FORMER top-30 draft pick Cain Ackland will pull on a Newtown & Chilwell guernsey within a month.
In a major boost for the Eagles' premierships aspirations, Ackland has signed with the club after moving to Victoria with his family.
Newtown & Chilwell coach Jacob Spolding said the club swooped on the former Port Adelaide, Carlton and St Kilda ruckman when they learnt he was seeking a new football home.
"He's moving with his family for work and it's a good result for the footy club. We heard he was moving to the Geelong area and we made contact with him and went from there,"Spolding said.
"He's still got to sell his house, so we're working through that with him but it (his first match) will be later this month or early next month."
After a 74-game AFL career, Ackland returned to South Australia in 2009 and joined North Adelaide in the SANFL, where he played for two seasons and retired from semi-professional football.
Ackland returned to amateur football in 2011, playing for Broadview Football Club in the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL), but has failed to take the field since because of work.
"He had commitments in regards to his rollerdoor business that he wanted to expand interstate," Broadview senior football director Mark Quintrell said.
"He left on amicable terms."
Quintrell said the club was disappointed to lose a player of Ackland's calibre, revealing the club had offered him a position as ruck coach this season.
"In an amateur football league, you don't get a player that's played for Carlton and Port Adelaide all the time," he said.
Spolding hosed down the excitement surrounding Ackland's arrival, saying the acquisition of another AFL star would not guarantee the Eagles success.
"We've still got a lot of work to do, we've still got to make finals to start with, but we'll aim to win as many games as we can to start with and see if we can get a position in the top five and go from there.
"Obviously most clubs are out to recruit until the June 30 deadline and we're happy with Cain's decision to come on board at Newtown."
Spolding said the club would devise a plan to best use Ackland.
"We'll sit down and speak with Cain when he arrives and no doubt he'll play some time in the ruck and up forward, so it will be a mixture of the two probably," he said.
Last Modified on 23/01/2014 18:42