LEETON-Whitton prime mover Lucas Meline has become the third Riverina talent to sign with SANFL club West Adelaide for next season.
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Meline, arguably best on-field in the Crows' grand final loss to Wagga Tigers this year, nearly remained at his home club due to work reasons, but eventually decided he still has the desire to play the highest level possible.
The classy midfielder joins Luke Redfern (Coolamon) and former Northern Jet Mitch Maguire at the Bloods, who are looking to rebuild after finishing last in 2020.
"It was a pretty tough decision. I'd finished uni this year and had to think about the job side of things as well," Meline said.
"I'm a physio now and got a pretty good job offer at the physio at Leeton. That made it a little bit tougher and I was tossing up the footy side of things versus the employment side.
"At the end of the day I decided I still have that desire to try and challenge myself at that higher level still.
"I've got a couple of Zoom interviews this weekend. I'm hopeful of getting a job there and the club will help out with their contacts."
Meline joins fellow Crows players Cooper Sharman and Mitch Hardie (Woodville-West Torrens) in choosing Adelaide as their next football home.
"They (West Adelaide) didn't have the best season this year and are going through a rebuilding phase, but the list they've got is talented," Meline said.
"Speaking to their newly appointed coach Brad Gotch, he said there's talent but there's a few things that need to change structure wise so they can achieve success.
"We've picked up a few good players like Mitch Maguire and (Kieran) Lovell, who was delisted from Hawthorn. They've done well over the off season so hopefully we can push into finals."
Meline is confident Leeton-Whitton will remain a force in the Riverina League next year.
"I think Sam (Darley, new player-coach) will be great when he comes in next year. He's obviously a high quality player and the coaching side of things will help the team a lot," Meline said.
"Hopefully he can bring a couple with him but the locals sticking around are talented boys and they showed that.
"A lot of them are young and they're going to naturally develop again. It's tough losing a lot of players, but I still think they'll be competitive."
Meline played NEAFL with Canberra Demons for several seasons before returning to the Crows this year after the team dissolved and the league was cancelled.
He excelled in the AFL Riverina Championship, claiming the club's best and fairest.
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