MOAMA MAGPIES
The Magpies are building out at Moama Recreation Reserve, with many tipping the black and white to challenge for finals on the back of a productive off-season.
Moama has been the big movers in the Murray Football League off-season, causing a buzz throughout the competition after attracting a swathe of experienced footballers to the nest.
In his first season at the helm, senior coach Sam Sheldon has attracted a swag of Goulburn Valley League champions and former teammates to the club, including Axel Childs, Tom Sheldon and Josh Vick, crucial cogs in Kyabram’s all-conquering team of the 2010s.
Sharpshooting duo Chris Horman (Kinglake) and Stuart Taylor (Moonee Valley) have also joined the club from Melbourne to bolster the forward line stocks, with long-time spearhead Luke Eldridge opting to retire at the end of last season following a decorated career.
Tongala’s Dylan Joyce is also onboard coming from the unbeaten Blues squad of 2021, and with much of the senior squad re-signed, Moama looks poised to climb the ranks of the league despite the loss of reigning best-and-fairest Fraser Verhey, who has made the switch to Bendigo
Football League outfit Eaglehawk. “We’ve managed to get a full pre-season away during COVID, so that’s been positive,” coach Sam Sheldon said.
“The boys are pretty fit and we’ve had pretty good buy-in. Callum Doyle and Mitch Lake are both young blokes who have had really good pre-seasons, both running really well and making good decisions with the footy.
“We’ve had a pretty successful recruiting run. There’s obviously a lot of new faces though, and the boys haven’t played with one another yet.”
Courtesy of last year’s revised finals structure, Moama finished in the top eight, and it’s finals where Sheldon is hoping to land with his new-look squad. “We would be aiming for finals,” he said.
“Get there and then anything’s possible.”
– JOSH HUNTLY