Former Port Adelaide-listed player Sam Russell will join his brother Fraser at Buninyong in season 2018.
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The 21-year-old has been lured to the Bombers after a couple of years with the Northern Blues in the VFL and is set to bolster the side’s midfield stocks.
Buninyong coach Jarrod Morgan said Sam was a much different player to Fraser, who offered plenty of speed and outside ball winning ability during his first year in the Central Highlands Football League in 2017.
“At VFL level he has been a lock-down hard-nosed defender who swaps in the midfield a bit, but I dare say he’d be an inside midfielder for us,” Morgan told The Courier.
“He loves all the physical part of the game. He will be great for us.”
He loves all the physical part of the game. He will be great for us"
- Buninyong coach Jarrod Morgan on recruit Sam Russell
The Russell brothers spent time together on the same list at the Blues, but Morgan didn’t believe they actually played together in a match.
“I think it will be the first time they’ve played together since they were kids so they are both pretty excited about that,” he said.
Sam, who is a former Geelong Falcons player in the TAC Cup, featured in nine VFL games with the Blues in season 2017 for one appearance among the best.
Meanwhile, Joel Ottavi is set to nominate Buninyong as his home club next season.
The homegrown Buninyong youngster was recruited to Essendon’s VFL team for last season and played three games for the club, kicking four goals.
His home club during 2017 was Keilor in the Essendon District competition, where he started in 13 matches.
“Hopefully for his sake we don’t see him and he’s at Essendon every week,” Morgan said.
“But when he’s not there he wanted to come back to his home club, help us out, enjoy his footy back with us and develop himself as much as he can to try and get back into VFL.”
Ottavi showed a stack of promise in his last season with Buninyong during 2016.
He proved one of the most dangerous forwards in the competition, kicking 46 goals from 20 appearances.
This included four majors in a losing grand final against Springbank, where he was one of his team’s best players.
Morgan also revealed star onballer Sam Turner was setting himself for a full season with the Bombers in 2018.
Turner has been battling issues related to concussion in recent times and played just two games last year before injuring his shoulder against Beaufort.
Other recruits for the Bombers include Harli Givvens from Sebastopol and Daniel Chant, who last played with Ballarat Swans.
Morgan has signed on for another season as the Buninyong senior coach, but has hopes of passing on the position to somebody else in 2019.
He will look to take the club to its first senior premiership since 2002.
Buninyong finished fourth on the ladder last season before being beaten by eventual premiers Hepburn in the preliminary final.