Ocean Grove has pulled an early off-season recruiting coup by signing Peel Thunder premiership player Taj Wyburd.
Wyburd was part of the Thunder’s 33-point WAFL grand final win over East Perth last month in just his 20th senior game.
Despite growing up on the other side of the country, the 20-year-old is no stranger to Ocean Grove – his grandparents live near the Grubbers’ Shell Road base, and he has been a familiar face at Ray Menzies Oval while visiting over previous summers.
“It’s really exciting for us,” coach Dave Farrell said.
“It has come about reasonably quickly… a few video calls and phone calls, and it felt like a really comfortable fit.
“He’s moving to Ocean Grove, and, for us, it was about getting someone with that level of experience who was willing to buy-in to our program straight away, and Taj is certainly going to do that.”
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Despite being lightly built at 174cm and 66kgs according to the WAFL website, Farrell says Wyburd will be used in the midfield.
“He’s certainly working on his size and his contest work,” Farrell said.
“He’s had some really good feedback form the guys at Peel in regards to where we can develop his footy.
“He’s excited about playing on some tighter ground over here and working on that side of his ground.
“We’ll put him in and around the contest as much as he can go there.”
Farrell says Wyburd’s arrival has already piqued the interest of VFL clubs.
“I know there’s been some preliminary talks with Geelong,” he said.
“We’re really excited about supporting our players – whether they’re existing guys we’ve helped develop or new guys on our list – if they want to pursue opportunities at VFL level and remain a Grubber.
The signing of Wyburd follows the announcement of the signing of former captain Joe McDonald and the return of Reece Devlin from Newtown & Chilwell.
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