VFL 2021: Coburg signs Jack Maibaum and Luke Nelson
Victorian Football League outfit Coburg has secured a double recruiting coup, signing a former Sydney Swans defender and Richmond VFL livewire for 2021.
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Coburg has moved swiftly to bolster its line-up for the 2021 VFL season, securing a double recruiting coup.
Former Sydney Swans defender Jack Maibaum and Richmond VFL forward Luke Nelson will suit up for the Lions in 2021.
Maibaum was an All-Australian at under-18 level before being drafted by the Swans at pick No.45 in 2016 but couldn’t break into Sydney’s strong defence.
The 194cm backman hasn’t played an official game since 2018 after rupturing his ACL in 2019 before the NEAFL season was cancelled in 2020.
Nelson played seven games for Richmond’s VFL team in 2019 but missed out on the Tigers’ premiership.
After the 2020 season was cancelled he moved to Tasmania to play for Lauderdale in the Tasmanian State League, kicking 18 goals in 11 games to earn a place in the Team of the Year.
Coburg coach Andrew Sturgess was rapt to welcome two quality players to the club.
“Robbie Fox is one of my good mates and he speaks the world of Jack, so I think (Maibaum) will be a great addition to our club,” he said.
“We spoke to Jack 12 months ago and thought he was close to signing but Sydney ended up redrafting him at the last minute. It was fantastic for him to get another year of AFL experience under his belt.
“We picked up the conversation again when Jack was delisted (this year) and we couldn’t be happier.
“It was a similar thing with Luke, we spoke to him 12 months ago, but we admired his loyalty in staying at Richmond.
“He wanted to challenge himself to see if he could break into what is now the best club over the last four years, into their seconds team.
“If you speak to guys like Jacob Ballard and Tom Silvestro, they had nothing but good things to say about Luke.”
Maibaum will slot into Coburg’s defence beside Harry Nolan — who Sturgess compared to Michael Hartley — and both will be determined to prove they are AFL-ready in 2021.
“I know that’s Jack’s ambition and hopefully we can provide him with that opportunity,” Sturgess said.
Nelson will add some much needed firepower to the Lions’ attack.
The livewire forward booted 13 goals in his seven VFL games and 16 goals in 11 matches for Eastern league powerhouse Noble Park in 2019.
He joins fellow former Richmond VFL players Jacob Ballard and Tom Silvestro at Piranha Park and Sturgess made no apologies for tapping into the Tigers success.
“We’d be silly not to dip into it if we can, Jacob and Tom were fantastic over the pre-season. We had Cal Moore there for a large part of pre-season as well,” he said.
“There’s a reason why that club is doing extraordinary things at the top level and at VFL level in 2019, so if we can bring some of those guys across and the things they’ve learnt to bolster our program, then that’s what we’ll do.”
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