Local footy: WRFL club Parkside signs Shaun Campbell and Nathan Montague

WRFL Division 2 club Parkside has signed two star midfielders for 2021 as it chases promotion to the top flight.

Nathan Montague is one of two big names to cross to Parkside. Picture: Local Legends Photography

Parkside’s bid to gain promotion to Western Region Football League’s top flight has received a significant boost with two star midfielders signing on with the club.

The recruits are both competition best-and-fairest winners, with Shaun Campbell claiming the top individual award in the Central Highlands league when he was at Ballan in 2015, while Nathan Montague was crowned the WRFL’s Alan Smith medallist as a Manor Lakes player in 2018.

Campbell has arrived at the Magpies as a playing assistant coach for the midfield after spending 2019 with Ballarat league outfit Melton, where he earned eight mentions in the best from 18 games and kicked 23 goals.

He spent three years as coach at Wagga Tigers, steering them to the 2016 flag in the Riverina league in his first season at the helm.

Campbell also has state league experience with Ainslie in the NEAFL.

He is close friends with Parkside’s Jackson Kew, helping seal the recruiting coup.

“We’ve probably had ties with Shaun for the last three years, and we’ve tried pretty hard to get him to be honest,” Magpies playing coach Chris Muratore said.

“He’s coached up in Wagga, we wanted someone to help me out on the sidelines and obviously being a leader on the ground as well.

“We stayed in contact … and developed a bit of a connection with him and we’ve just bounced some ideas off each other the last couple of years.

“We had a coffee, it went from there and he said he was happy to commit.”

Parkside coach Chris Murtore calls the shots. Picture: Josie Hayden

Campbell is a seasoned big-bodied midfielder and also capable of causing headaches for opposition sides in the forward half.

Muratore said Campbell was present at Parkside games last year when Melton had a bye.

“He’s a real good competitor and doesn’t get beaten,” he said.

“He’s a good old country footballer, has a crack and is as fit as a fiddle.

“If we are to win it and go to A grade, we’ve got a guy we can build a midfield around.”

Muratore said Campbell was one of the club’s most significant signings in recent years.

“Shaun is a big fish, but he’s also a really good and easy going guy,” he said.

“He’s just a leader … he talks and people are going to listen.”

Montague is also a big inclusion after winning the Division 2 best-and-fairest in 2018 before crossing to Division 1 side Hoppers Crossing in the second half of last season after Manor Lakes went into recess.

He has been one the leading players in the second tier for several seasons but performed impressively in the top grade last year, named in the Warriors’ best three times from eight appearances.

Montague will reunite with former Manor Lakes teammate Jackson Lesko.

“That was a great win over the weekend for our footy club,” Muratore said.

“It’s one we’ve been working on for a couple of years. I’ve played against Monty for probably eight or nine years and we’ve always had that on field, off field respect.

“He said he wanted to play a lot of midfield time and with Shauny on board we thought those two guys could really take our side to another level.”

Muratore said Parkside boasted a deep midfield with the playing coach, Max Rampling and Jesse Fortune joined by 2020 recruits Darcy Kennedy (Maribyrnong Park) and Tom Markey (Strathmore).

Maribyrnong Park trio Matthew Alvis, Ed Pearson and Djaran Murray-Jackson, Luke Vraca (East Keilor) and Jonah Vraca (Tatura) also put pen to paper before the season was scrapped.

Since winning the 2017 Division 3 flag, the Magpies have contested back-to-back preliminary finals and suffered a heartbreaking seven-point loss to eventual runner-up Wyndhamvale last year.

“We’ve had a bit of a game plan,” Muratore said.

“Without under-19s, it was to go with youth and get some really young guys. They just make training go a lot smoother and push everyone else along.

“Nath is turning 30 and Shaun is 28, so they fit that demographic where they’ve still got two or three really good years while these kids are coming on as well.

“We’ve gone out and got what we needed.

“Playing in two prelims since coming up in 2017, we keep improving, but to (be a premiership contender) we needed to go and plug the holes that we did.

“We’re very happy where the list is going into 2021, and hopefully we can get some games on the park.”