KEY PLAYERS RE-SIGN FOR 2018 SEASON!

The Coburg Football Club is excited to announce 15 players have re-signed for the 2018 season, including skipper Tom Goodwin, vice-captain Pete McEvoy and leadership group members Josh Iacobaccio and Nathan Blair.
Going into his third year as a Lion, vice-captain Pete McEvoy is excited to see what new senior coach Leigh Adams will bring, and how he and the playing group can help bring Coburg success.
“It’s very encouraging to see the core group of existing players and on-field leaders are fully committed to playing with Coburg in 2018,” the 195cm key forward said.
“As players, we are all very enthusiastic and eager to learn about the new direction, game-plans and impact Leigh could have,” he continued.
“As a leader, I’m very excited to see how we can contribute to his (Leigh’s) vision for the club and ultimately help contribute to future success for Coburg.”
Together with the other leadership group members who have already signed on, McEvoy also hopes to continue developing a ‘team-first’ culture; one of his many goals for next season.
“I need to keep driving the focus on professionalism, our core team values and our off-field mateship. This will help us train, learn, and play more effectively,” he said.
The vice-captain looks forward to seeing the younger players continue their development, which includes the likes of Mitch Conn, named the 2017 Eric Lines Medallist, and Luke Bunker, who recently played in the AFL Victoria Young Guns game.
“For me personally, I think completing a full preseason with the entire playing group will allow me to educate and assist with the development of our younger players,” McEvoy continued.
“Having experienced such an interrupted and segregated pre-season in 2017, I’m excited by how much I can contribute to the quality of our training, our on-field leadership and also potential improvements in my own performance looking to 2018.”
For deputy vice-captain Josh Iacobaccio, this re-signing sees him enter his fourth year as a Lion.
Iacobaccio admits that while he “fell out of love” with the sport during his final TAC Cup year, he thanks Coburg for giving him the chance to continue playing the game he grew up loving.
“From the minute I walked through the doors at Coburg, it reminded me of why I loved playing football; it just felt right,” he said.
“Coburg is what football should be about: it has an awesome club feel, it has culture, and it has a rich history. It was an absolute no-brainer to re-sign with them for season 2018.”
Also excited to be a part of the new-look Lions under Adams, the small defender believes that sticking together and hopefully adding a few more seasoned players to the list, will set them up for a good year.
“I have no doubt despite our win-loss ratio this year that [we are] heading in the right direction, and I’ll definitely want to be a part of it going forward under our new coach Leigh Adams.”
“Germo will be a big loss, but with every change you must have optimism. I can’t tell you enough how excited I am to hear that the majority of our young playing group will be staying intact.”
Iacobaccio had just one final message for any potential footballers:
“If you are a player that is looking for a club and wants to play football because you love it, then give Coburg a chance. You may love it too, just like I do.”
Coburg GM Sebastian Spagnuolo is excited to see on-field leaders and upcoming young guns already sign on, and expects more players to re-commit soon with Adams joining as senior coach.
“To have 15 players already re-committed to the club is great news. Our skipper Tom Goodwin was the first to get on the front foot and re-commit to the club, and our three other 2017 leadership group members followed suit soon after.”
“The players that have already re-committed to the club are excited about the direction of the club and had no hesitation in wanting to further their football journey with our football club.”
Please see the table below for the full list of players who have already re-signed for the 2018 season.
Ensure you are a part of the #WeAreCoburg family next year by signing up as a member now! Call us on (03) 9354 8228 to find out more.
By Brooke Varney. Photos credit to Kadek Thatcher Photography and Mozzed Video and Photography.