The Cootamundra Bulldogs have continued their recent signing spree after confirming the return of local talent Sam Gash and the re-signing of a hard-working forward Brendan Kelleher.
Gash, who played his junior football at the Bulldogs, spent time playing for Canberra Raiders junior representative teams between 2020 and 2024, before joining the Woden Valley Rams in the Canberra competition for the past two seasons.
Speaking on the return of Gash, Bulldogs First Grade coach David Buttriss said that he had long been a key recruitment target for the club.
“Sam was brought up at one of our first committee meetings, he was one target that we wanted to talk to,” he said. “And yeah, luckily enough for us, he was keen to come home and have another season for the Cootamundra Bulldogs.”
As for where the talented utility back will play next season, Buttriss said he hasn’t quite worked that out yet, and may leave it until the pre-season trials to determine which position best suits both Gash and the team.
“We don’t know the exact position where Sam will be yet, based on what he’s done before, it’s probably going to be at the back or in the centres,” he said.
“So we’ll wait and see how the pre-season goes next year and test a few things out the trial games and go from there.
“What Sam will do for us, he had his first training session last night with us and he’s just really professional in what he does, encouraging some boys.
“It’s just great seeing him back here around everyone.”
In addition to the big signing of Gash, the Bulldogs also announced the re-signing of hard working forward Brendan Kelleher for the club’s return to Group Nine next year.
Buttriss said that Kelleher will be another key player for the side next year, as a reliable player who can cover multiple positions. “Kells has always done a great job for us,” he said.
“Whether it is in the middle or on an edge or, you know, he’s even had to fill in out wide in the centres before, so we can play Kells in a fair few positions and he’s never let us down.”
The Bulldogs will return to training after Christmas, with less than four months until their big re-turn to Group Nine in late March.
