From the Border Mail
JASON Akermanis went to Perth for a holiday, and came back with a ruckman.North Albury last night rushed beanpole youngster Josh Branchi into the Hoppers team to tackle Wangaratta after an uncanny recruiting coup by the Brownlow medallist.
Branchi, who turned 19 this week, is more than 205 centimetres and has been playing with Peel Thunder in the WAFL.
Akermanis, who spent the Hoppers’ extended break interstate, said Branchi’s arrival at North Albury was as unbelievable as it sounded.
“You wouldn’t believe how it happened,” Akermanis said from Adelaide last night.
“I met a huge guy while I was staying over in Perth and said as a joke ‘I need a ruckman, you haven’t got a son who can play, have you?’ to which he replied ‘No, but I’ve got a nephew’.
“So I went to Bunbury to meet him and his dad. I asked him how far he wanted to go with his footy and he wants to go as far as he can.
“Every recruiter is watching the Ovens and Murray right now, so the world is his oyster.”
Branchi, who is also a talented basketballer, will play for the Hoppers over the next two weeks before deciding whether he’ll make his move to the Border permanent.
“Basically, we’ve told him to come over for two weeks and if he likes it, he’ll stay,” Akermanis said.
