Barwon Heads’ quest for a quick return to the Bellarine finals has been significantly boosted with the return to Howard Harmer Oval of Zach Walter.
Named best on the ground in the Seagulls’ drought-breaking 2019 premiership win, Walter joined GFNL club Newtown & Chilwell post-Covid, playing 37 games, including the Eagles’ heartbreaking preliminary final loss in 2022.
He also made four appearances with VFL club Port Melbourne at the back end of this year.
“It’s always good to get back one-pointers, especially ones of Zach’s quality,” coach Sam Schaller said.
“It started last year with a question, similar to what (Torquay coach) Dom (Gleeson) did with ‘Boagy’ (Matt Boag).
“It probably ramped up a little bit more at the end of the season.
“With Newtown changing coaches and all that sort of stuff, we thought this might be a good time to make an offer to Zach to come back home.”
Walter, 24, will remain with Port Melbourne, who will be coached by former Ocean Grove and Western Bulldogs mentor Brendan McCartney in 2025.
“He’s had a couple of conversations with him there, and (McCartney’s) happy to retain him on the list up there,” Schaller said.
“Hopefully, he’s playing some footy up there.
“He got four games at the end of this year, so he’s clearly trending in the right direction.”
Walter, who will reunite with brother Charlie, looms as a handy replacement for Ryley Stuhldreier, with the reigning best-and-fairest weighing up a move to Western Australia.
“He’s still not 100 per cent going, yet,” Schaller said. “He’s waiting for a few things to line up over in Perth.
“He goes with our blessing if he does because we know he’ll be a Barwon Heads boy when he comes back.
“Once that’s finalised, we’ll say goodbye to Ryley. But, it’s still not fully over the line.”
Schaller is also excited about having a fit and healthy Sam Witherden at his disposal next year.
A back issue kept the Werribee VFL-listed defender on the sidelines for all of 2024.
“He got his surgery on his back, and he started some rehab training at Werribee at the end of the year,” Schaller said.
“There was a small chance of him playing, but they (Werribee) put the cue in the rack and focused on next year.
“All indications are he’s moving pretty well. (He’s) still getting a little bit of pain.”
Following the decision by co-coach Mitch Herbison to step down at the end of the season, Schaller says the club is “open-minded” about him doing the role solo.
“That’s probably the path we’re trending down, which is exciting for myself,” he said.
“But, we’re looking for that playing assistant coach to come in and fill one of those roles and add a few more pieces.
“We were only six points off second (spot), but we need to improve to get back up to compete against the top sides.”
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