NFNL: Eltham signs former Montmorency captain Jesse Donaldson
Eltham has landed one of the most impressive signings of the Northern league off-season with a former Division 1 captain becoming a Panther.
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Eltham couldn’t be happier with its new star recruits.
The Panthers have made one of the most impressive moves of the off-season after luring former Montmorency captain Jesse Donaldson to the Division 2 club.
Donaldson’s Northern league resume speaks for itself.
It includes six seasons as the Magpies captain, a league MVP award, interleague selection and five Team of the Year nominations.
Eltham coach Tim Bongetti said he couldn’t knock back the opportunity to sign the former Diamond Creek.
“He’s a quality footballer and a quality human,” he said.
“One of our players, Matt Byron, is very good mates with Jesse and reached out to him. Once we sat down and had a chat it all moved pretty quickly from there.
“He’s going to be one of our assistant coaches, working with the midfield group. He’s expressed a desire to go into coaching down the line and I said to him we can develop together because I’m still learning as well.”
Donaldson is set to play a crucial role for an Eltham side which has plenty of “youthful talent”.
Bongetti said he had been targeting a particular type of player throughout the off-season.
“Rob Hyde (Eltham’s former coach) and his coaching staff did a great job of developing this side over the past couple of years into a grand final side,” he said.
“We wanted to bring in some more experienced heads who will bring things like composure on the field in the heat of the game. We’ve picked up what we’ve needed to.
“The youth is going to keep coming through as well. The first half of pre-season has been really good. We’ve had over 50 senior players on the track every night, and that’s not including under-18s.
“The mood and environment around the club is fantastic, everything is moving along nicely.”
Former Craigieburn duo Corey Middleton and Nathan Perrone are the Panthers’ other confirmed recruits so far.
“Both boys have slotted in really well and have been impressive at training,” Bongetti said.
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