Wanderers regain strength and experience with the return of favourite son Josh Cubillo
Wanderers coach Shannon Motlop thrilled at the return of strong man Josh Cubillo after two years away
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WANDERERS regained some much needed experience this week when experienced pair Josh Cubillo and Brett Eddy committed to a full season with the NTFL club.
Eagles strong man Cubillo has been playing with Alberfeldie in Melbourne’s Essendon district league for the past two years.
And Eddy, the former Port Adelaide goalkicker, has also moved to the Top End.
“Leadership is something we wanted so much of last season, but in reality it was very limited for us,’’ Motlop said.
“We were so young in terms of on-field maturity and that’s something Josh will fill after two seasons down south.
“He’s done this off his own back by contacting our president Jerome Cubillo and telling him he wanted to come home to Wanderers.’’
In other recruiting news for Wanderers, former Buffaloes Brayden Culhane and Jonas Nikki will pull on a blue and gold jumper this season.
Motlop expects big things from both players, particularly Culhane, who led the league goalkicking for a brief period last season.
“You don’t do that unless you can play,’’ Motlop said.
Another bonus is the addition of Werribee on-baller Dane McFarlane and his close mate Bryson Hodgson.
Motlop took considerable time selecting McFarlane and Hodgson from a big group of southern applicants hungry for a game of football.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented any football in country Victoria this year, leading several players to Darwin’s “summer’’ competition in a bid to gain match fitness.
But Motlop was not keen to open his club’s doors to a wave of southern recruits.
“We’ve put a lot of work into our local players and don’t want them put on the outer for the sake of one season of footy,’’ he told the NT News.
Wanderers open their 2020-21 season against Southern Districts on October 3.
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