Goulburn Valley: Rochester confirms return of Essendon VFL best and fairest Joe Atley
There is some positive news out of flood-ravaged Rochester with the permanent return of a homegrown star.
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Rochester has bolstered its midfield for next season with the earlier than expected return of Joe Atley to the club from the VFL.
Atley is coming off a brilliant season for Essendon’s VFL team as captain and its best and fairest winner.
But he will be back at his home club on a full-time basis in 2023.
“He was always keen to come home at some stage,” Rochester coach Ash Watson said.
“He was still continuing his footy ambitions at the higher level, but has decided to come back which is great for us.”
Atley played four AFL senior games for Port Adelaide after being taken at pick No. 32 in the 2016 draft.
Former North Melbourne star Shaun Atley won Rochester’s best and fairest from 12 appearances and is expected to play in the second half of the 2023 season.
Another VFL player joining a Goulburn Valley league club on a full-time basis in 2023 is Seymour’s Michael Hartley.
Hartley played nine games with Seymour and another 11 with Collingwood’s VFL team.
He kicked 33 goals including a season best 10 against Benalla in 2023.
Meanwhile, Watson hopes Rochester will be back on its home ground for pre-season training soon following devastating floods in the area.
“It’s pretty ordinary at the moment, but we’re hoping it will be back soon,” he said.
“It’s a bit of a wait and see at the moment.”
The ground was flooded, but no damage was done to Rochester’s clubrooms.
SHEPPARTON UNITED
Shepparton United has signed former East Perth forward Jayden Magro.
Magro is presently leading the goalkicking in the Northern Territory summer league for Waratahs with 21 goals from seven games.
He played for Tasmanian club Lauderdale and Cairns City also in 2022.
It follows the appointment of coach Duane Hueston as coach.
Hueston is back after previously captaining the Goulburn Valley league club where he played more than 190 matches.
He has also coached Shepparton East in the Kyabram and District league and Echuca United in the Murray league.
Hueston played at Shepparton East this year when the club reached the preliminary final and was beaten by Murchison-Toolamba in the preliminary final.
Other former Shepparton United players at Shepparton East this year included David Gillespie, Tyler Pedretti, Tom McCluskey, Matt Rendina and Dwain Vidler.
Hueston is a premiership player at Echuca United and also represented the Murray league in the now defunct country championships.
United won only one match this year against Benalla with Paul Serra stepping down as coach at the end of the season.
Shepparton United is the last GV club to appoint a coach for next season with its initial plan to entice a well credentialed playing coach to the club.
“The one thing we know about Duane is his ability to develop young talent,” United football operations manager Jason Kelly said.
“We’ve got a really young list and we think he is a perfect appointment for us.
“We open to both a playing or non-playing coach and it was always going to come down to the best candidate.
“With a playing coach who has never coached before there is always a doubt.
“But Duane has got the runs on the board and senior experience.”
Also, shoring up its coaching position this week was Bendigo league club Castlemaine.
Brendan Shepherd is returning to the club where he played in a premiership in 2000.
EUROA
Euroa’s determination to go one better and win the Goulburn Valley league premiership next year has been given another major boost.
After Will Hayes’ decision to return to the club from the AFL, Euroa has added Sale star Ryan Pendlebury to its ranks.
Pendlebury, the younger brother of Collingwood captain Scott, played two games for Euroa last year, but played out the season for Sale, which was beaten in the Gippsland league grand final by Leongatha.
The link to Euroa is Jack Hellier with the pair playing together at VFL level for Collingwood.
Hellier captained the Collingwood VFL team before joining Euroa in 2019.
Euroa coach Scott Rowan said Pendlebury would be a great pick up.
“He finished the year at Sale with his mates,” he said.
“But I don’t think those circumstances suit him any more, so we were pretty happy to entertain him coming to Euroa that is for sure.”
Rowan said Pendlebury, who lives in Werribee and works in Melbourne, will train with the club’s Melbourne-based players.
Hayes spent time at two AFL clubs, the Western Bulldogs and Carlton, before being delisted by the Blues at the end of last season.
