Northcote City have added considerable firepower with the addition of Welsh striker Adam Wright from Brunswick City.
Replacing the outgoing James Papadimitriou, Wright is a huge coup for the league leaders, who will look to seal the West title and promotion in the coming months having gone unbeaten since Round 6.
The former Welsh Premier League player had previously made his name in Victorian football at SL1 outfits Moreland City and Clifton Hill, winning a championship with the former and golden boot with the latter, whose manager George Karkaletsis then moved to Brunswick City in 2016, bringing the striker with him alongside other Clifton Hill teammates.
It was the beginning of a new era for the Spartans, who shook their easybeat tag in the NPL with a string of strong performances to finish fifth in NPL2 East, with Wright netting 16 in a strong personal campaign.
Back in the West this season, form has been harder to come by for Brunswick, sitting in seventh although not far from the upper echelons of the mid-table, with Wright again starring as the club’s talisman on 14 goals from 16 games.
But with Northcote losing forward Papadimitriou to the top flight, they sought a replacement and in Wright they get one of the star forwards of the state’s second tier in recent seasons, departing Brunswick with 30 goals in 42 games and is currently leading the scoring charts in the West.
In another hammer blow for the Spartans, TCF understands Andrew Le Page has also departed Dunstan Reserve.
A mid-season addition last year, he scored six goals in 12 league outings – including Goal of the Year contenders against Dandenong Thunder and Whittlesea respectively, before going on to make another 17 appearances and netting one league goal in 2017 – seven in 29 altogether.
A former NPL2 (then NPL1) winner with Avondale, injuries hampered his 2015 onwards, also spending time with State Four outfit Northern Falcons to get his fitness back before returning to the state’s second tier.