AMMOS LURE STAR HOME
GEELONG Amateur has lured another star junior home, with Newtown & Chilwell gun Jai Sheahan returning to Queens Park for the 2023 BFL season.
St Mary’s Tom Zeitz has also crossed to Ammos, after playing four senior games and eight reserves games for the Saints this season.
Geelong Amateur co-coach Daniel Holroyd said the pair would add some flexibility to his line-up.
“He (Sheahan) does (fill a hole) and they both do actually, because they’re both guys who can play (multiple) positions on the ground,” he said. “They’re guys we can use at either end of the ground or through the middle … they can give us some different looks.”
Sheahan last played for Ammos in 2009 in under-16s before crossing to the Eagles, Geelong Falcons and eventually Casey Scorpions and Geelong in VFL.
He became a staple of Newtown & Chilwell’s side, playing 145 games and kicking 216 goals between 2010-2022.
“He’s a former junior so he’s one of those guys we keep in touch with, but also he’s probably getting towards 30 now, I think it’s probably the right time for him,” Holroyd said.
“He lives just up the road from Ammos, got a young family, GFL it’s no secret that it’s a pretty high standard now … so it makes sense for him to probably come back at this point now while he’s still got some good footy left in him.”
Zeitz missed the entire 2021 season due to a shoulder injury after crossing to St Mary’s from West Gambier in the Western Border Football League.
He endured an up and down 2022 season due to hamstring issues.
“His partner plays at Ammos … he just wanted to come to a level where he can get back to enjoying his footy and try and play some consistent footy,” Holroyd said.
Holroyd added that Ammos’ recruiting is not finished yet, with the club expecting another “one or two” to sign on.
It would end a near perfect off-season for the club, with Riley Ferguson (St Joseph’s) and Josh Grabowski (East Keilor) already signing on for next year.
“I’d probably expect maybe one or two more at this stage,” Holroyd said.
“We’re talking to a couple of others, depending on work commitments and things like that, but I would expect probably one or two more to come through before we’re done.
“The guys we’re chatting to are probably just to strengthen up a couple of areas that we identified.
“We just wanted one more key back and just another midfielder to add a bit more class in there.”
Holroyd said that Sam Hosking has “at this stage” decided to head back to junior club St Mary’s, while small forward Tommy Stephen has joined Grovedale. “We’ve got a couple that we’re still working on … they probably won’t know until maybe after the first chunk of pre-season,” he said.