There’s a buzz going around Gisborne Football Club during the off-season.
Having already secured the services of AFL premiership player Clinton Young, the club has added some VFL talent.
Former Collingwood player and Gisborne Rookies junior Matthew Goodyear and his former Collingwood teammate, Darrean Wyatt, have signed two-year contracts, with the Bulldogs to be their local aligned club.
James Ferry, another Bulldogs junior, has also signed with the club. He’s still deciding about whether to continue his VFL career with Essendon.
Coach Brad Spear said that while he wasn’t expecting the VFL players to play a lot of football with the Bulldogs, their presence would be a massive boost for the young playing group.
“Darrean is good friends with Matt and he was looking for a club to be aligned with,” Spear said.
“He spoke to us and liked the direction we’re heading.
“It just gives our players a little bit of hope and positivity.
“The young guys look up to players who have played AFL and VFL.”
Spear said Young, who is a playing assistant coach, had been fantastic working with the players.
Ferry and Goodyear aren’t the only players returning to their home club.
Andre Headberry returns after a season at Monash Blues in the Victorian Amateur Football Association, in which he led the club’s goal kicking.
Jack Baker returns from playing with Riddell District Football League side Riddell, while his younger brother, Ryan, will play with the Bulldogs full-time this season after spending the past couple of seasons with the Calder Cannons.
Spear said the return of local players was bringing a positive feeling to the club.
“It’s good to have local boys returning to the club,” he said. “As a coach, you can see a positive feel around the club and it drives us forward.
“Andre gives us an option going forward. He’s a real dynamic player.
“Jack comes back from Riddell and is another really good forward.
“His brother decided he wanted to play for us this year and the two wanted to play together.”
More importantly, the Bulldogs don’t think they’ve lost any players. That’s a far cry from 12 months ago, when they had lost about half their senior side.
Heading into his second season as coach, Spear said that while the expectations were higher than last year, the club wasn’t setting its goals too high.
Last year, the Bulldogs finished ninth with three wins.
“We have to be realistic that all the other clubs have improved, too,” he said.
“We’ll certainly improve on what we achieved last year, I’m confident of that.
“How far we go, that is the unknown. We’ll certainly be more competitive.”
