Feature image: Steve Starek/Melbourne Knights
Former Richmond SC and Hume City forward Tom Cahill has become the latest to join the Melbourne Knights, who continue their busy off-season.
The 29-year-old Englishman has spent the last five seasons Down Under, turning out briefly for Sunshine George Cross and Green Gully before a prolific three years at Kevin Bartlett Reserve – spanning two spells – which saw Cahill take out the NPL1 Golden Boot award in 2014 along with then Bulleen Lions forward Joey Katebian with 26 goals.
In total, Cahill plundered 61 league goals for Richmond – a club he captained to promotion in 2015 – at a strike-rate of almost a goal a game before completing the switch to Hume City for the 2016 NPL Victoria campaign.
Visa issues restricted Cahill to just 14 appearances, and he had to wait until Round 12 to make his long awaited debut, scoring in a 4-1 win over Port Melbourne Sharks.
In total, he found the back of the net seven times and showcased his versatility away from an out-and-out strikers role, playing as a number 10 and linking up with countryman Craig Carley ahead of him.
He spent his formative years featuring in the English lower leagues, most noteably with with then League Two outfit Rotherham United as well as Altrincham FC, Fleetwood Town and AFC Fylde.
“When a club like Melbourne Knights call you, and Andrew Marth expressed a lot of interest in getting me across its hard to say no,” Cahill said via a statement on melbourneknights.com.au.
“I’m very happy to be here.”
The signing of Cahill continues a busy few months for Andrew Marth and co. who have added five others to their squad for the upcoming 2017 NPL Victoria season, including former Hume City teammates Kym Harris and Danny Dixon, as well as Jake Barker-Daish, Elvis Kamsoba and Tomi Fadljevic.