NFL 2019: Ex-AFL player Andrew Lovett joins resurgent Fitzroy Stars
MOMENTUM is surging at Fitzroy Stars after ex-Essendon player Andrew Lovett became the latest recruit to join the club’s resurgence.
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MOMENTUM is surging at Fitzroy Stars after ex-Essendon player Andrew Lovett became the latest recruit to join the club’s resurgence.
The Stars have enjoyed a profitable off-season under new coach Hayden Heta, signing a host of new faces and confirming the return of key trio Peter Hood, Jai Burns and Kain Proctor.
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Lovett, who played 88 AFL games with Essendon, has crossed to Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval from Southern league club Port Melbourne Colts.
Heta said the 36-year-old would be an important figure as the club rebuilds after finishing seventh in Division 2 this year.
“His class and leadership, in regards to building those expectations and training standards and all those things, he’s going to provide that in spades,” Heta said.
Hood and Kyle Thomas (Northcote Park) are the latest players to return to Fitzroy Stars after spending a season at other NFL clubs.
Heta said Hood, considered one of the premier players in Division 2, had been lured back by family connections.
“He’s certainly embedded into the fabric of the footy club,” he said.
“Topping it off, just the momentum the club has got at the moment, it’s hard to walk past.
“For him, it was family and just getting back to where it started for him.”
The Stars have also announced the arrival of Tindarra Hood (Preston Bullants) and Carl Groth (Old Ivanhoe), while VFL-listed pair Ethan Penrith (Northern Blues) and Djye Thorpe-Morgan (Williamstown) will be aligned with the club.
“The thing we are trying to build at the club is a professional culture with high standards,” Heta said.
“All these guys have got incredibly high expectations on themselves and each other. Naturally, the standard will increase.”
Fitzroy Stars’ other additions include ex-AFL player Chris Johnson, Corey Wanganeen, Jake Firebrace and Brad Lovett-Kairouz.
“It was just about rebuilding the list and instilling a bit of positive energy in the club,” Heta said.
“The proof, I suppose, that will back up it working right now is we’ve had 49 on the track, 40 on the track, 42 on the track and we had 58 on the track last night.
“We have been getting really good consistent numbers and our core group haven’t missed a beat.”
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