Southern league: two Demon recruits for Cranbourne ahead of switch to SFNL

Cranny will go into their first season in the Southern league with two more Casey Demons VFL players on board.

George Grey (left) battles it out with GWS star Stephen Coniglio at Casey Fields in July. Pic: AFL PHOTOS

They’re two top recruits for Cranbourne.

Two Demon recruits, you could say.

Casey Demons VFL players Mitch White and George Grey will be part of Cranny’s debut season in the Southern Football Netball League.

The pair has joined Cranbourne on a home-club basis.

White, who had four AFL games for Melbourne and was a best and fairest with Dandenong Stingrays, is Casey’s captain and a well-respected VFL player.

George Grey takes a kick for Casey. Pic: Adam MacFarlane.

Grey, a former Sandringham Dragon, won the club’s rising star award this year, averaging 12.3 disposals from his eight matches.

He kicked three goals in Round 16 against Footscray Bulldogs.

“He’s a really exciting young talent,’’ Cranbourne coach Steve O’Brien said of Grey.

White and Grey join Jarryd Barker and Corey Ellison as Casey Demons players attached to the Eagles.

Cranny coach Steve O’Brien.

O’Brien said the club valued VFL players.

“A lot of clubs don’t go down that path but we’re big on preaching to young guys coming to Cranbourne that if they want to play the highest level of footy, we’ve got these links and we can help them get there,’’ he said.

“It sends a really good message, having these VFL boys, brings that calibre of player into your club and encourages more of it.’’

O’Brien said his players were excited about Cranbourne’s move from AFL Outer East to Southern and expected strong opposition.

O’Brien is no stranger to the Southern league scene: he coached former SFNL club Parkdale before it switched to the VAFA, and then coached St Kilda City, which Cranny will encounter next season. He went on to VFL roles at Box Hill Hawks and Casey.

O’Brien said he had not seen enough of Southern in the past few years to make a judgment of Division 1 but he believed it was a good standard.

“We’re after competitive games week in, week out – we’re all competitors and want to challenge ourselves – and we’ll get that in the Southern league,’’ O’Brien said.

“It’s going to be good for us.

“The other year we played Dingley in a practice match and I was really impressed with them.

“We’re under no illusions. There’s going to be some bloody good sides out there and it will be really competitive footy. That’s what the boys are screaming for it. Unfortunately in the other competition it was a bit too lopsided and it was hard to keep the energy up week in, week out.’’

Legendary Cranbourne full forward Marc Holt marks this year against Wandin. Picture: Valeriu Campan

He said Cranbourne would probably have lost a lot of players had it stayed in AFL Outer East.

Legendary full-forward Marc Holt is being linked with Karingal, where he had a stint in 2019, but O’Brien said he was confident the 1000-goal great would return to Cranny.

He said Southern league followers would see a “beast’’ of a player.

“He’s getting on a bit but he’s still an incredible player,’’ he said of Holt, who topped the league goalkicking this year with 30 from six outings.

“He’s got the most incredible set of hands. People think they’ve got him covered and got him spoiled and somehow the ball still ends up in his hands. They’re next level.

“He works really hard on his goalkicking, to the point he’s a really accurate shot on goal. If he gets the opportunities he cashes in. That said he’s a very selfless player too, which ’’

He said Holt was “probably’’ the best player he had seen in local football.

Holt, captain Brandon Osborne, Nick Russo, Ellison and ruckman Micky Boland were all selected in the AFL Outer East team of the year.

Ruckman Boland was runner-up in the league medal.

O’Brien took over from Simon Goosey ahead of the 2018 season.