EDFL: Jake Carlisle set to play for Craigieburn in 2023
Craigieburn has revealed what next year will hold for Jake Carlisle as the Eagles aim to replace several stars who have departed the club.
Essendon
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A new era at Craigieburn is officially underway.
The Eagles have a new president (Dom Micallef), new senior coach (Shane Jacobs) and a new look playing group ahead of the 2023 season.
But arguably the biggest news announced this off-season is that former Essendon and St Kilda key position star Jake Carlisle will pull on the boots next year.
Carlisle served as an assistant throughout the 2022 season but is now “fully fit” ahead of pre-season which will kick off later this month.
It’s expected he will play the full home-and-away season.
“Jake is ready to go,” Jacobs said.
“It’s great to have him on board again for next year, he’s going to provide our young group with some vital experience.”
Carlisle is set to play an important role in a new look Eagles’ line-up with several stars having departed the club since the end of the season.
Corey Middleton and Nathan Perrone have joined Eltham while Brodie White will test himself in Division 1 of the Northern League with North Heidelberg.
Despite the loss of key players, Craigieburn has welcomed new and returning faces into the fold.
Two-time premiership star Sammy Laffan has returned from Tullamarine.
Connor Bills, Daniel Ray, Hugh Hart, Nathan Gardiner and Travis Keating are the other recruits to have been announced so far.
“Players are always going to come and go at any club,” Jacob said.
“But the door is never closed on those who have left, they’ll always be welcome back. We think we’ve recruited well so far but there’s still some more that needs to be done and we’re working through that at the moment.
“We’ve got a lot of young kids who will push for senior opportunities which is really exciting. When I took the job I said we want to be developing from within because that’s how successful clubs are built.
“This role is going to be challenging but we’re up for it.”
Micallef, who has taken over the presidency from John Perrone, will lead a new look committee saying there was a “changing of the guard”.
“Our playing group is in a bit of a rebuild phase at the moment but we want to be a Premier Division club in the next two to three years,” he said.
“I’ve always said Craigieburn is a club who should be playing at that level. We’ve got a new football manager Chris Laffan who we think will bring a lot to the club.
“We’re possibly looking at two under 18 teams for next season as well which puts us in a really healthy position.
“Shane has a great coaching staff behind him so we’ve got a lot to look forward to.”
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