Grubbers fill midfield gap

Quality duo soften loss of Macleod

OCEAN Grove is confident it has covered the loss of goalkicking midfielder Brent Macleod after netting two blue-chip recruits.

With Macleod departing to coach CDFL club Apollo Bay, the Grubbers have injected quality with the signatures of Mathieson medallist Guy O’Keefe and former VFL star Luke Cartelli.

“We just felt that we had no depth with our mids last year, that was a concerning point for us,” Grubbers coach Paul Lynch said.

“Yes, we had (James) Linton and Macleod but it fell away pretty quickly after that. Kell Williams just couldn’t get going with his body all year and they were our main mids.

“A lot of attention was put into Linton and Macleod, and it made life difficult for them, so at the end of the year that was our main focus to go out and get as many mids as we could to give them support.

“We’ve also signed Jack Rawlings and Kieren McNelly, and they’ll play through the middle as well.”

Macleod produced a stellar maiden season, booting 37 goals from the midfield, and leaves with Lynch’s blessing.

“It’s disappointing to lose Brent. but we won’t get in the way of him pursuing a coaching career,” he said.

“I’ve known for a long time that he wants to develop his coaching and go as far as he can with it. As they say, you’ve got to start somewhere and Apollo Bay gave him an opportunity. I wish him well.”

O’Keefe crossed from Portarlington, having played four games in an injury-ravaged season.

“Guy’s an amazing talent,” Lynch said.

“When I coached against him when he played at Leopold I had huge amount of respect for him as a footballer. He’s had a few injuries in the last few years but if we get him on the park and get him going, everyone in Geelong knows how good a player Guy is.”

O’Keefe was close to signing with the Grubbers last season, only to join Jesse Smith at the Demons.

“He’s got a close link to our players and he’s been to a few of our functions and we knew from a fair way out that he was keen to have a kick with us,” Lynch said.

“So it was an easy thing to get organised and get done.”

Cartelli has moved to Ocean Grove and slots into the midfield after stints with Williamstown and Coburg.

“Luke has a pretty good CV. He’s spent time in the VFL and Essendon and District League, so he comes with pretty good recommendations,” he said.

“We expect him to be one of the better players in the comp, hopefully, and we look forward to working with him.”