Two Northern Territory Football League talents will call Goulburn Valley League home this year as the influx of high-class footballers continues in the off-season.
Harley McCarthy and Daniel Weetra have committed to Tatura, with the club announcing the gun duo last week.
Set to help lift the Bulldogs back up the table, the pair joins the club with strong footballing resumes.
Tatura coach Paul Barnard, who is preparing for his first foray into the GVL, said the duo was quality people that were coming in to play roles on and off the field.
“They’re both great leaders and they’ve played state league footy before,” Barnard said.
“We’ve got such a young list that we needed to counterbalance it a little bit, but they’re also premier players that have experienced a bit.
“In our list management strategy we identified what we needed and then from that point we perused different avenues to try and secure these boys.
“We wanted them Melbourne-based, we didn’t want any fly-in, fly-out players to complement this squad that’s currently at Tat, so from that perspective it’s a bit of a coup for us to get two quality players and people like these two that have come in.”
Originally from Yarrawonga, 191cm tall centre half-back McCarthy arrives at the club from the Tiwi Bombers, while former Wanderers and Northern Territory Thunder premiership player Weetra will also bolster the defence.
If the two recruits do end up being utilised in the backline this season, they’ll complement the likes of defensive mainstays Chris Ryan, Che Walls and Michael Archer.
Joining the side after a strong initial pre-season block, Barnard said it was so far so good for the Bulldogs.
“It’s (pre-season) been pretty good, the players embraced the change of football program being put before them and I can’t fault them on their attitude and effort in that sense,” he said.
“They’ve really trained hard and I’ve elevated the program to try and help them in getting up to standard in this league and chasing some of the teams in Echuca, Mansfield and Euroa.
“It brings a challenge for us, but one that we certainly think we can answer, we’re certainly not going to try and reinvent the wheel here, but we’re going to try and advance incrementally and I think you’ll see a better showing this year from Tat.”
With a strong mix of youth and experience plus a new coach at the helm, league followers can expect to see a different Tatura in 2023.
Tatura will return to its pre-season training in the near future.