The perfect fit.
Coburg are delighted to announce that former St.Kilda forward and 2011 Fothergill-Round medallist Ahmed Saad as its latest signing, agreeing to terms for the 2016 season!
Originally from Essendon District League club Roxburgh Park where he began as a sixteen year old, Ahmed joined the Northern Bullants for 2009 following his arrival to a pre-season training session unannounced. Making his VFL senior debut in 2010, Ahmed managed 35 games in his time at Preston City Oval, including the clubs 2010 Grand Final loss to North Ballarat. He would build on from his promising debut season of senior football with a 50 goal season in 2011 which saw him awarded with the Fothergill-Round medal as the most promising young player in the VFL, and ultimately was listed by St.Kilda, arriving at Moorabbin via trade following a prelisting by GWS.
Ahmed made his debut for St.Kilda in 2012, winning the clubs best first year player award after a season where he yielded 28 goals from 16 appearances. He backed this up with 17 goals from 13 games in 2013. After sitting out the 2014 season, Ahmed would then return to the Saints as a rookie. After managing the opening four matches of 2015, he would lose his place in the side and spend the rest of the season with affiliated side Sandringham, managing 33 goals from 17 matches.
Coburg General Manager Craig Lees was delighted to have secured the signing of Ahmed. “We identified Ahmed as a player that can assist the club both on and off the field, he brings outstanding leadership, professionalism and experience to our young playing group. Ahmed is the perfect fit for the Coburg Football Club as we continue to rebuild our identity. His role as AFL multicultural ambassador and experiences within community engagement are pivotal in helping Coburg with its strategies in regards to the clubs community engagement. We think Ahmed is our most important signing in the off season, due to his belief in our culture and the clubs direction off field. And that will only enable him to play outstanding football during the 2016 season.”
Upon signing with the club, Ahmed said:
“I just thought it was a great opportunity for me to come on board to help the club, not just on the field but also off the field, help develop the younger players into better players, and pass on my experience and what I’ve learnt after being in the system in the last couple of years, and after sitting down with Peter and Craig, initially I was really happy with the direction of the club and where it’s going after speaking to a couple of players, they also said the same thing about the club and they were really happy with the culture of the club and where its heading so it was a great opportunity for me to come on board and help them out as much as possible to develop the club on and off the field to help as many players as I can to develop and also to play finals footy.”
Ahmed not only will be a great influence on our entire playing group but in particular our players who also come under the multicultural banner at Piranha Park. With 33 AFL games and 61 VFL senior games under his belt a we are delighted to have attained Ahmed’s services for 2016, as his experience and leadership developed in his time in the AFL and VFL will be a massive asset to Coburg Football Club, as we look ahead to a big 2016 season, our third as a stand-alone club.
And for those wondering, no, he is not related in any way to former Coburg player Adam.
Ahmed Saad- The facts:
Height: 175cm
Weight: 78kg
Recruited from: Roxburgh Park/Northern Bullants(VFL)/St.Kilda
AFL Games: 33
AFL Goals: 48
VFL Games: 61
VFL Goals: 124
Playing honors:
Northern Bullants leading goalkicker 2011
Fothergill-Round Medalist 2011
St.Kilda best first year player award 2012
