Tara Murray
Laurimar has pulled off one of the biggest moves in the Northern Football League off-season so far, signing Patrick Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald has been one of the premier full forwards of the division 1 competition for a number of years.
He is a three-time division 1 leading goalkicker and has been named in the team of the year 10 times. Fitzgerald has played for Vic Metro and represented the NFL on five occasions.
Power coach Jimmy Atkins said a signing like this was pretty massive for the club.
“It’s great for us,” he said. “He’s a quality footballer and even better bloke.
“I’ve had a relationship with him for a fair while after my time at Montmorency. We kept in contact and I heard during the season he was looking forward to taking a step back from division.
“We approached him last week and he was happy to sign on.”
Atkins said Fitzgerald would bring plenty of leadership and that he believed the new signing had plenty of good football ahead of him.
The signing is a boost for the Power that will return to division 3 next season.
Laurimar finished bottom in its first season in division 2 despite winning four games for the season. A win in the final round against Watsonia would have secured a spot in division 2 for next season.
Atkins said the group was keen to get back up into the higher division as soon as it can.
He said they felt they were still on the right track with the right people on board.
“Pretty much all of them are sticking around,” he said. “They really want to get to work and get back where we belong.
“There were really good signs and we were competitive with most sides, but we were the bottom side and you have to expect to be relegated.”
The inclusion of Fitzgerald’s leadership is important with a few key departures.
Mitchell Thompson and Jacson Cecil have retired, while Nathan Andrews has returned to Whittlesea.
Thompson was a joint captain, while Cecil has been a key contributor for a number of years.
Atkins said along with getting Fitzgerald in, there was a number of younger players who had shown leadership qualities and were ready to step up.
Elsewhere, the Power has announced the re-signing of Shane Munn as women’s coach for next season.
