Sunshine welcomes back Hisham Kerbatieh

Sunshine has been boosted by the return of a former star near the clearance deadline and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Western Region league club.

“Lock up your trophies.”

Those are the words Sunshine used to announce the return of reigning best-and-fairest Hisham Kerbatieh to the Western Region league club for the rest of the season.

Kerbatieh’s comeback to the Roos was confirmed earlier this week after his clearance from Deer Park was approved just days out from the clearance deadline.

He has signed on for the remainder of 2023 and next season.

In seven games for Deer Park this season, Kerbatieh booted 10 goals.

Sunshine coach Ben Chapman couldn’t be happier to have the former VFL player.

“To have someone of his quality come back to the club is really exciting,” he said.

“Someone of his calibre could have gone anywhere but the fact he has decided to re-sign with Sunshine says a lot about the direction we’re heading in.

“When we spoke about him possibly coming back, he told me how much he enjoyed his time at the footy club. He’s going to fit in very well.”

Hisham Kerbatieh is back at Sunshine.

When Sunshine was relegated to Division 2 at the end of the 2023 season, there were fears about what the future could hold for the Roos.

But they’re right in the mix for the finals race despite a different looking side from last year.

Kerbatieh is the third player to return to the club after originally departing.

Daniel Torcia and Joseph Tache appeared to be on the move to Essendon District league outfit Moonee Valley but eventually had a change of heart and elected to remain in blue and yellow.

“To have three guys come back is a really positive sign for us,” Chapman said.

“We’re looking a long-term plan and rebuilding from within and our junior players are a big part of that. I’ve agreed to go next year so we’re already in that planning phase as well.

“We’ve had commitments from our players already which means we’re in a good position.”

There are plenty of positives at Sunshine. Picture: George Sal

Chapman hasn’t been afraid to give the kids a go either this season.

Currently the third placed Roos have three players eligible for underage footy in their senior side.

Giuliano Giurleo and Xavier Kardachi have played eight games with the latter booting 14 goals, the second most at the club.

Meanwhile, Noah Andreula, who can still play in the under-16s, has played the last three senior games.

“When I was appointed, we made it clear we wanted to give our young guys an opportunity and importantly they’re in the side and playing good footy,” he said.

After their bye this weekend, Sunshine will face a tough assignment with back-to-back matches against the top-two in Parkside and Newport.

And they’ll be forced to do it without star Pat O’Keefe who has travelled overseas.

“We were really competitive against both of those sides early in the early but probably couldn’t sustain it for long enough,” Chapman said.

“We really want to play against the good sides and test ourselves. Hisham comes in at a good time, our midfield stocks are pretty good.”

Sunshine sits third on the ladder in the race for the top-four.