Euroa played Echuca in the GV grand final this year and lost by 12 points after the hitting the lead briefly in the last quarter.
“We are pretty keen to make amends next year,” Rowan said.
“But we fully understand other sides have done some recruiting and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
WANGARATTA
Wangaratta has bolstered its premiership winning midfield with the return of Murray Waite from rival Ovens and Murray league club Myrtleford.
Waite bypassed Wangaratta on his return to the area from South Adelaide in the SANFL and signed with Myrtleford in the Covid-shortened 2021 season.
Waite made his senior debut for Wangaratta in 2014 and lives and works in the town.
“We were always hoping to get him back,” Wangaratta coach Ben Reid said.
“We’ve been speaking to him for a few years and last year he obviously made the decision to go to Myrtleford.
“The last couple of weeks he’s had to make a decision about what he wants to do.
“It’s always good when you get local guys back to the club.”
Myrtleford president Ian Wales said Waite would be a big loss.
“I’d like to congratulate Wangaratta on their recruiting coup and we wish Murray and his partner Ellie all the best at their new home,” he said.
Waite, who finished third in Myrtleford’s best and fairest, returns to Wangaratta as a one-point player after being a four-pointer at Myrtleford.
He will slot into Magpies midfield which could be missing best and fairest winner Joe Richards after the upcoming AFL draft.
“We’ve all got our fingers and toes crossed he gets a chance,” Reid said.
BAIRNSDALE
Bairnsdale has taken a significant step towards making a big leap up the ladder next season by signing former Sydney Swans utility Xavier Richards.
The 29-year-old is coming off a strong season for Victoria Amateurs Premier division club Old Xaverians where he booted more than 40 goals in 14 matches.
Richards played in Sydney’s losing 2016 grand final team and didn’t play another game at AFL level.
The 195cm utility is the second major off-season signing by Bairnsdale, which won only two games this year in the Gippsland league.
The other is Will Mitchell, the brother of Brownlow Medallist Tom, who also played for Sydney in the 2016 grand final.
Bairnsdale coach Logan Austin said ideally Richards would be used in the midfield and up forward.
“We just lacked a bit of talent in the middle part of the ground,” Austin said.
“Ideally we’d like to get one more midfielder in.
“But I think we will split him between midfield and forward.
“He likes playing in the forward line and we know he can kick goals.
“But we need to be able to get the ball in there.”
Bairnsdale signed Will Mitchell last month after playing for the Northern Bullants in the VFL.
“He is a genuine clone of his brother, they love getting the ball,” Austin said.
“We struggled for a bit of depth this year and as the season wore on we were just lacking that pressure from underneath to challenge for spots in the seniors.
“We just need some on field success.
“We’ve got a lot of things going well off-field, but we just need to win games of footy.
“Everyone knows that.”
KYABRAM
Former Brisbane Lions draftee Toby Wooller has signed with Goulburn Valley league club Kyabram, which bowed out in the first week of finals this year.
Wooller joins Kyabram from Carlton’s VFL team where he recorded a top three best and fairest finish in 2021.
The 2017 draftee can play in the ruck and key position.
His grandfather Fred Wooller coached Kyabram after a 132 match career with Geelong which included the 1963 premiership as captain.
Wooller coached Kyabram into a GV grand final.
WODONGA RAIDERS
Wodonga Raiders have bounced back from the defection of best and fairest winner Isaac Muller to rival club Albury by landing former AFL player Cameron Ellis-Yolmen.
Ellis-Yolmen has joined the Raiders as an assistant coach for 2023 after he played for Labrador and Woodville-West Torrens at state league level this year.
His 48 AFL senior matches were played at Adelaide and Brisbane, but his career at the top level ended when he didn’t meet the league’s Covid vaccination mandate.
He was placed on Brisbane’s inactive list and played 11 games for Labrador before a mid-season switch to his original club, Woodville West-Torrens.
Raiders coach Marc Almond said his signing was a huge boost for the club after the downer of losing Muller to Albury.
“Sometimes you feel you’re at rock bottom, but a week later, you’re getting a bit of momentum again,” Almond said.
