“Ex-AFL premiership players don’t bob up too often, so it’s given everyone a bit of a lift and I’m sure our young boys will enjoy being around him.
“But his first priority is his assistant coaching role at Williamstown.”
With the Kangaroos’ list a work in progress, Leydin said he was unsure where the versatile Young was best suited.
But he added the 2008 flag winner’s quality foot skills would likely result in him spending plenty of time in the defensive half.
“There’s a strong likelihood you’d want to make the most of his elite kicking skills off half-back or centre half-back, but it’s still early days,” Leydin said.
“It depends who we pick up and what our team looks like.
“We certainly don’t want to be relying on him given he could be there one week and gone the next.
“We’ll set up a game plan irrespective of personnel.”
The Kangaroos have also secured Diggers Rest premiership player Mark Freeth, Dean Halliwell (Rupertswood), Zach McCasker (Greenvale), Will Healy and Dylan Caruana (both Sunbury Lions).
Sunbury Kangaroos will host East Keilor in Round 1 on April 4.
WHAT A LEADER LOCAL FOOTY SUBSCRIPTION GIVES YOU ACCESS TO
— Match reports, features, player and coach movements and analysis of all the leagues across Melbourne.
— Unprecedented AFL coverage.
— All the latest football news from across the country including Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and Courier-Mail.
— Latest news and videos from the world’s leading leagues.
— Exclusive digital stories and videos before they go to print.