West Preston-Lakeside welcomes NFL Division 1 premiership player for 2022
One of West Preston-Lakeside’s 2018 premiership heroes has returned to Moore Park in a late boost to the Roosters’ squad.
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A West Preston-Lakeside premiership hero has returned to Moore Park.
Matthew Belbasis, who played in the Roosters’ 2018 flag, has returned to Melbourne from interstate and the NFL Division 1 powerhouse.
The defender played all 22 games that season as the club broke an eight-year premiership drought.
Belbasis has fitted in seamlessly since joining full-time and is a major boost to the Roosters’ depth as they eye a third consecutive flag.
Coach Rob Maiorana said he’ll likely start in reserve grade as he works up to full fitness.
“We’ll see how he settles in and how his form is and how we’re travelling,” Maiorana said.
“Hopefully we can build up and (push for selection).
“It’s always good to get good people back to the club.
“Matt’s moved back to Melbourne and settled in, he’s enjoying being around the boys again.
“We’ve been in contact when he was thinking about moving back and he’d trained a couple of times during the pre-season when he was going back and forth.
“He’s made the decision to relocate so it was an easy decision for him to come back.”
After leaving the Roosters, the defender played for both the Sydney Swans reserves and GWS Giants reserves in the NEAFL in 2019 as well as the Inner West Magpies in the AFL Sydney Premier Division.
He was listed by SANFL club North Adelaide last season but played predominantly with Broadview in the Adelaide Football League.
The former Werribee-listed gun had his clearance from AFL Queensland approved on Wednesday.
West Preston-Lakeside will look to bounce back against Northcote Park on Saturday after a surprise loss to Whittlesea before the Easter break.
After a strong Round 1 win over premiership rival Bundoora, the Roosters were upset at home by the Eagles by eight points.
Maiorana says surprise results shouldn’t be any surprise this season.
“The season is as I thought it was going to look like, pretty even, pretty close and no easy games,” he said.
“We shouldn’t be surprised by any results I think.
“We’ve got some work to do with some blokes integrating in to the team and understanding the way we play.
“We’ve also got our core group that’s been there for a while, so we’re in a pretty good place. There’s still improvement to come.”
Star goalkicker Ahmed Saad limped off late in the loss with a hamstring complaint.
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After a well-timed week off the Roosters’ spearhead will need to pass a fitness test to confirm his place against the Cougars.
“He should be OK, he’s just got to get through training tonight,” Maiorana said.
“If he does that, I think he’ll be a starter on Saturday but if he’s got any doubts or awareness then we’ll be conservative.”
Despite the late injury Saad still leads the NFL Division 1 goalkicking with nine majors in two games.
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