The North Geelong Warriors have announced the signings of duo Juso Julardzija and Damian Rastocic from Sunshine George Cross, with the former returning to club after his departure at the end of last season.
27-year-old Julardzija first joined the Warriors in mid-2014 where he was reunited with Micky Colina, after the duo had worked together at St Albans in 2013.
He became an instant hit at the club after scoring nine times in his opening 13 league games to help propel the Lara based club into the top flight for the first time in 18 years.
The forward was an ever present throughout the following season and left the club following its relegation back to the second tier at season’s end, scoring 12 goals in 36 appearances in total.
Born in the Bosnian city of Jajce, Julardzija immigrated to Australia as a young child and has also previously featured for the Bentleigh Greens in addition to his spell at Chaplin Reserve this year.
He has six league goals from 13 outings to his name at George Cross this season, with his signing a boost to the Warriors’ promotion hopes as they enter the second half of the campaign.
Joining him at the club is 18-year-old midfielder Damian Rastocic, who ends his two year spell with Sunshine, where he amassed 23 league appearances.
A Victorian state representative junior, he made his senior debut at just 16 when he featured for the Melbourne Knights in 2014 before making a mid-season move to the Georgies.
He is the grandson of long-time Knights gear steward Mirko ‘Rus’ Rastocic, and featured in the same Knights 20s team as new teammate and fellow new signing Ante Kozul, who joined the club last month from St Albans.
Both players are expected to see game time this weekend as North Geelong travel to Gardiners Greek Reserve to play the Eastern Lions, who are winless in their last six fixtures.
Image: Ivan Dugandzic