Essendon makes a Premier Cricket off-season splash with two strong signings

Essendon has made a strong start to the Premier Cricket off-season with a pair of signings to strengthen its bat and ball firepower.

Essendon has made a strong start to the Premier Cricket off-season with a double recruiting coup.

The Bombers have lured paceman Nick McGuane from Greenvale Kangaroos and welcomed VSDCA Gale Medallist Aidan Salvado from Yarraville.

The twin signings will strengthen a line-up that has lost experienced bat Michael Hill to retirement and likely be without quicks Tom O’Donnell and Cam McClure due to state duties.

McGuane was dominant in his first season at Greenvale, snaring 27 wickets at 20.52 in 13 games to rank sixth in Premier Cricket.

He snared a season’s best 4-26 against Northcote and took four wickets in an innings three times.

Nick McGuane in action for Newton and Chilwell. Picture: Mike Dugdale

Essendon coach Asanka Gurusinha believed the quick could go even bigger at Windy Hill.

“We know Tom O’Donnell and Cam McClure will not have a full season with us and we need that guy who can take wickets and Nick is a wicket-taker,” Gurusinha said.

“I think if we have really good support around him he can be a 35 or 40-wicket player.

“Tom and Cam, they won’t bowl a lot of overs when they will play, so the third seamer will always have more overs and that’s why we believe Nick will be a bonus for us – especially being a left-armer as well.”

Salvado, meanwhile, enjoyed an eye-catching breakout season in Subbies.

The 20-year-old smashed 653 runs at an average of 65.3, including two centuries and five 50s, and ranked fourth for runs across all Subbies.

He also claimed 18 dismissals -14 catches and four stumpings – behind the stumps to be named the VSDCA’s best young player.

The Bombers beat a host of Premier Cricket clubs to Salvado’s signature and believe he can be a key pillar in the club’s next premiership push.

A good winner of the @SubbiesCricket Anthony Gale Medal in Yarraville's Aidan Salvado. Scored 653 runs at 65.3 to take the award as the U21 player of the year. pic.twitter.com/69BRRJanM5

— Paul Amy (@PaulAmy375) May 17, 2023

“We were very keen to get some youngsters in and Aidan is one,” Gurusinha said.

“A lot of things worked for us, he’s working as an apprentice curator, working at Greenvale but it’s the same group that works at Essendon, so we knew through our vice-president.

“We knew Aidan was looking to come across to Premier Cricket and we wanted players who are going to be at Essendon for five to seven seasons.

“If you’re planning to win premierships you need players there for a while.

“There’s two ways you can win a premiership; you can buy players but there’s no guarantee they’ll stay for more than one season but if you get some young players and give them the support then you’re set up for long-term success.”

Essendon suffered final day heartbreak this season, missing out on finals after a final-round loss to Northcote that saw the Dragons and St Kilda jump up and relegate it to ninth.

The club has made major changes to its coaching structure in the off-season in a bid to improve all grades.

Bombers legend Ben Fletcher, the 18th highest all-time Premier Cricket run-scorer, has joined the club’s coaching panel, along with West Indies Test player Kenroy Peters.

Fletcher scored more than 8953 runs in his Premier Cricket career, 6400 of them in red and black, while Peters played one Test, against South Africa in 2014, and crosses from Youlden Parkville.

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“Last season we pretty much had myself and Harshad (Dixit), they only two full-time, so it was very difficult on match-day,” Gurusinha said.

“One of the main things (president) Simon (Tobin) and I worked on was having coaches who can be there every Saturday for every XI, so that will be a big help and big support for the players.

“The club has been very helpful in that, our coaching structure is pretty strong with Ben and Kenroy and we still have Matty Inness and we’ll get a couple of consultants as well.

“We’re not going out buying players but we put investment into the coaching structure to give support to players.”