MOUNT Pleasant coach Darren Walsh expects the signing of Daniel Davie to help ease some of the pressure on star forward Ben Weightman in the Heathcote District league next year.
Davie is among two recruits the Blues have lured from Kyneton, with Bryce Hinneberg also making the move to Toolleen in 2019.
Hinneberg joins the Blues after playing 61 senior games in the Bendigo league for Kyneton, while the strongly-built Davie played 45.
“Dan will play as a key forward for us, and will also pinch hit a bit in the ruck as well,” Walsh said on Thursday.
The signing of Davie gives the Blues another much-needed key focal point given their heavy reliance on Weightman, who kicked 60 of their 166 goals this year.
Weightman contributed 36.1 per cent of Mount Pleasant’s goals in 2018, easily the highest percentage of any forward in the competition.
“Ben is more of a small forward with a good leap. Getting Dan in, he is a player who will command the ball and take some of that pressure off Ben in our forward line,” Walsh said.
“We’re also really excited to be getting Luke Marchesi back in the side from hip surgery. He only played the first four or five games for us this year and we see him being another key target for us as well.”
Walsh has Hinneberg earmarked for roles across the half-back flank and wing.
“He has played quite a bit of senior footy with Kyneton and is a left-footer, which is a bit of a different dynamic for us in terms of the way we exit the ball out of our back half,” Walsh said.
One of the moments Hinneberg is best known for at Kyneton was his match-winning goal from 40m after the siren to defeat eventual premier Sandhurst by three points in round six of 2016.
Mount Pleasant's 2018 season.
The additions at the Blues also include the return of former junior Zebb Murrell following four years at Strathfieldsaye in which he played 10 senior games and was also the reserves best and fairest in the Storm’s 2017 premiership season.
Murrell was a member of Mount Pleasant’s under-17 premiership team in 2014 before making the move to the Storm.
“Zebb has had a taste of senior footy with Strathfieldsaye and has developed into a very reliable and consistent performer on a wing,” Walsh said.
“We expect Zebb to set a high benchmark with his training standards and lead from the front in this area.”
Walsh says at this stage the Blues have no confirmed departures.
Mount Pleasant finished sixth on the ladder in 2018 with a 5-11 record in what was an improvement from the club’s rare wooden spoon of 2017.
The Blues began pre-season training on Wednesday night with 28 on the track.
The Blues’ first opponent in 2019 is set to be reigning premier Leitchville-Gunbower.
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