Image: Mark Avellino
Sunshine George Cross have made a splash in the transfer window with the arrival of three new signings including returning favourite Barry Devlin.
The veteran Irishman joins former St Albans Saints teammate Tedros Yabio and ex-Bendigo attacker David Younan as inclusions to Tony Ciantar’s senior squad.
Capable of playing in either defence or attack, the experienced Devlin first joined the Georgies in 2010, spending the next four seasons at Chaplin Reserve.
He made the short move to St Albans in 2014, helping Dinamo reach the FFA Cup Round of 16 with his memorable long-range winner against Parramatta FC in the Round of 32 etched in Saints folklore.
In total, Devlin made 68 league appearances for the club, which included an impressive tally of 26 goals before departing mid-season this year and joining Geelong SC, where he helped Makedonia claim the State League Two Championship by scoring five times in nine appearances.
Joining the 31-year-old’s versatility at Sunshine is former Dinamo teammate Yabio, who makes the move to the 1977 VPL Champions after a short spell with the Whittlesea Ranges.
The Ethiopian-born forward first made his mark in Victorian football with a spell with the Melbourne Victory Youth team at the turn of the decade, before joining Altona Magic in 2011 having initially made his senior debut two years earlier at Western Suburbs.
A short move across Paisley Park Soccer Complex followed as he joined the Altona East Phoenix in 2013 before making his way to St Albans the following season.
The 23-year-old netted 12 times in 49 league games before departing Churchill Reserve alongside Devlin mid-season and joining the promotion-chasing Whittlesea Ranges.
Three goals in 14 games was unable to fire Vinko Buljubasic’s men to promotion as a late season run of poor form cost the Epping-based side, who relinquished elevation into the top tier to his former side St Albans and North Geelong respectively.
Fellow wide forward Younan is the third of the new additions as he makes the move to the former NSL side from regional outfit Bendigo City.
The 20-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough season at senior level, which saw the former Moreland Zebras 20s player net six goals in 26 league matches for the NPL2 strugglers.
Younan, who also captained the Hume City 20s in 2014 under coach Matthew McNamara, put in a number of impressive shifts over the course of 2016, including scoring a sensational winner against the Eastern Lions in what was then City’s first win of the campaign after a difficult start to the year.
In a further boost to Ciantar’s side, 2016 squad members Christopher Dib and Brandon Scerri have re-committed terms with George Cross for the 2017 season.
The arrival of the three newcomers and two re-signings is a key boost to a Sunshine team which is riding high after a good second half of the season which saw the emergence of star strike pairing Hernan Arredondo and Nicholas Gonzalez.
Meanwhile, former Melbourne Victory youth coach Vaughan Coveny takes the reigns of the club’s U20s side, with Coveny already having a long-standing association with the Georgies through his coaching.
The Georges who are yet to officially announce their home base for 2017, will no doubt be hoping that the new signings will take them further up the NPL2 West standings next year.