WRFL: Parkside locks in five key recruits for 2019 Division 2 season

TWO premiership players headline Parkside’s list of signings after an impressive year in the Western Region Football League.

Defender Matt Chen has returned to Parkside. Picture: Kris Reichl

PARKSIDE premiership players Matt Chen and Joey Jamieson will return to the Western Region Football League club next season.

The Magpies, who advanced to the preliminary final in Division 2 this year after claiming the 2017 Division 3 flag, have looked to bolster their defence during the off-season.

Coach Chris Muratore described Chen, who returns to Henry Turner Oval after 12 months away because of work commitments, as “one of the better full-backs I’ve seen in a long, long time”.

Jamieson will slot in on a half-back flank after a stint with Kambalda in Western Australia.

Jesse McLellan has also arrived from Sunshine and can fill a key position role in defence or attack, while developing ruckman John Atar has crossed from Maribyrnong Park.

Daniel Thomas will boost the on-ball brigade after switching from NSW club Byron Magpies, where he claimed this year’s best and fairest.

“We had a really good year last year and we don’t really want to go backwards and want to keep developing what we’ve got,” Muratore said.

“The list is pretty young … and when we sat back as a coaching staff, we really wanted to identify what we needed.

“We wanted to get some bigger guys. We thought our attacking game style was very good, our mids are very good, we just thought we really needed to polish up that back six to eight with some experience because they were really young.

“We wanted to target a young ruckman, which we’ve got, so we’ve just ticked the boxes so far.

“If we can land a couple of midfielders before the Christmas break, it would be sensational for us.”

Riley O’Shea, who kicked 27 goals from 17 games this season, is the only confirmed departure of note.

Parkside will start pre-season on November 28.