“The longer you’re involved in footy the more you understand not to ride the highs as high and the lows as low.
“But it’s great news for our footy club.”
Ellis-Yolmen has played two games in the Northern Territory summer competition for Southern Districts in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, reigning premier Wangaratta has confirmed the signing of Cameron Barrett from rival club, Corowa-Rutherglen, which is yet to appoint a coach for 2023.
Barrett began this year playing for Balranald in the Central Murray league before joining Corowa-Rutherglen where he played 13 games and figured in the best players eight times.
SWAN HILL
Callan Beasy is returning for a third stint as coach of Swan Hill next year, but it will be his first in a non-playing capacity.
His career began at Swan Hill and was drafted by Carlton where he played 13 AFL senior matches in the early 2000s.
After being delisted, Beasy had two seasons with the now defunct Bendigo Bombers VFL team before taking on the Swan Hill coaching job and leading the club to the 2008 flag.
The 40-year-old had another stint as playing coach in the mid-2010s and was coaching at junior level at the club this year.
“He’s a really well respected person at our footy club,” Swan Hill football operations manager Hugh Foott said.
“He was a fantastic player obviously, a multiple best and fairest winner.
“He’s done really well as a junior coach, we’ve got a fairly young team coming through.
“We reckon he will do a great job.”
Beasy takes over from co-coaches Matt Wade and Darcy Ryan who have done the job in a shared capacity for three years.
Wade was coach on his own for the previous three seasons.
He was also a dual league best and fairest winner in 2016-17 after being a star player in West Gippsland with two clubs, Nar Nar Goon and Tooradin.
BELL PARK
James Saker has reignited his major league coaching career by signing on as coach of Geelong league club Bell Park.
A former VFL player with Werribee, Saker launched his coaching career at the age of only 22 with Ovens and Murray league club Lavington in the mid-2010s.
Lavington lost two grand finals to Albury and suffered two preliminary finals by one point under Saker before he relocated to the Geelong area for work and was snapped by Bellarine league club Torquay.
Saker has been an assistant coach at Werribee under Michael Barlow.
Bell Park missed finals this year under outgoing coach Shane Jack, who flagged mid-season his plans to step down.
The club won six matches this year.
BALRANALD
Balranald is shaping as the big mover in the Central Murray league next year with coach Jydon Neagle having some early success in the off-season recruiting stakes.
Neagle, the reigning league best and fairest winner, will be joined by his brothers, Matthew and Jaxon, from SANFL club Central District.
Matthew played 43 senior matches for Central District off halfback and Jaxon has played mainly at reserves level since they both joined the club in 2019.
The Neagle brothers previously played together at Ovens and Murray club Wodonga Raiders.
Ethan Gant, who also played mostly reserves for Central District this year, is also joining Balranald.
Jydon played at Central District in 2019 before returning to Wodonga Raiders, where he won three club best and fairests, represented the league and regularly finished high among the vote-getters in the league best and fairest.
Jydon joined Balranald this year as coach and follows in the footsteps of his late father, Merv, in coaching the club.
Merv coached Balranald to a flag in 2006 after being a star player for Essendon in the 1980s.
Balranald missed playing finals this year by only two points.
“In the final round we had to beat Tyntynder, who were sitting third and we rolled them,” Neagle said.
“Unfortunately we needed Tooleybuc to beat Lake Boga and Boga got the job done and stayed two points ahead of us.”
Another player coming back to Balranald next year is former Bendigo Pioneers and Eaglehawk player Kobe Lloyd.
But efforts to entice another homegrown player, Raven Jolliffe, have been unsuccessful to date.
He remains unsigned by Wangaratta Rovers.
TRARALGON
Traralgon is poised to make further progress up the Gippsland league ladder next season with two key signings, including the return of homegrown star Jordan Cunico.
Cunico played 15 senior matches in four seasons for Geelong after being taken in the 2014 AFL national draft.
Traralgon beat arch rival Morwell in the elimination final before being beaten in the first semi-final by eventual grand finalists Sale by just four points.
Traralgon coach Jake Best also confirmed the club had secured the services of Billy Schilling, who has been a premiership player, best and fairest winner and leading goalkicker at metro clubs Montrose and North Ringwood.
