Thomastown secures a double recruiting coup, signing VFL pair

NFL Division 2 club Thomastown isn’t shying away from it’s premiership ambitions and has secured two key signings from North Melbourne’s VFL team to improve their chances.

Thomastown's new recruit Tyrone Leonardis.

Thomastown has pulled off a double recruiting coup, securing North Melbourne VFL pair Tyrone Leonardis and Michael Tang.

In a further boost to the Bears, both will be full-time players in 2021.

Former Sydney defender Leonardis played 17 matches for the Kangaroos in 2019, averaging 14 disposals, two marks and 2.5 tackles a game, and two for the Bears’ NFL Division 2 rival Watsonia.

Tang featured twice at VFL level last year, spending most of the season with Riddell District club Wallan, and has previous experience with Coburg and Port Melbourne.

Thomastown coach Mario Bandera said it was a massive boost to the club’s premiership ambitions.

“It’s pretty big for our footy club to get two players of that calibre in,” he said.

“We don’t back away from our long-term goal to establish ourselves as a Division 1 club and our short-term goal is obviously to win a flag and get there.

“Getting guys like Tyrone and Michael in helps us get to that position a lot quicker.

“They’ve played at a very high level, ooze leadership, give us an up-tick on the field but also what they’re able to achieve off-field.

“We were lucky they had connections at the footy club, obviously both players were sought out by several clubs.”

Leonardis and Tang’s arrival continues the Bears’ strong start to the recruiting season after poaching star ruckman Joel Carter from Epping.

It also follows the signing of Tim Totevski, Daniel Bramich (North Heidelberg) and Todd Hughes (Bundoora) last summer.

Bandera predicts both will start in midfield next season, helping lessen the load on Matthew Vasilevski and Daniel Chadwick.

The pair’s versatility is also important to Bandera’s plans.

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“I view Tyrone as a starting onballer for us but we also have the option of flicking him back to half-back or onto a wing,” Bandera said.

“Michael is really versatile … he played predominantly has a defender but at his size, 191cm, the role we’ll be using him in is a big-bodied midfielder.

“The big thing we’re trying to develop in our list is adaptability, so we know they’re more than comfortable in different positions.

“We’d argue our midfield depth is really strong and one of the best in the competition.”