FORMER Richmond player and last year's VFL leading goalkicker Daniel Connors has joined Loddon Valley Football League power Bridgewater full-time.
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Connors was aligned with Bridgewater last year while playing with VFL club Port Melbourne, where he won the league’s Frosty Miller Medal with 38 goals.
The former Bendigo Pioneer played one game for Bridgewater, kicking four goals against Marong.
But the 26-year-old, who played 29 AFL games for Richmond between 2007 and 2012, will play full-time with Bridgewater this year as the Mean Machine chase their sixth premiership in a row.
Connors is a former Richmond team-mate of Bridgewater coach Andrew Collins.
"He will be joining us full-time, which is very pleasing for the club," Collins said on Thursday.
"He brings more AFL and VFL experience to the group and he's just a gun player whose talent is unquestionable.
"All our players really warmed to him when he came and played that one game for us last year."
Connors’ AFL career with the Tigers ended when he was sacked mid-season in 2012 after “failing to meet club expectations on a number of occasions”.
“Daniel’s indiscretions in the past have been part of growing up, and nothing overly malicious, to be honest,” Collins said.
“I know him very well personally.
“I’ve lived with him and played footy with him for years and know that he won’t have anything but a positive effect on our group.”
Collins said Connors would play a variety of roles for the Mean Machine.
“He’ll play through the midfield, up forward, and he’s also played a fair bit of footy across half-back, so we can play him anywhere,” Collins said.