“We identified we needed some bigger bodies to add to our group,” Best said.
“We feel we’re not far away.
“Out of our finals team this year I think we had 15 players who had played under 30 senior games.
“We also played nine under-18 kids, so we’ve got some exciting young talent.”
Best said Cunico and Schilling were the club’s major recruiting targets, but hadn’t ruled out others being lured to Traralgon.
Jordan’s father, Max, was a star player for Traralgon in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Leading goalkicker Brett Eddy and Tom Schneider, who were recruited to Traralgon this year, are locked in for next season.
MAFFRA
Lindenow South premiership coach and triple Omeo and District best and fairest winner Nathan Pollard will test himself at major-league level next year.
Pollard this week signed with Maffra which missed finals in the Gippsland league for the first time in two decades this year.
The midfielder was among Lindenow South’s best players when it beat Swifts Creek in the first ODFL grand final in late August.
Pollard, who took over as coach on his return from stints with Stratford and Wy Yung, had Lindenow South sitting on top of the ladder in 2021 before Covid cut short the season.
This year it finished minor premiers and won both its finals against Swifts Creek including the grand final played at Omeo.
MANSFIELD
Mansfield has topped up its ranks with the addition of former Ovens and Murray league leading goalkicker Lachie Dale, who returns to Victoria from a season playing in Tasmania.
Dale has bypassed his original club Myrtleford in the O & M to join his older brother Frazer at Mansfield, which lost the Goulburn Valley league preliminary final to Euroa this year.
Mansfield has also retained another former Myrtleford player, ruckman Tom McDonagh, who finished top five in the club’s best and fairest this year.
Mansfield coach Chad Owens confirmed the signing of Dale, who played a big part in Myrtleford’s charge up the O & M ladder in 2019 when he kicked almost 60 goals and won the club’s best and fairest.
“He played more as a midfielder than forward this year,” Owens said.
“He will play as a mid for us with some time as a forward.
“We’ve pretty much kept our whole list.
“We’re targeting one more mid now we’ve got Lachie on board.”
Mansfield has lost onballer Corey Rich to VAFA club Old Haileybury.
“We should have played in the grand final this year,” Owens said.
“We blew our chance in the first quarter of the prelim.
“I honestly think a prelim is harder to win than a grand final because everyone is so worried about getting to the grand final.”
ALBURY
Albury has dodged paying a points premium for recruiting ruckman Isaac Muller from rival club Wodonga Raiders due to a player points system rule change post-Covid.
Muller was a four-point player at Raiders this year and will switch to Albury on the same points in 2023, with a rule deleted last year relating to winning a best and fairest triggering an extra point when a player moves clubs.
Muller romped home in the Raiders best and fairest this year after switching from another Ovens and Murray league club, North Albury, at the end of 2019.
Albury has been aiming to bolster its big man stocks and Muller fits the bill, but his departure from Raiders is a huge blow given they finished ninth this year.
The Raiders have also lost former coach and league best and fairest winner Jarrod Hodgkin and rising star Max Beattie from this year’s line-up.
Raiders coach Marc Almond questioned why Albury had to recruit players from rival clubs.
“Albury has a clear history of hand-picking the best players from teams down near the bottom of the ladder to fill a need,” he said.
“They will justify that by saying ‘we’re ruthless and we do whatever it takes to succeed’, but most people in the footy community agree there are other ways to go about that.
“I’m not against Albury or anyone bringing in highly talented players.
“My issue is why do they continually do it from the local area?”
The Weekly Times attempted to seek comment from Albury.
He also finished top five in the league best and fairest behind Yarrawonga’s Leigh Masters.
In addition to his stints at North Albury and Wodonga Raiders in the O & M, Muller has also played for suburban teams Greenvale and Bundoora and Essendon’s VFL team.
Albury has been busy in the off-season with Elliott Powell and Kolby Heiner-Hennessy among former players agreeing to return to the O M powerhouse next year.
The highest point player in the O & M this season with six points was Yarrawonga’s Mick Gibbons, who was restricted to only eight games due to injury.
