Geelong Amateur has added further quality to its list by signing St Mary’s premiership player Joe Maishman.
The former Werribee VFL star – he played 87 senior games at the Tigers, many of those alongside Ammos star Tom Gribble – is no stranger to several of his future teammates.
“(Brother) Nic joined us midway through this year, and Joe’s also best mates with Harry Kershaw and Blake Sutterby,” Ammos co-coach Riley Kershaw said.
“The boys have been talking to Joe about playing footy together, and that’s how the dominoes fell.
“It’s a really easy fit for Joe, considering how many guys he knows here.”
Maishman joins fellow GFNL guns Mitch Day and Dan Weigl and new playing co-coach Sam Lloyd as off-season arrivals at KFC Oval.
Kershaw says Ammos, who made an inglorious elimination final exit in 2024, are close to ending their recruiting for next year.
“We’re not actively testing the market at this stage,” he said.
“We’re pretty happy with the guys that we’ve brought in and the guys we have been able to retain for this year.”
Kershaw confirmed former Geelong-listed midfielder Oscar Brownless is unlikely to return, while dynamic forward Paddy Dowling’s future is up in the air.
“It’s something we’re discussing at the moment,” he said.
“Paddy’s got some things he’s weighing up at this point in his life.
“We’ve got to wait to hear back from Paddy.”
Meanwhile, Portarlington has added a trio of fringe senior players from GFNL club Leopold.
Riley Hayden, Mitch Howard and Nick Lane are the latest arrivals at Ron Evans Oval.
Hayden, a former Geelong Falcon, was part of the Lions’ second semi-final win over St Joseph’s but was squeezed out of the grand final team.
Howard and Lane both managed three senior games in 2024.
Lane has GFNL grand final experience under his belt after being part of Leopold’s losing side in 2022.
Ocean Grove has also signed Mitch Ward from Ballarat League club Darley and Jai Hale from Southern League team Mordialloc.
Ward made 60 appearances for the Devils, including their 2023 grand final win over North Ballarat.
Hale is a key position player who spent time with Talent League club Sandringham Dragons.
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