Leeton-Whitton have landed the signing of the AFL Riverina off-season with former AFL player Sam Darley joining the club.
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Darley played 20 AFL games for Greater Western Sydney (GWS) and Western Bulldogs but will join Leeton-Whitton next season as the Crows look to climb off the bottom of the Riverina League ladder.
Darley will become one of the most accomplished footballers to play in the Riverina League in recent times, having also captained Richmond's VFL team to a grand final appearance in 2017.
He won a VFL premiership with Footscray in 2016 and was captain-coach of Geelong Football League club North Shore in 2018.
The 26-year-old returned home to Tasmania this year where he won the best and fairest for his junior club North Hobart.
Darley has since relocated to Melbourne and will play with the Crows in 2020.
Leeton-Whitton coach Daniel Muir is delighted to have Darley on board.
"It's pretty exciting," Muir said.
"He's got a pretty good resume. He never played a lot of AFL games but he played 20 more than I have.
"I've known him my whole life and touched base with him. I've been rejected a few times trying to recruit blokes here so I thought one more's not going to hurt."
Darley will travel from Melbourne and is not expected to play every game.
Muir expects the signing of Darley to be just what the Crows need to help launch them back up the ladder.
"Last year, apart from Ryan Grey coming on board, we never recruited as such and persevered with the young fellas," Muir said.
"So we thought if we could get two or three more experienced heads around these young fellas then we'll be in a lot better position. We know what Sam's going to bring, he's going to bring a lot of excitement and while it's good for us, I think it's also good for the comp.
"The couple of boys that already know are just really excited. He'll come down for a few pre-season training runs, a couple of the trial games. He'll create a lot of buzz around town especially after a bit of a dour year last year."
Muir expects Darley to play in the Crows' midfield.
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