Bendigo Advertiser |GOLDEN Square has added one of the missing pieces to its 2015 Bendigo Football League team with the arrival of former WAFL and SANFL key forward Ryan Herring.
Herring, who stands at 193cm, has played SANFL with Sturt and WAFL at Subiaco and Peel Thunder and joins the Bulldogs on the back of the club having had just four players kick more than 20 goals a season over the past two years.
“He’s a tall, agile key position player who has played most of his football up forward, and that’s where we see him fitting into our mix,” Golden Square coach Nick Carter said on Saturday.
“He has played football at state league level in the WAFL and SANFL, so it’s always valuable to add that sort of experience to the group.
“From a team and club perspective, we’re rapt to have him on board and it gives us a chance with our forward set-up to have those two or three key targets that we’ve been looking to put into place that we lacked last year.”
As well as 28-year-old Herring, the Bulldogs also have the versatile Travis Baird returning from Charlton, who can provide a key forward target, while the dynamic Corey Jones - who booted 53 goals last year - will again pose a threat to opposition defenders.
“We’re fairly comfortable with how the forward line is shaping up at the moment, but in saying that we have to execute our plans,” Carter said.
Golden Square opens its 2015 season on Good Friday against Kangaroo Flat at MyJet Oval.
Meanwhile, Gisborne star Tom May will have a delayed start to the season as he recovers from a tendon tear in his upper leg.
“He has got a significant tendon tear, so he’s probably looking at about round five for his first game,” Gisborne coach Rod Sharp said.
Forward/midfielder May was the Bulldogs’ joint best and fairest with Tim Walsh last year and was outstanding in each of Gisborne’s three finals.
“He had been flying on the track during the pre-season before his injury,” Sharp said.
“This is a setback, but he took a six-week holiday overseas before the season last year and missed the first three or four games.
“But he was able to come back after missing those early games and have an exceptional year.”
