NORTH WARRNAMBOOL Eagles have secured the signatures of two returning stars and one new face as it aims for premiership redemption next season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Former club best and fairest winner Dylan Parish returns to the club after missing the Eagles' impressive 2019 season, which ultimately ended in a heartbreaking three-point grand final defeat to Koroit.
Star midfielder Sam McLachlan has also committed to another season at Bushfield after being canvassed heavily by a number of VFL clubs in the early stages of the off-season.
Former Warrnambool player Kevin Bourke joins the nest from Geelong Football League powerhouse Leopold.
Eagles coach Adam Dowie was pleased the trio had committed to the club next season.
"Sam is an absolute A-grader as a person, and he loves North Warrnambool, and also as a footballer," he said.
"Dylan was changing jobs and moving to shift work so his priorities changed a bit (this year). He lives down the road from the club and he has always enjoyed his time playing at North.
"Dylan is really keen to go and he is really well liked and respected so to get him playing again is terrific.
"I coached Kevin in 2009-10 and he was a very good player then and he has been in Geelong where he represented the league at interleague level."
READ MORE:
Bourke, who is a long-time mate of former Geelong star and Eagles utlility Billie Smedts, played 63 games across five seasons with the Lions.
Before his stint at Leopold Memorial Reserve the former Vic Country representative played four seasons at GFL rival Geelong West-St Peters, which is now called Geelong West Giants.
Dowie said the inclusive nature of the Eagles was what attracted Bourke, who will travel from Geelong along with his partner Jacqui and son Hamish, to join the club.
McLachlan was the Eagles' best and fairest winner in his first season back at the club after a stint in Geelong, where he played VFL.
The star midfielder also finished runner-up in last season's Maskell Medal, finishing four votes behind Warrnambool's Jye Turland.
Parish, who played 62 games for the Eagles between 2015-18, will line up next to star goal-kicker Adam Wines in a dangerous Eagles forward set up.
The pair has only booted less than 65 goals in one of their four seasons together.
Their tally of 35 in 2017 was due to a significant hand injury to Parish. In 2018 they combined for 66 majors, 85 in 2016 and 68 in 2015.
Dowie was licking his lips in anticipation of the way his forward line could look like in 2020 with Parish and Bourke joining the club's ranks.
"It's going to help our other forwards in the likes of Adam Wines, Jarryd Lewis and Jordan Dillon, who carried a lot of the load this year," he said.
"Kevin's role will be a bit like Dylan's and spending more time in the forward line. Having a forward line with the likes of Adam, Jordan, Dylan, Kevin and Jarryd is really significant."
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.
Sean Hardeman
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
