Ex-Swan Xavier Richards the latest former AFL player to join Ammos
Old Xaverians has gained another quality recruit, with a 2016 Sydney Swans grand final player joining a classy list of ex-AFL stars joining the VAFA.
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Tom Boyd. David Armitage. Ryan Schoenmakers. Matt Dea. David Mirra. Jay Kennedy-Harris. Jono O’Rourke. Patrick Kerr. Sam Dunell. Josh Smith.
And now Xavier Richards can be added to the classy list of former AFL players joining the VAFA this year.
Old Xaverians confirmed this morning it had gained former Sydney Swan Richards, who had a run with Balwyn last year in the Eastern league.
As a former Xavier College student, he lands at Xavs as a one-point player.
Richards played 12 matches for the Swans between 2013-16, the last of them in the AFL grand final against the Western Bulldogs.
“He did a fair bit of travel last year and was working and football probably wasn’t his priority,’’ Xavs president Matt Cosgrave said this morning.
“But he’s keen and fit and ready to go. He kicked five or six in an intra-game on Saturday.
“We’re massively pumped to get him. Good to get a Xavier boy back as another one-pointer, and it complements a lot of our strategy with recruiting this year.
“We can play him forward and back, use him as a utility. Exciting to have him down.’’
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It’s been a productive off-season for Old Xaverians, who locked in Hawthorn premiership player Schoenmakers before Christmas.
Aside from Richards and Schoenmakers, they can count ex-St Kilda, Box Hill Hawks and Old Carey midfielder Sam Crocker, former Sandringham VFL vice-captain Jack Noone, ex-Box Hill Hawks and Blackburn midfielder Julian Soccio, and Sunbury key defender Grant Valles as key inclusions.
Valles also had VFL stints at Sandringham and Frankston.
He will be a one-pointer, as will Noone, who as a dependable and sometimes influential VFL player can be expected to quickly make his mark on VAFA Premier.
Cosgrave said the club would also see more of top-liners Will Hams and Alex Brown, and have players pushing up from its strong Under 19 team.
“Getting those two fit and on the park will be a bonus,’’ he said of Hams and Brown.
Marcus Stavrou (Northern Blues), Brad Olsson (Footscray), Sam Ralph (Collingwood) and Michael Batten (Sandringham) will be full-time VAFA players this year.
Cosgrave said Schoenmakers, who was troubled by injuries in his last year at Hawthorn, had been training well.
On the minus side, captain Daniel Noonan is “touch and go’’ about playing on.
“He’s thinking about retiring, but we’re still holding out a bit of hope,’’ Cosgrave said.
As for the influx of AFL players into the competition, the president said it was good for the VAFA.
“It brings the standard up across the board,’’ Cosgrave said.
“I think anyone who saw the finals last year — we lost narrowly to Uni Blues in the second-semi but it was a great game of footy — would say the standard has definitely got better, year in, year out.
“I think it’s a positive thing.’’