Seymour young gun Ben Rigoni is poised to take the next step in his football journey after being offered a contract with VFL club Coburg for the 2023 season.
Rigoni, who enjoyed a Morrison Medal-winning season in 2022, has been associated with Coburg for a number of years after being a product of the Calder Cannons football program in the NAB League.
Having spent a couple of pre-seasons with the club and featuring in practice matches in the past, Rigoni was finally rewarded for his hard work with his first full-time VFL contract for the upcoming campaign.
Despite the move, Rigoni will still be tied to Seymour Football Club and will appear for the Lions when not required by Coburg.
An exciting development in his budding career, Coburg chief executive Sebastian Spagnuolo said he was thrilled to give the Seymour star this opportunity.
“Ben Rigoni is a player that has been known to us for the past few years, we have a great Coburg network through guys like Ben Clifton that play or have played at Seymour, so we are always tracking how those boys are going,” Spagnuolo said.
“Ben played in our 2022 intraclub practice match and really impressed, so the feedback we gave him was go back and play another year of senior footy at Seymour and he knocked it out of the park.
“So we invited him back to train with us again and has really impressed with his ability to fit in at the level, so we offered him a contract.”
When it came to assessing Rigoni’s game, Spagnuolo said there were a number of traits that made him stand out to the Coburg coaching staff.
“He is a hard-working midfielder that is good around stoppages and is a young player that still has lots to learn which excites us,” he said.
“The fact that he’s played senior footy at an elite level also appealed to us and his body has matured to the stage where we are confident he will translate well to VFL footy.
“Once he gets his opportunity there is no reason why he can’t play a midfield/forward type role, that’s where he has been training in the pre-season and we think he will address a need for us in that space.”
Rigoni is not the only young Seymour star set to take his talents to Coburg in 2023.
After a standout season with the Murray Bushrangers in the NAB League Nick Quigg will get his opportunity at VFL level as he continues to chase his AFL dream.
“Quiggy had a fantastic year with the Bushies and we kept our eye on him throughout the 2022 season, so after the year we got in contact with him to see what he would do if he missed on the draft and once that happened we were very quick to get him on board,” Spagnuolo said.
“Players like him who can accumulate the footy at NAB League level have shown in the past they transition to VFL footy really well, the coaches have been very impressed with his pre-season and we can’t wait to see what he can do.
“Hopefully he can be a key cog in our midfield and really build a platform to where he can pursue his dream of playing in the AFL, if he continues on this trajectory with us there is no reason why he can’t find himself on the draft radar.”
These signings continue Coburg’s strong connection with the southern region of the Goulburn Valley, where the club travels to Kyabram District League club Longwood every year for a pre-season camp.
Spagnuolo said the club was keen to continue its close relationship with the region and find more talent in the coming years.
“Benny Clifton was Coburg vice-captain for a number of years and is a life member at the club, and he’s a Seymour boy through and through, Michael Hartley got drafted out of Coburg and now he is playing up there, so they are two of many connections we have with the club,” he said.
“And with Longwood we have connection with them through one of our other life members in Chris Lalor, who unfotrunately passed away, but he moved from Coburg to Longwood and we love going up there.
“So we have a really strong connection with the region we are always keen to build on.”