Reigning BFNL premier Strathfieldsaye has added another quality recruit to its squad for the 2018 season.
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Former Essendon rookie and two-time Ovens and Murray Football League premiership player Bryce Carroll has signed with the Storm.
Origininally from the Western Jets, Carroll was selection five in the 2008 AFL rookie draft.
The midfielder/forward spent time with the Bombers before going on to play with the Northern Bullants in the VFL and Queensland club Aspley.
The 27-year-old played in Albury's back-to-back OMFL premierships in 2014 and 2015 before suffering syndesmosis in his ankle late in the 2016 season.
Carroll adds a further dimension to the Storm's midfield/forward stocks. The Storm have lost premiership trio Jake Hall, Harry Conway and Matt Harvey, but Carroll and new coach Troy Coates will rotate through the middle and inside forward 50.
“Bryce missed all of last year after having an ankle reconstruction, but he has the hunger back and he was keen to play,’’ Coates said.
“Bryce lives in Sunbury and he didn’t want to travel back to Albury every week, so it works in well with Sunbury only an hour away from Strathfieldsaye.
“He’s played footy at a high level throughout his career and that’s what attracted us to him.
“He can play a similar role to what Jake Hall and Harry Conway played with the club. He can be a marking forward or play through the middle or on a half-back flank.”
With key forward Bryce Curnow back at the club and much-hyped former Seymour forward Hugh Robertson also on deck, the Storm appears to have more firepower in their front half this year.
The Storm have two practice matches on home soil in the lead-up to round one. The first is against Kerang on March 24, while the second game is against Rochester on Good Friday.
