By KRISTEN ALEBAKIS
DEER Park’s dream of capturing a record fourth-straight premiership in 2016 has had a significant boost over the past week, with the club announcing some star-studded recruits.
Their most notable signing has been former Carlton and Brisbane star Brendan Fevola.
Fevola, who has been playing with the Yarrawonga Pigeons in the Ovens and Murray League, decided to make the move to a metropolitan league next season, with Deer Park winning the power forward’s signature.
The 34-year-old booted 337 goals in just 62 games for the Pigeons, playing in back-to-back premierships in 2012 and 2013.
Deer Park vice president Matthew Pratt said his signing was not only exciting for his club, but also for the Western Region Football League.
“Brendan is one of those players that has a real presence on the field,” he said.
“He is strong, committed to his football and when he walks onto the ground he really switches on.”
Pratt said Fevola had plenty of offers to play at other clubs, but his friendships with other players and club officials at Deer Park persuaded the premier forward to make the decision to play with the club.
“Our recruitment this year has been about finding the right people for our club,” Pratt said.
Dual Geelong premiership star and former Melbourne player Shannon Byrnes has also signed on and will line up for Deer Park.
Byrnes, who is a development coach at the Demons, played 14 games with the Casey Scorpions in the VFL this year.
Pratt said both Fevola and Byrnes would serve as great role models for the club’s junior players.
“Not only will they be key players on the field, they will be key people for us off the field,” he said.
“We are hoping they can drop in to junior training sessions throughout the year.”
Jason Kennedy, Adam El Houli and Tim Sullivan are also key signings for Deer Park.
Kennedy, comes from Heidelberg in the Northern Football League.
He played 160 matches with the club, which included three premierships.
Kennedy’s accolades don’t stop there, he is a best and fairest winner, in the Tigers’ team of the decade, was the captain of the club and the NFL’s representative team and a member of the Vic Metro squad.
“He is an outstanding individual who will bring some great leadership to the club,” Pratt said.
El Houli comes from Aberfeldie and is hoping to make a big impact on the competition.
“Last season he was a good player in a good team,” Pratt said.
“He identified to us that he wants some success, he wants to win a premiership and that matched our expectations.”
Pratt said Sullivan, from St Kilda City, was another exciting player.
“He is an outstanding onballer, he is very good and will add another cog to our engine room next season,” he said.
Pratt said the club had firmly set their eyes on winning a fourth successive flag.
“We make no apologies about our expectations,” he said.
“We want to win a fourth flag, but there are so many moving parts.
“We were vulnerable at times last season, plus teams like Werribee will be after some revenge and all the other teams in the competition will improve, so we can’t be complacent.
“It is a cliché, but we have to take things one week at a time.”
Pratt said the club had managed to maintain the core group of its players for the 2016 season.
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Last Modified on 11/11/2015 13:56