Gisborne’s Josh Kemp will get a second shot in the Victorian Football League after signing with Coburg for the 2022 season.
Kemp, who played with the Calder Cannons, was on Essendon’s VFL list the last two years, playing one game in 2021.
He played six games with Gisborne in 2021, kicking 12 goals.
The 21-year-old told Coburg’s website he was excited to be joining the Lions and is looking to make a statement this season.
“Really excited to be here obviously, [it’s] a young group who’ve got something to prove. It’s good to be on board and hopefully I can prove some people wrong this year,” Kemp said.
“I’m a tough matchup forward, [I] have an eye for goal and can hopefully stand on a head here or there”.
Lions coach Andrew Sturgess was impressed with Kemp’s drive to earn a spot.
“I rang him and said there’s an opportunity to come and trial for a spot, he said I’d be there within a couple hours of me calling him and came down the first night,” Sturgess said.
“He’s brought aggression, competing and hunger to earn a contract that’s why he’s ended up on our list.”
He joins former Cannons players Harry Andronaco, Flynn Gentile and Riley Mason on the list.
Kemp is the final signing for the Lions, who will have 42 players on their list this season.
Coburg chief executive Sebastian Spagnuolo said they were happy with the final addition to the list for 2022.
“Josh’s signing sees our 42-man list for 2022 now complete and we are very excited by the maturity, leadership, combination of youth and experience, talent, work ethic and character of the group as we now head into our practice matches and then season proper.”
The Lions were sitting 16th when last season was called off.
They will start their season in round two on the first weekend of April, with the side having a bye in round one.
