St Albans has added to its improving key position stocks by signing talented young West Australian Tom Higgins.
Higgins is close mates with emerging Geelong defender Lawson Humphries, having played together at Pilbara League club Wickham and prestigious Perth school Hale.
At Wickham, he kicked 61 goals from 16 games in 2022, including a nine-goal outing and four hauls of six, with two of those during the Wolves’ finals campaign.
The 21-year-old, returning from a serious knee injury, has joined the Supersaints after securing work in the region with Supersaints vice president Ross Wilson.
“October or November is when we first started chatting to him,” rookie coach Rick Munn said.
“He’s just moved over in the last week or so, so we’re pretty excited to have him on board.
“We need to have some key position talent.”
“He’s got buckets for hands, moves pretty well, and he’s a really good size.
“He will be a real target for us in front of the footy, or we can even look at him to pinch-hit in the ruck and even down back.”
St Albans’ inclusions from 2024 have topped 15, including the returning Angus Evans (Birregurra) and Tyson Roberts (Geelong West).
It has also welcomed Lucas Gray from Torquay, the brother of current Supersaint Miles.
Gray has impressed Munn despite remaining at the underage level for one year.
“He’s really burning up the track,” Munn said.
“A small forward with elite foot skills, quick; we’re really excited about his trajectory.
“He’s still eligible for under-18 footy, but we feel he can make a real impact at senior level.”
In an early vote of confidence for Munn, there have only been two notable departures from Concept Oval.
Riley Somers has joined several fellow former Supersaints at GDFNL runner-up Belmont Lions, and key defender Ben Miller has joined Hampden League powerhouse Koroit.
Miller has been a model of consistency since arriving from Geelong West ahead of the 2022 season, playing 53 of a possible 54 matches.
“I sort of knew Benny was leaving before I took on the role,” Munn said. “He was real transparent, (and) real professional about it.
“(We’re) disappointed to lose him, but we feel we’ve been able to recruit well, and we’ve got some internal development that can take on that role as well.”
St Albans will play practice matches against Banyule, North Warrnambool, and Bentleigh during March before opening its 2025 campaign against Lara on April 12.
After a torrid fixture last year, the Supersaints have only one match-up with a 2024 finalist in the first third of the season.
“The first six rounds are really important for us,” Munn said.
“We want to get some momentum early, so we want to make sure that we’re cherry-ripe
“We’ve got a lot of new faces, so we need to integrate those boys into the group, and there’s a lot of competition for a couple of spots there.
“We need to identify which 22 we want to roll with heading into Round 1 and beyond.”
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