While a few of their Essendon District Football League counterparts may have snatched the headlines for big-name recruiting in the off-season, Keilor, too, has been quietly strengthening its list
The Blues have already added nine players they expect to be among their best 22 for round one.
Rhyce Prismall, David Isbister, Nathan Schroder, Ryan Noye and Matthew Wilkinson have all joined from Lara, while Adrian Crawford and Rory Alexander have signed on from South Bendigo.
The Blues have also added Guy Barbuto from Parkside and Joshua Linton from Kyabram.
Keilor football manager Paul Barbuto is rapt with the way all nine players have embraced the club.
“We set out to replace our bottom eight and we think we’ve done that,” he said.
“The beauty about these players is that the signs are there; they’re engaged with the club, they’re down at functions, they’re taking leadership roles and they can play at the club for five or seven years.”
The Blues are coming off a brilliant season in the EDFL’s premier division, where the club defied external expectations that they would struggle … Keilor won 12 games and qualified for finals.
Only Ricky Marcy, Rodney Van Riet and Angus Munro from the 2014 squad are not returning. Young gun Josh Esposito looks likely to win a spot on Werribee’s list in the Victorian Football League so could be available for only limited games with the Blues.
If successful, Esposito will be the third Keilor player to be aligned to a VFL club this season. Tim O’Brien is working with the Western Bulldogs, while Jesse Wallin is contracted to Collingwood.
It has been a busy off-season of recruiting in the EDFL, with the likes of Pascoe Vale and Aberfeldie adding big names to their lists.
Pascoe Vale has signed former AFL players Ben Warren, Ben Ross, Daniel Harris, Adam Contessa and Gavin Urquhart, while Aberfeldie has added delisted midfielder Brock McLean.
Keilor will play practice matches against Benalla, Leopold and Bundoora.
