Tara Murray
New Williamstown recruits Oscar McDonald and Marty Hore are keen to help the club return to where it belongs in the Victorian Football League.
The Seagulls this week announced the signing of the duo, adding some more experience to the squad for next season.
McDonald joins the club straight out of the AFL, having played 86 games at Melbourne and Carlton.
Hore spent last season at North Melbourne’s VFL side, having played 14 games at Melbourne.
It was that Melbourne connection with Seagulls coach and former Melbourne assistant Justin Plapp that helped get the pair across the line.
McDonald said Plapp was the only former coach he still kept in touch with.
“I still have dreams to still play AFL, that might happen it might not,” he said. “I really wanted to play at the highest level I could and at the moment that’s VFL.
“We’ve [McDonald and Plapp] been in contact for a long time and Williamstown just stood out to me as I really wanted to play for a standalone club that has a community feel about it.
“It ticked all the boxes and I’m keen to get going. Horey a good friend from Melbourne days as well, all aligned and made sense.”
McDonald said coming to a standalone to get more opportunities was part of the bigger picture in coming to the Seagulls.
He said the last couple of injury riddled years, he was hoping that were past him and was hoping to be in full training about Christmas time.
Hore said being involved in a club that had that real community feel, while still being at a high standard was something that attracted him.
The club had chased him 12 months ago, but he played with North Melbourne instead.
“We [Hore and Plapp] kept in contact a bit since I finished up at Melbourne,” he said.
“I think the club is heading in a great direction with a good young list. I’d been talking to Oscar a bit and we said let’s make the move to Williamstown, a stand alone club, has that local footy club feeling but playing at a really high level of footy.
“The club is heading in the right direction and I want to be part of that.”
Plapp admitted that 2022 had been a real struggle for the club and they wanted to make amends next season.
He said the additions of the likes of McDonald and Hore would help with that.
“I’ve been really lucky to have a relationship with these two boys and they’re exactly what the club needs. Players the club is going to build around and fantastic players for our young men to really leverage off and learn and take us to where we want to go in our football journey.”
