Around The Leagues: Host of big names back in Great Southern, UGSFL ready for lift off and a new Bomber joins

The Advertiser brings you Around The Leagues, taking a look at football stories of players and personalities from the Great Southern, Ongerup and Upper Great Southern regions. Familiar faces return in Great Southern There will be a host of names returning to the Great Southern Football League this weekend, headlined by former Carlton player Josh Bootsma. Bootsma will be back in the GSFL for the first time since 2011 when he re-joins his junior club North Albany. The Kangas face Railways in the Anzac Day season opener on April 25. It will be a significant addition for the Kangas spine, with Bootsma spending the past few years as a proven goalkicker for Corrigin. Alongside his brother Jayden Bootsma, the pair will play under their father Brad who is the coach of the Kangas in 2025. The Kangas will also have Alec Haskins and Anthony Coyne back on a permanent basis and have picked up livewire Liam Bennell as well. Logan Stubber is back after recovering from a second anterior cruciate ligament injury and will be a big boost for Railways in the new campaign. He will be one of several returning faces in Tigers colours with Coen Marwick and Hayden Parker also back at the club. Marwick has spent the past two years playing for Kukerin-Dumbleyung but after previous stints with Albany and Denmark-Walpole he returns to his home club. Parker is the son of Tigers triple fairest and best winner and 2005 Kleemann medallist Bill Parker. Marwick and Parker will add vital potency to the Tigers’ front half. Former WAFL midfielder Morgan Davies is another familiar face back in the league, linking back up with the Sharks. Davies played with Claremont and East Fremantle in the WAFL and was a Royals junior but didn’t play last year. He featured in five games for the Sharks in the GSFL back in 2021. Sam Holmes is the other big name coming back to the league, the athletic tall joining Denmark-Walpole. His inclusion is a huge plus for the Magpies who finished on the bottom of the ladder last year. New Upper Great Southern season ready to go There is plenty of excitement ahead of new Upper Great Southern Football League starting on Saturday. Boddington will enter the season as reigning premiers while grand finalists from 2024 Wickepin will be under a new coach. Former WAFL player Dion Anthony will take charge of the Warriors who will start the new campaign against expected improvers Narrogin. The Hawks have recruited strongly, including ex-Claremont forward and Great Southern product Coen Jackman. The first match of the season will be played under lights at Clayton Road Oval. Katanning Wanderers are preparing to host this year’s grand final at their refurbished Quatermaine Oval. Quartermaine Oval has had a new playing surface laid along with new lights which was part of a significant upgrade by the Shire of Katanning. The lighting upgrade will allow the Tigers to play some night games this season with Darren Schloithe their new league coach. Former Hawthorn player Jarryd Morton is set to feature for Williams this season while in other coaching changes Aaron Morton takes the reins at Brookton-Pingelly and the Hawks will be coached by Duncan Synnot. New Bomber adds star power to premiership defence WAFL premiership player and country footy star Justin Joyce will be a major part of Lake Grace-Pingrup’s bid to win back-to-back premierships. Joyce has transferred from Kukerin-Dumbleyung in the Upper Great Southern to the reigning OFA premiers for the 2025 season. The 32-year-old is a dual WAFL premiership player with Subiaco and has spent several seasons in the country playing with the Cougars. He won the 2022 Leo Graham Medal as the UGSFL’s best and fairest player and has represented WA at State country level since retiring from the WAFL. Joyce had flagged a desire to join the Bombers further south where he has strong family ties. The Bombers’ premiership defence under coach Jack Carruthers and veteran ball winner Luke Bairstow will be without star midfielder Regan Smith who has moved to the Kimberley. The Bombers had the opening round bye but will face big round-one winners Jerramungup on Saturday in round two. The Eagles were thumping 122-point winners over Newdegate on April 12. Young stars of the future Watch out for the names Robert Farmer and Lucas Robinson in the years to come. The pair are catching plenty of attention in the WAFL colts competition already this year. Farmer is a brilliant young talent from the Great Southern, having dominated at underage level for Railways last year. The 16-year-old kicked three goals on debut for Claremont’s colts side in round two and back that up with another three majors against East Perth last week. Robinson hails from a farm at Tarin Rock and is a Lake Grace-Pingrup junior playing colts for South Fremantle. The 17-year-old had 24 touches and two goals for the Bulldogs in his first colts game of the season on Saturday. Robinson is a Fremantle NGA product and was an All-Australian after starring in last year’s national under-16 championships for WA. Got a footy story from our region to share? Email cameron.newbold@albanyadvertiser.com