Macleod secure star ruckman Patrick Flynn from Lower Plenty
Macleod has launched back into the NFL Division 1 premiership contention after securing star big man Patrick Flynn from Lower Plenty with the lure of top-flight football understood to be behind the move.
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Macleod has fired the first shot in the NFL Division 1 arms race, luring Patrick Flynn out of Lower Plenty.
The Roos announced the coup on Monday, securing arguably the best ruckman outside the top flight as the club looks to return to finals in 2020.
Flynn played just one full game this season after suffering a serious ankle injury in the Round 2 loss to Greensborough.
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In a dominant 2018, Flynn captained the Bears to the Division 2 premiership and promotion before winning the league best-and-fairest and grand final best-on-ground.
Macleod coach Christian Stagliano was rapt to have secured Flynn’s signature.
“We’re really, really happy to have Pat on board, it’s very exciting,” he said.
“Big guys are hard to come by and we were lucky we added one late last year in Tim Baker but it should be fantastic having Patty on board full-time.”
Flynn has played his entire senior career at Lower Plenty and Stagliano believed playing Division 1 football was behind the decision to leave Montmorency Park.
“I can’t speak on behalf of Patty but I know he’s been heavily invested there for a long time and it certainly wasn’t an easy decision,” he said.
“If Lower were in Division 1 we wouldn’t be having this conversation, he wholly and solely wanted to play at the highest level possible.”
After making the grand final in 2018, the Roos finished missed finals for the first time since 2013 this season, finishing a game and a half behind Montmorency in a dramatic finals race.
Fully recovered from his ankle injury, Flynn will now help Macleod combat the dominant big men of Division 1 such as Sam Gilmore, Mark Kovacevic and Matt Dennis.
In announcing Flynn, Macleod promised further signing news in the coming weeks.
Stagliano was tight-lipped about possible additions for next season, more excited about securing the club’s current playing list.
“There’s always plenty of noise this time of year but it’s great we’ve got all our guys re-committed and that’s a great starting point for us,” he said.
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