The highest point player in the state was Mooroopna’s Jackson Trengove with seven.
The former Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide forward began the season coaching Barooga before stepping down.
Before joining Mooroopna, Trengove had a short stint with Southern Mallee Giants.
The points system was introduced in 2016 to help equalise competitions.
Players recruited from the AFL and rival clubs carry the highest point allocations with “homegrown” players having the lowest.
SOUTHERN MALLEE GIANTS
Southern Mallee Giants have pulled off a major recruiting coup by signing reigning Wimmera league best and fairest winner and Minyip-Murtoa premiership star Kieran Delahunty as coach.
Delahunty returned to his original club, Minyip-Murtoa, last year from stints in state leagues in Melbourne, Perth and the Northern Territory.
He has won the Toohey Medal the past two seasons and also in 2014.
Delahunty replaces the three-member coaching set-up of Tim Inkster, Luke Mahony and Josh Webster at the Giants.
“It was a good opportunity,” he said.
“I’m turning 30 next year and (coaching) is something I’ve always wanted to do.
“They don’t always pop up like this one.
“They are a good small rural community.
“I’m from a farm myself and it was a good fit.”
The Giants reached the grand final in 2018-19 and was second on the ladder in 2021 when Covid cut short the season.
This year they narrowly missed finals after suffering a spate of injuries mid-year.
Giants president Nathan Williams said the signing of Delahunty was “huge for us”.
“He has wanted to coach and we were in the market for one,” Williams said.
Delahunty made The Weekly Times’ Top 10 players of 2022 and was also picked in the team of the year as the No. 1 ruckman.
Premiership coach Tim McKenzie is coaching Minyip-Murtoa again next year.
SHEPPARTON UNITED
Shepparton United is zeroing in on a playing coach it hopes to confirm to a long-term deal.
United’s football operations manager Jason Kelly said the club was chasing “sustained success” and the coaching appointment was crucial to achieving that aim.
The club won only one match this year against Benalla and is the only Goulburn Valley league club yet to confirm its coach for 2023.
Paul Serra coached the club this year and has decided to step aside.
“We’ve identified a coach who would be our optimum choice,” Kelly said.
“It’s not an easy job finding a coach.
“They don’t grow on trees, particularly if you’ve got a particular type of coach you want.
“We’ve got a really young list and we want to go down the playing coach option and with great support on the bench.”
Kelly said United had seven players on VFL lists who had “strong connections” to the club and could return within the next two seasons.
They include Geelong VFL best and fairest Jye Chalcraft, Carlton duo Zavier Maher and Zane Barzen and Richmond’s Angus Hicks.
“They’ve got really strong connections with the club and will filter back at some stage,” Kelly said.
“We’re building for sustained success.
“Our future coach is going to be a long-term gig.”
Meanwhile, Ovens and Murray league club Corowa-Rutherglen is still hunting for a coach to replace Peter German, who has accepted a multi-year deal to coach WAFL team Perth Demons.
Like Shepparton United, Corowa-Rutherglen is the only O & M club without a coach following recent appointments of Steve Johnson at Yarrawonga and Craig Millar at Myrtleford.
Bendigo league premiers Gisborne has had a change of coach with Brad Fox returning to the role he previously occupied when the club was in the Riddell league.
Rob Waters, who coached Gisborne to the flag this year, is staying on in an assistant role.
Meanwhile, Castlemaine and Kangaroo Flat are yet to confirm coaches for 2023.
WARRAGUL
Warragul’s leading goalkicker this year Jed Lamb has stepped up to fill the club’s vacant coaching role.
The former Sydney, GWS and Carlton utility booted 70 goals in his debut season in the Gippsland league this year.
But lifting Warragul into finals contention is his initial aim after this week signing on for two years as coach.
Lamb replaces Dean Alger, who announced before the end of the season he would not be coaching next year.
“Coaching has always been in the back of my mind,” Lamb said.
“But the more I thought about it after being asked, the keener I grew.
“There are some really quality footballers running around in the competition now.
“Obviously I want us to play finals as soon as possible, but the two years gives us a bit of time with the development of the group.”
