The 20-year-old played six games for the Dockers following his debut in 2011 but after being delisted at the end of the season wanted to return to his home state of Victoria.
VFL Operations Manager Matthew Little said Mellington was an exciting prospect.
“Josh has made some good headway with us through the recruiting department and we see him as a midfielder/forward.”
“Losing Matty Bate as that midfielder/forward option, we see Josh as the perfect replacement and hopefully he can bring some leadership to this young group.”
“He has good quality skills, he kicked about 35 goals for WAFL premiers West Perth last year and I think he is going to be a quality acquisition to the group.”
Josh Freezer, Daniel Coghlan, Sam Tagliabue and crowd favourite Anthony Tipungwuti will return to line up in the red and black during 2014.
Tipungwuti will once again be working within the club’s community department during the week illustrating the club’s commitment to fostering talent from the Tiwi Island community.
NSW scholarship holder Jedd Clothier, a gradate from the James Hird Academy, has also been signed for the upcoming season.
Clothier is a strong midfielder who wins his own football and is expected to add important midfield depth to the club’s VFL list.
Young 210cm big man Angus Milham has signed on and is expected to work alongside Tagliabue filling the void left by theretirement of ruckman David Hille.
With a young side set to take to the field in 2014 the Bombers have also signed up Wayne Schultz to add valuable experience to the group.
Schultz is a quality utility who uses the ball well by hand or foot.
The club has already announced the signing of Aaron Heppell and Ben Duscher for the upcoming season.
Read the thoughts on VFL Operations Manager Matt Little on the latest re-signings below.
Josh Mellington
“Losing Matty Bate as that midfielder/forward option, we see Josh as the perfect replacement and hopefully he can bring some leadership to this young group. Josh turns 21 later this month so he is still only young, he has plenty of up side and I think in our environment Ithink he can make some really good progress at getting back into the AFL competition.”
Josh Freezer
“He was probably unlucky last year only playing the amount of games that he did but we know he is a quality player and quality backman. We expect him to come in and fulfill that role when required.”
Daniel Coghlan
“Daniel was probably a bit unlucky last year in that he broke his thumb, but he played some good football for us through the midfield and we expect him to continue doing that. He has had areally good pre-season so far so hopefully he can step it up again next year.”
Sam Tagliabue
“He is going really well on the track, at 205cm and over 100kgs he is running well, is an extremely good athlete for his size and we expect him after an injury plagued 2013 to come along really well. He has having a good pre-season so far so hopefully he can carry that on.”
Angus Milham
“Angus has come across from the TAC Cup system, he played as a 19 year old with Oakleigh Chargers last year, represented Vic Metro and he is extremely rare at 210cms. Hopefully we can put some size on him throughout the pre-season and it will give him the opportunity to achieve his goal which is obviously playing good VFL football and potentially good AFL football in the future.”
Jedd Clothier
“Jedd was a NSW scholarship holder through the NSW scholarship program in 2013, he played with the Calder Cannons and represented NSW in the Under 18 competition. He averaged 26 touches throughthat competition and will be a solid midfield contributor for us next year.
Anthony Tipungwuti
“Anthony played about ten games with us last year, his highlights reel would be better then anyone else in the competition. We are really excited to have him back on board with us, what he brings with his foot skills and run off half back is really exciting player and we are lucky to have him back on board.”
Wayne Schultz
“Wayne played at Bendigo Gold in 2012 and has had experience at VFL level with a number of clubs. We are hoping he can bring that experience with him to our team next season after coaching his own side in the Bendigo league last season. He is a quality utility with good skills and the ability to play right across the field.”comments powered by Disqus
