WRFL: Ex-AFL midfielder Jared Polec signs for Yarraville Seddon Eagles
Yarraville Seddon coach Brad Julier has revealed a chance conversation led to his club’s latest big name signing. Here’s what happened.
Western
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It’s amazing what a conversation can do for your football club — just ask Yarraville Seddon.
The Western Region league club has announced the arrival of a second former AFL player this off-season with Jared Polec signing with the Eagles as a playing assistant for the 2023 season.
The former number five draft pick’s arrival comes after Geelong premiership star Travis Varcoe was unveiled several weeks ago.
Eagles coach Brad Julier revealed he first met Polec at the WRFL’s Division 2 grand final between Point Cook Centrals and Parkside that was played at Yarraville Oval.
“It was a bit of luck really,” Julier said.
“He was down watching the game and we just had a bit of a chat about footy. When he was delisted by North Melbourne, we followed up on that conversation to see where it would go and it all happened pretty quickly.
“It’s actually a bit bizarre how it’s all played out. But we’re thrilled to have Jared on-board.
“He was a high draft pick and is going to give us more experience which is something we targeted with our recruiting.”
Polec played for three AFL clubs — Brisbane, Port Adelaide and North Melbourne — during his time at the top level going onto play 148 games.
His outside ball use is set to be one of the biggest strengths he brings to the WRFL.
“We all know he uses the ball really well,” Julier said.
“So we’ll be looking to get it in his hands when we have the opportunity.”
The Eagles concluded the first half of their pre-season training program on Wednesday night and Julier is looking forward to what lays ahead next year.
Among the challenges will be navigating a new look eight-team Division 1 competition.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it all plays out,” he said.
“I think it’s going to be real even. It doesn’t matter if you play a team two or three times, you still need to beat most teams to play finals.
“We’ve had a really good start to pre-season. There’s a good group of under-18s coming through and now they’ve had a taste of a senior pre-season.
“Now it’s about building towards Round 1.”
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