By Tara Murray
Keilor Park has added some much needed experience with the signing of a former AFL big man for the Essendon District Football League division 2 season.
The Devils have announced the signing of former Melbourne and Essendon ruck Mark Jamar for the upcoming season.
Devils football director Scott Kempster said it was a matter of the right time and place.
“It had been a work in progress,” he said. “We’re happy to have secured Mark, he’s a good acquisition.
“We managed to sign him through Mark Harvey. Harvs used to play for the cricket club and lived in Keilor Park and a lot of his best mates are at Keilor Park. He’s always down watching.
“Mark [Jamar] knows one of Harvs’ mates as they work together. Through those connections they talked about getting him to our club.”
Jamar played 160 AFL games and was an All-Australian in 2010. He has still been playing local football.
Kempster said Jamar wasn’t going to play every week due to his age, but expected him to have a big impact.
“Our list is really young and he brings that experience,” he said. “We hardly have a player over 30.
“He will help the young kids. We have a couple of rucks, who he will work closely with.
“He’ll look to play 10-12 games.”
The signing of Jamar is a big boost for the club which has had an up and down off season.
Several players have left the club, which has dropped down to division 2 after finishing bottom of division 1 last season.
Kempster said losing experienced players always hurts.
“It’s disappointing to lose a few to Coburg Districts where former player Damien Cavka is now coach, but that’s footy.
“We also lost some who want to play at a higher level. We’ve managed to bring a few in and getting in Mark will hopefully get across the line with a few others who we are still talking to.”
Kempster said they felt they were in a better position this year than they were 12 months ago when they had an interrupted off season.
They’re hoping for a bit more luck on the injury side as well.
“We think we will still be competitive and we’re still looking to recruit a few more players,” he said.
Kempster said they were still looking for more players for their reserves side.
“We have a thirds team, they all want to just play thirds, not reserves,” he said. “We still need some numbers.”
Elsewhere at the club, the women’s program is thriving with really good numbers, while the club is hopeful they will have a junior side, likely under-10s, for the first time in a number of years.
Tara Murray
