Northcote Park secures David Myers for 2020 in stunning recruit coup
Northcote Park secured what could be the recruit of the NFL off-season when 100-game Essendon midfielder David Myers put pen to paper and the Cougars could unleash him in a surprise position.
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Boom Northcote Park recruit, former Essendon midfielder David Myers, looms as a nightmare match-up for NFL Division 1 defenders in 2020.
New Cougars coach Barry Mitchell forecast using the 191cm, 122-game AFL star as a forward next season as the club restructures its game plan.
Myers was one of 12 recruits revealed, including EDFL Division 1 league best-and-fairest runner-up Tom Baravi from West Coburg, Collingwood VFL-listed midfielder Jackson Williams and Epping key defender Reed Jepson.
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Alongside the likes of Matthew Perry, Joel Perry and Paul Dirago or Jackson Starcevich, Mitchell believed Myers would be tough to stop in midfield or attack.
“He’s had a distinguished AFL career, so with his experience and ability he’s going to be a great asset for us, not only as a player but also as an on-field coach,” Mitchell said.
“He’s probably 6’3, so he might play a bit of time forward and try and catch the ball for us.
“We’ve got to utilise the personnel in the positions we need, so if we’re stacked in the midfield we’re going to have to play some guys forward and I see him as one of those players.”
Mitchell’s son Will has joined him in crossing from Old Scotch after playing 15 senior games this year and being named in the best on 13 occasions.
Fitzroy Stars trio Kaleum Brown, Luke McKeown and Graham Norris, Lucas Perry (Northern Knights) – brother of Cougars star Joel – Jonah Horo (Western Jets), Liam Zeschke (Deniliquin) and Josh Whelan (year off) have also signed on.
“One of the issues we had to address was our depth, we had some injuries this year and that hurt us in the push to finals,” Mitchell said.
“Bringing in some ready-made players cannot only help us bolster the seniors but also create competition across the club, which is important if you want to become a successful club.”
Northcote Park lost star spearhead Ash Close to VAFA club Ivanhoe and Mitchell was keen to try Richmond-style forward tactics.
“It’s always difficult to replace 6’6 forwards, so we’ll have to manufacture something … we might play a smaller, high-pressure forward line,” he said.
“We’ll be looking to turn the ball over and score a lot, put the pressure on the opposition a lot.”
For all the latest news from the Northern Football League and other suburban competitions over the off-season, log on to localfooty.com.au