George Swarbrick III, the grandson of Seagulls premiership hero and HFNL Hall of Fame member George snr, returns to the club his family name is synonymous with.

Tyson Macilwain also joins the club from Barwon Heads after securing a job as a firefighter in Warrnambool and moving to the south-west with wife Mel and newborn son Hugh.

Swarbrick, a former Judd Cup winner with rivals Koroit, arrives at the club after spending time in Geelong with fellow AFL Barwon side Modewarre.

First-year Port Fairy coach Winis Imbi said the Seagulls were pleased to land the duo ahead of round one, which starts on April 4.

Imbi said Swarbrick, 23, whose father George jnr also played at Gardens Oval, would be a versatile asset to his side.

"I had a conversation with George last night and with his fitness base continuing to improve we will look to play him in the midfield and down back," he said.

"He can also play forward as well. He said he generally can play where ever the team needs him to play but we will look to give him just two roles to start with.

"He has senior experience from playing in Geelong. Another thing is his character and he is gelling well with the rest of the group.

"He is a Hawkesdale boy and not to stereotype them but he has an appetite to work hard and is really genuine. We are excited to have him as a player and as a person."

Macilwain, who hails from Bendigo, will add more height to the Seagulls' senior side with Imbi also excited about the type of person the 30-year-old is.

"He is really genuine and there is a really good energy about him," he said. "He is still in rehab from a on-going issue from last year but he is already running well and competing really well.

"I had to apologize to him one night because I thought I went overboard with the physicality but he loved it."

Imbi said Macilwain would be ready to go for their opening match against Hamilton Kangaroos.

"He'll be right but in saying that we have still got to be mindful about managing all our players," he said.

"If he is not right to go round one or anyone for that matter we are able to modify things and we will manage players the best we can.

"We want players to be able to get through full seasons and most importantly we want them to be on top of the ground at the end of season as well."

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Imbi said Macilwain had put his hand up to be the Seagulls' number one ruck.

"We are fortunate he wants to play in the ruck as not too many want to put their hand up," he said. "He has the ability to play key-position back and also can play forward but again we will be trying not to confuse our players and look to solidify him in two positions."

Imbi takes charge of a Seagulls side that includes handy recruit Andy McMeel and which has retained almost all of its 2019 playing list that finished in fourth.

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