After extensive interviews, meetings, lunches, dinners and too much time away from home, the recruiting team has come up with the following players to fill holes identified by our coaching staff.

DEFC welcomed Brendan Ryan (Eltham FC) and Sam O'Meara (Montmorency FC) a few weeks ago. Your correspondent doesn't know much about these two as yet but they seem to be joined at the hip. Word is around the club that both Brendan and Sam are already enjoying footy the DEFC way and have cajoled a couple of their mates to join us as well. The club is very happy to have Luke Dore and Wayne Connelly on board. Who knows? - we may have our own "Awsome Foursome"

(plus ONE!!!) - in the shape of Shannon "Bevo" (dunno where that comes from but I guess we'll find out before too long!) Strickland. Best described as a 'nuggety' rover/forward (goal sneek?) - Shannon hails from Lower Plenty FC. 

Colin Crowther 200cm (6 foot 6 in the old money!) Ruckman and Jack McDonald  a 171cm utility player, come to us from Redland fc. (AFLQ). Both originally from Townsville, they have come down to Melbourne because of employment opportunities. Colin and Jack are good friends of ‘Gooch’ who made the original approach to lure them to Donny East and we hope to see both around the club for a few years to come. Our spies can’t tell us much about Jack as yet, but Colin seems to have developed a reputation as a “Major Pest” – I reckon he might have a bit of competition for that title at D.E.F.C.!

We also welcome back Ash Neville (2007 equal B & F winner with Leigh Murphy) and Johnny Blias from horrific long term injuries and Dylan Heath from Oakleigh Chargers and Port Melbourne ( played a few Senior games) - anyone who saw the Under 19 game against Mulgrave back in May last year will know what we can look forward to in 2013.

And . . . . . . . . . just when you thought everything had been put to bed recruiting wise - Jason and his  team have come up with another exciting youngster - Nathan Mill played with  Eastern Ranges last year and made the Port Melbourne 'Young Guns Team of 2012!

On a sadder note, we will miss the gutsy play of Nathan 'Harro" Harrison (U19 Premiership player 2012) for most if not all of 2013. 'Harro' has just endured a hip operation in the last few days. We wish him a speedy recovery look forward to seeing him in a Donny East jumper for the 2014 season

JASON & THE TEAPOT

Jason is sitting at home with a nice cup of tea, his head spinning with Paris’s voice still ringing in his ears “You’ve done a pretty good job so far Jase – you got me a ruckman and a utility player from Queensland and a couple of local little crummers, but what I really want for Christmas is a ‘Gun Forward’ – someone with a bit of mongrel in him who can take a strong grab and can kick lots of goals for me”

“Hmmmm” thinks Jase , “Where do I find one of them?” as he reaches for the teapot for a top up. Jase notices a mark on the side of the teapot and thinks “bloody Sonia hasn’t cleaned the bloody teapot!” so he spits on his fingers and tries to rub the mark off . . . . he rubs and rubs and rubs . . . then all of a sudden “WHOOOOSH !!! and a great puff of smoke rises out of the teapot spout!

Yes dear reader you guessed it – it’s a Genie and it looks uncannily like our own Andrew Gilham!

By this time Jase is flat on his back covered in tea leaves and screams out “Gillie . . . What the $@#k!!!???”

“Calm down Jase” says Gillie “I heard you got a problem and I’m here to help. I think I’ve found a ‘Gun Forward’ – someone with a bit of mongrel in him who can take a strong grab and can kick lots of goals ”

Jason sits up and stares at the apparition and thinks “I gotta get off the tea bags!”

“Nah seriously Jase, you should talk to this guy – I played a few games with him at Port Melbourne and I reckon he’ll be a good fit for Donny East. This guy was picked up by Collingwood in the draft at No 17 a few years ago but didn’t quite make it at the top. For the past couple of years he’s been kickin’ goals outta his arse in the Northern League – go get him Jase – you gotta do it for Donny East!”

Then all of a sudden there was another WHOOSH! And Gillie was gone – somehow he made his way back into the teapot.

Jason hasn’t been near that teapot since, but he did contact the player concerned with the result that DEFC welcomes Billy Morrison to the club.