RDFL club Rupertswood bolsters big man stocks with signing of Dean Putt

Putt — who did not play an AFL game but had VFL experience with Coburg and Bendigo — has joined the Sharks from Keilor after winning a premiership in the Essendon District Football League this year.

Standing 202cm, Putt joins fellow ex-VFL-listed ruckman Joel West at Rupertswood in what shapes as a formidable one-two combination.

“We’ve got a few plans to make it work really well so we hope that can go well and they can get a lot of time up on the ball, both of them,” Rupertswood coach Kevin Fitzgerald said.

“We’ve got plenty of good runners, plenty of good on-ballers. If they can get their hands on it first, it makes a huge difference.”

Fitzgerald said Putt’s versatility was a big plus, the 27-year-old also a proven forward.

“If he goes forward and can clunk a mark, there’s not many sides that have got a defender that can go with someone who’s 200cm,” Fitzgerald said.

“He can even play as a wingman, he’s that sort of player. He’ll give us a lot of options.”

The Sharks were one of the first teams to begin pre-season training last Monday, Fitzgerald admitting the side had “a bit of work to do” after finishing fifth this year before copping a 43-point elimination final loss to Riddell.

“We’ve got a long pre-season but that’s what we’ve got to do, we’ve got to make the step,” Fitzgerald said.

“The local blokes have carried us a fair way and we think by investing in them they’ll carry us the rest of the way. You’ve just got to have faith.”

Fitzgerald said on Sunday the club still had “a couple” of recruits it was working to secure and had targeted specific areas of need.