Hampton Hammers lock in decorated Mornington Peninsula pair

Hampton Hammers have recruited two decorated premiership players from the MPNFL, adding experience to a young squad.

HAMPTON coach Craig McIndoe has a fair idea of the ability of his new signings Lew Roberts and Brad Ulms.

When McIndoe was coaching Seaford in the Mornington Peninsula he saw them in a punishing Frankston YCW team that peeled off a string of premierships.

He well recalls the 2011 preliminary final, when YCW thrashed Seaford by more than 100 points.

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“I remember them vividly, believe me,’’ McIndoe said.

“They certainly did some damage to us along the way.’’

A few years later and McIndoe can count them as first-rate additions to his young Hammers.

Roberts, originally from Wagga Wagga, is marrying McIndoe’s niece and is thick with Ulms.

“It’s massive for us to get two very decorated footballers, two players with a lot of experience, premiership experience at a high standard of football,’’ McIndoe said.

“That experience will be enormous for our young guys, really take them to another standard with their training and preparation and that sort of stuff. They’ll set the example.’’

Roberts returned to YCW this year as the reserves coach with the intention of filling in when needed.

Lew Roberts takes a kick for YCW.

But he spent most of the season in the seniors, in an onball role. He’ll play as a forward and midfielder for the Hammers, according to McIndoe.

Ulms, 197cm, will play as a deep forward.

“We’ve had a big problem in the past couple of years with big forwards and trying to stop them, like Chris Bryan at Keysborough. Now all of a sudden we get a big guy like ‘Ulmsy’ and he’ll be a handful for all backmen to stop, that’s for sure,’’ McIndoe said.

“We’re a very young side and last season we controlled a lot of games and didn’t win when we should have, just due to inexperience and not being able to stop really good forwards.

“We haven’t had that big forward to do the same thing at the other end, someone to be on the end of that get-out kick. Now we have.’’

Ulms played for the Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup and for Frankston in the VFL before joining YCW.

He spent 2016 and ’17 with Wantirna South in the Eastern league but stepped away from football this year to concentrate on starting his own business (he is an electrician).

Hampton has secured a third former Frankston YCW player in midfielder Charlie Patterson.

The Hammers had eight wins and 10 losses this year, finishing sixth on the ladder, a game away from fifth-placed Caulfield.

Mark Deveraux won the best and fairest.