Queenscliff has beaten out numerous clubs, including several Bellarine League rivals, for the signature of former Adelaide and Hawthorn defender Kyle Hartigan.
Returning Coutas’ coach Heath Jamieson revealed the signing of Hartigan, who turned 32 on Melbourne Cup Day, on K rock’s Beyond the Boundary podcast.
“It’s a big recruit for us,” Jamieson said. “I’ve dealt with a lot of players, as you could imagine, over my time.
“As far as ex-AFL players, he said all the right things.
“He was looking for a family club; he wanted to see his two kids play netball and football.
“He’s been great to deal with from that perspective.”
Initially from Keilor in the Essendon and District League, Hartigan was overlooked by AFL clubs in his first two years out of the Talent League.
However, strong form at VFL club Werribee resulted in Hartigan finding a home with Adelaide in the 2012 Rookie Draft.
He played 113 games with the Crows, including their grand final loss to Richmond in 2017, before spending two seasons for 22 games at Hawthorn in 2021-22.
Hartigan made five appearances with Centrals Trinity Beach in the AFL Cairns competition for 17 goals this year.
Jamieson expects Hartigan to play 8-12 games around some planned coaching commitments.
“When we’ve got him, we’ll be really happy, and when we haven’t got him, we’ll have to be ultra-competitive without him,” Jamieson said.
Click here to listen to the Beyond the Boundary podcast in full.
