Tara Murray
Green Gully has secured the signature of the National Premier League’s best player for next year’s season.
The Cavaliers announced on Wednesday that they had signed Aamir Abdallah as he makes the move from Hume City.
He had a breakout year with Hume, claiming the competition’s top honour, the Gold Medal after polling 32 votes.
He also won the players’ player award and the Bill Fleming Medal as the best player judged by the NPL commentary team.
He finished with 14 goals and eight assists in 20 games.
Speaking after the awards, Abdallah told Star Weekly the move to Hume was about getting more playing time.
Speaking to Green Gully media, Abdallah said he was excited to join the club.
“Obviously it means a lot,” he said. “I’ve always held the club at a very, very high standard.
“I’ve known much about the club through the years but I’ve never played for them or anything.
“I’ve had mates who played at the club and always held it in high regard.”
Abdallah said he had spoken to several clubs in the off season but he said it proved to be not much of a decision in the end.
He said the history of the club was something he wanted to be involved with, while reuniting with David Chick, who coached him at Hume for most of the season, was another one.
“Chicky came five to six rounds in,” he said. “I didn’t know much about him and he had been at the club before.
“He would give me… a bit more freedom to do what I would like to do in the front third with everything else more rigid there’s a plan and a structure.
“I’ve always found it easy to play under him so I think him being at the club at least makes it even more easier.”
Chick said that he was surprised that Abdallah was available in the off season and they jumped at the opportunity to sign him.
“He made it known to us and we had some conversations and it turned out to be the best option for us,” he said.
“He has fitted in well with everyone. It’s nice to bring him in, having worked with him, he’s a fantastic guy and a great player.”
Chick said there’s always a risk when bringing in new players, but he said that risk disappears when you already have a connection.
He said everything he had seen from Abdallah had been nothing short of excellent.
The Cavaliers started pre-season last week and would train for five or six weeks before a break at Christmas.
Chick said they had a bit of a different squad to last season.
“We’re working on bringing in what fits with what we need,” he said. “There had been a little bit of turnover but we kept a lot of who we wanted to keep.
“We’ve got some good additions and hopefully we’ll add one of two more.”
Among those who join the squad are four players that have been promoted from the club’s under-23 side.
Chick said they were impressing early in pre-season and would be pushing for starting spots.
