Green Gully have confirmed the addition of two players in the mid-season window, with attacking midfield being a key area of its reinforcements.
Aaron Ward makes the switch from NPL rivals Northcote City, while import Jay Davies heads over from Cairnlea FC.
Ward, a Northcote junior, made nine appearances with the club in the league so far in 2016, and makes the switch to a club at which his father played decades ago.
Before this season, Ward played 30 times for Northcote, scoring one goal after making his debut for the club in 2014
Having developed under the likes of Alex Gymnopoulos and Goran Lozanovski at John Cain Memorial Reserve, Green Gully coach Arthur Papas said he was excited to work with the midfielder and further extract his potential.
“Aaron is a player that we tracked over a long period of time, a young player with the qualities to become one of the top attacking midfielders in the league,” Papas said.
“We are delighted to add a player of Aaron’s quality into the team for the next two seasons.”
Davies comes from the same Peterborough academy as injured star Matthew Breeze, and has also played lower league football in Woking, Farnborough, Woking, St Neots Town, Bishops Stortforn and Biggleswade Town before making the move down under.
Upon his move from Cairnlea, the 24-year-old is expected to play a similar role in attacking midfield.
“Jay has been signed to help offset the loss of Matthew Breeze and coincidentally came through the same youth system at Peterborough in the UK,” Papas said.
“He has fitted in with the group very well and adds an element of creativity and awareness in the final third.”
Despite being firmly entrenched in a finals place, Green Gully have lost two consecutive games and the additions will shore up a side that has since Round 1 been missing a key attacking outlet in Breeze, with further injuries stretching squad depth in ensuing months – especially as Gully are still alive in the FFA Cup.
Images: Green Gully SC