Haileybury aces recruiting for 2021 VAFA season

A delisted AFL player, a VFL captain, a former league medal winner and an ex-club captain have joined the Bloods.

Gun signing: Rohan Heasley getting busy for Mt Eliza.

Daniel Ward coached Old Haileybury to the VAFA Premier C flag in 2017.

Two years later he coached them to a 6-12 season in Premier B.

It was a tough year in 2019 – the Bloods had to scrap to avoid relegation and achieve consolidation in the second-tier – and Ward was just as proud of it as he was when the club was lifting a premiership cup.

“We survived, and that was a big thing,’’ he said.

“We were super-young and we had to play blokes before they were ready.

“We had our twos getting beaten by 200 points – we didn’t have great depth – but credit to the players because we stayed up in B grade, they got senior games under their belts and they’ve stuck together. That’s going to help us for this year.’’

Old Haileybury coach Daniel Ward.

A dash of experience from key recruits will help too.

Sandringham VFL captain and best and fairest Brede Seccull is back at the club where his family name is so synonymous, and prominent Mornington Peninsula Nepean pair Rohan Heasley and Harry Whitty have made the move to the VAFA.

Seccull is a playing assistant coach, has been taking a lot of training and is setting the standard, according to Ward.

Going back to the importance of ducking relegation in 2019, the coach said it would have been difficult to recruit a player of Seccull’s calibre if it had slipped to Premier C.

“The difference between B and C, and the outlook for your club, is massive, I reckon,’’ he said.

“The boys who kept hanging in there are going to get the rewards for it.’’

Heasley and Whitty are decorated players, and both had signed with Chelsea for 2020.

Heasley won a league medal and played much good football at Mt Eliza. He was with Wandin in 2019.

Whitty captained Rye and had previously been a leading player at Peninsula Old Boys.

Cameron Polson playing for Carlton last year.

Haileybury has also recruited former Southern league key forward Harry Hunt, who is on Port Melbourne’s VFL list, and ex-Port Melbourne player Dino Karamoshos, who has crossed from St Albans in the Western Region league.

Hunt is one of a string of VFL players listing Old Haileybury as a home club: former Carlton player Cam Polson (Williamstown), ex-Hawk Jackson Ross (Sandringham), former Essendon-listed Noah Gown (Williamstown) and 2020 St Kilda rookie Jack Bell, as well as 2017 premiership forward Corey Rich (Williamstown), Cal Searle (Port Melbourne), Connor Riley (Frankston), Billy McKay (Frankston), Riley Thompson (Sandringham), Josh Gasparini (Sandringham) and Jack McHale (Sandringham).

Old Haileybury has also had Sam Loewe, the son of Saints great Stewie, and Durras Seccull (brother of Brede) return from Sandringham.

James Paul will captain the club again and former Port Melbourne champion Shane Valenti will serve as an assistant coach to Ward.

Valenti had been on Gary Ayres’ coaching panel at Port, but his work commitments at Choices Flooring in Parkdale prompted him to stand down.

Ward said everyone had fingers crossed the season would start on time and go smoothly.

“The players just want some footy,’’ he said.