Image: Jason Heidrich
The Melbourne Knights have completed their second off-season signing with the acquisition of Jake Barker-Daish from relegated Richmond.
The 23-year-old joins the club after one season at Kevin Bartlett Reserve with the central midfielder scoring 8 goals in 25 league appearances.
After making his senior debut with the Altona Magic at the age of 14, the talented youngster honed his skills at the VIS before moving to Canberra and graduating from the AIS.
A 17-cap Young Socceroo, Barker-Daish made his A-League debut with Gold Coast United in February 2012 in a 1-0 defeat against hometown club Melbourne Heart at AAMI Park.
After making seven appearances for United, he joined Adelaide United following his former club’s demise from the competition ahead of the 2012/13 A-League campaign.
Two injury plagued seasons at Coopers Stadium saw the then-Olyroo feature in 19 games for the Reds, scoring two goals before enjoying a brief spell in the English lower leagues with Colne in 2014.
He returned home to Melbourne in 2015 by joining South Melbourne however struggled for form and fitness at Lakeside Stadium, making a total of 19 league appearances for the club as they ended the year by winning the Premiership but losing the Grand Final to Bentleigh.
Barker-Daish then enjoyed a more fruitful 2016 and was one of Richmond’s best performers throughout the season which ended in a 4-0 defeat in the promotion/relegation play-off clash against the North Geelong Warriors.
He becomes the second player to move to Knights Stadium after Kym Harris who moved earlier this month from Hume City as Andrew Marth looks to build on from a mid-table finish this year.
His addition is a valuable boost for the club which has lost some midfielder spark following the departure of English midfielder James McGarry to Hume City