THE chance to experience a sea change has landed Port Fairy three VFL recruits.
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Coburg Tigers midfielders Guy Phelps and Tyrone Bean last night signed with the Seagulls for next season.
Ruckman Jonathon Proud, who is also an athletic key forward, also plans to join them at Gardens Oval.
Their signings come after the Seagulls last month picked up Melbourne draftee Daniel Nicholson as a playing assistant coach.
Nicholson is a key reason the trio will make the trip down the Princes Highway each weekend for matches in 2015. Bean’s best friend was Nicholson’s housemate.
Seagulls coach Brett Evans said it was imperative the club attracted quality recruits to help fast-track the development of its talented but inexperienced young players.
“The reason we are doing this is the young kids get so much of a boost,” he said.
“There are guys at Port Fairy who haven’t won much footy. If you look at the last four or five years they’ve probably won half a dozen games. They have been very loyal footballers to the club and we have to try and help them out. We have to get depth and some quality players to develop the young guys’ football.”
He said Nicholson’s input and application to training was inspiring the young players.
“These guys will only add to that. Getting together some guys who have played at a higher level will hopefully give them a little bit of success and hopefully we will be more competitive.”
He said players who knew how to win would help boost the younger players’ learning.
Phelps and Bean, both 22, have played at TAC Cup and VFL level but the opportunity to play in the country appealed.
“We’ve both played the highest level we could for as long as we could and it’s a chance to get out of Melbourne,” Phelps said.
“The country appeals and the whole town gets behind the footy club, which is another big thing.”
Phelps is a powerfully-built midfielder but he could pinch-hit in defence. He played eight VFL games with Coburg in 2014 after spending the previous two years at Box Hill Hawks.
Bean, who has played four games in Darwin in the off-season, intends returning to the Top End after Christmas to finish the season with the Darwin Buffalos before coming back for the start of the Hampden league season.
“There is a really good feeling here at the club,” he said.
“I get a really good feeling walking out on to the ground and driving into the town.”
Bean, who has family in Queensland and Melbourne, has split his football between the two states after playing TAC Cup with Sandringham Dragons while attending Melbourne Grammar.
The trio’s signings are a big boost for the Seagulls, who are looking to climb off the bottom of the ladder, and come as several key figures are training with SANFL and VFL clubs.