Learmonth will take a significantly more experienced midfield into the fast-approaching Central Highlands Football League season.
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Stawell Warriors midfielder Cam Kimber arrives at the Lakies as a 200-game veteran with the Wimmera league club.
First-year playing coach Jake Dunne said the signing of Kimber had been a real bonus for the club.
"He fell into our lap."
Kimber has played all his football with Stawell, but lives in Ballarat and works in Ararat.
"He ticks all the boxes for us," Dunne said.
'He'll slot right into the midfield."
Dunne said Learmonth had a good mix on-ball with the likes of youngster Will Green and veteran Brenton Powell, and Kimber added another element to that blend.
Kimber will also add leadership.
He has been a captain and assistant coach at Stawell, and has also represented the WFL.
He reached the 200-game milestone late last season, making it a perfect time for him to take a change of direction in his football career.
Dunne, who was recruited from the Ballarat league's Ballarat Swans to take up first senior coaching role and fill a vacancy left by Nick Willox, is pleased with the progress Lakies have made in the pre-season.
The key position player is looking to build on Learmonth's first finals campaign since 2014 and first finals win in more than a decade, when it defeated Buninyong in an elimination final after finishing seventh.
LEARMONTH has also added Sebastopol's Damon Williamson and Dylan Harberger from Bendigo league club Maryborough.
The Lakies will be Harberger's fourth club in six years, with Dunne believing he is shaping as a key tall defender.
Harberger played with Manor Lakes in the WRFL in 2018 and Werribee Centrals in the Geelong District league in 2021 before moving to Maryborough last year, making 17 senior appearances.
Williamson is a long-standing player with the Burra, having played juniors there and is looking to make an impact at senior level with the opportunity to step up from BFNL reserves.
With the start of the CHFL season on Saturday, April 22, clubs are putting together practice match programs.
Learmonth has scheduled two pre-season hit-outs.
Lakies will play Hampden league club Cobden on March 25 and Natte Bealiba from the Maryborough Castlemaine District league on April 1.
- Another recruit Learmonth, this time from a CHFL club, page 45