Lamb joined Warragul this year along with another former AFL player, Nick Graham.
Despite beating Traralgon and drawing with another top-five team, Wonthaggi, Warragul finished eighth on the ladder.
Lamb, who kicked 10 goals in one match, has a support team in place with fullback Sean Masterson remaining in an assistant coach role.
Anthony Pavey will be a non-playing assistant coach with Lamb playing under Pavey as a junior at Yarram.
MYRTLEFORD
Craig Millar has made the rare switch from league chief to coach of one of the competition’s clubs with his appointment as coach of Myrtleford for the next three years.
Less than three weeks ago, Millar oversaw the first Ovens and Murray league grand final since 2019 in his role as general manager.
He stepped down from that position soon after and was this week announced as coach of Myrtleford, where he previously played for one season in 2005.
“The league is disappointed lose Craig,” O & M chairman David Sinclair said.
“He’s done an outstanding job over the last 18 months, driving high standards across all areas of the organisation.”
Millar takes over from co-coaches Jake Sharp and Dawson Simpson, who both suffered serious injuries in the second half of the season.
Millar will combine coaching and school teaching next year.
“Myrtleford is in a reasonable position,” he said.
“They are strong off-field, their list is still developing with some real top-end talent on it.
“It’s an amazing competition with some amazing players.
“There are seven former AFL players coaching clubs, the playing stocks are really strong.”
Millar was involved in player development at Carlton before returning to the North East and taking on the O & M general manager role during Covid.
Millar retired as a player in his late 20s to focus on a career in football administration and did a teaching degree in the early 2010s.
YARRAWONGA
Former Geelong superstar Steven Johnson is returning to his country roots to take on the coaching job of an Ovens and Murray club entering a premiership-winning sweet spot.
Johnson, who played in three Cats’ premierships and won a Norm Smith Medal, will be non-playing coach of Yarrawonga for the next two seasons.
The 39-year-old played the last of 293 AFL senior matches for Greater Western Sydney in 2017.
Mark Whiley has stepped aside after taking Yarrawonga to within three points of grand final glory against Johnson’s original club, Wangaratta, last month.
A coaching return to the O & M with Wangaratta for Johnson was off-limits with Collingwood premiership player Ben Reid in the role.
Johnson being a non-playing coach means his undisclosed package falls outside of the player payments salary cap.
Whiley flagged his intentions to step down, but continue as a player, more than a month ago.
Congrats to @YFNC_Pigeons & @Mulquiney on the signing of Steve Johnson. Massive for the club, the region and the @omfnl#PassionLivesHere
— David Sinclair (@Dsincs) October 7, 2022
Football director Leigh Ramsdale led the search for a replacement with assistance from Johnson’s former Geelong teammate and Yarrawonga junior Tom Lonergan.
Lonergan said Johnson would be a “fantastic coach” at Yarrawonga.
“He has one of the sharpest football brains I’ve come across,” he said.
“Coupled with his competitiveness and experiences as an assistant coach with GWS and Sydney, he will be outstanding not just for the senior team, but the entire club and community.
“He’s a country boy at heart.”
Online wagering kingpin and Melbourne Storm chairman Matt Tripp, who played a key role in wooing Brendan Fevola to Yarrawonga more than a decade ago, also helped close out the deal to secure Johnson.
Fevola was ranked No. 1 in The Weekly Times best 100 country footballers since 2000.
Johnson departed GWS as an assistant coach in mid-September in a shake up prompted by Adam Kinglsey’s appointment as the full-time replacement for Leon Cameron.
Johnson inherits a strong line-up, which includes reigning O & M best and fairest winner Leigh Masters, Willie Wheeler, Lachie Howe and league leading goalkicker Leigh Williams.
But Yarrawonga’s grand final line-up didn’t include former Carlton player Mick Gibbons and dual best and fairest winner Harry Wheeler, due to injury.
All are staying with the club in 2023 with grand final player Caleb Mitchell an AFL draft hopeful next month.
Originally published as Goulburn Valley: Rochester confirms return of Essendon VFL best and fairest Joe Atley
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