In what were some of the biggest signings in the club's history, Jeremy Latimore, Bryson Goodwin and James 'Jimmy' Grehan have all joined the Mittagong Lions.
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It was a tough 2020 season for the Mittagong Lions, who had plenty of injuries and struggled to string together wins in first grade.
Club president Matthew Aiken said throughout the season, it became clear the club would need to move into a "redevelopment phase".
"This was increasingly apparent to us as the 2020 season progressed, culminating in our final match at Thirlmere, where we could only field six regular first graders against a dominant Thirlmere side," he said.
"We want this period to be the best ever in the history of the Lions and we want to get teams into grand finals. With this in mind, we decided to turn our attention to the recruitment of several marquee players to provide a solid support structure in our club to help guide the Lions football side and who would also embrace our culture."
Latimore is a former Eels, Warriors, Panthers, Sharks and Dragons player in the NRL and also played in the Prime Ministers Xlll in 2015.
Bryson is a New Zealand international who has played for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League as well as the Bulldogs, Rabbitohs and Sharks in the NRL.
Grehan is a former Parramatta player who has also played for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League.
He played for Country (Country Rugby League Player of the year 2011) and for Corrimal Cougars, Wests Devils and the Illawarra Cutters.
The club had previously reached out to Latimore, with no success but this time proved a different story.
Aiken heard from one if the club's young members Harri Philips, that Latimore might be in the move.
Harri reached out to Latimore through social media, asking him to contact the Lions president.
"Next minute, Jeremy's ringing saying 'I can come, but only if Jimmy Grehan does'," Aiken said.
They later found out Goodwin was also interested in joining the club.
Prior to signing with Mittagong, none of the players had any connection to the club.
"They are just looking for a new home with new challenges, at a place where they get a opportunity to all play together as Lats and Jimmy are best mates," Aiken said.
"The club and I would like to think the community are absolutely ecstatic about the signings. We have a responsibility to our sponsors, supporters and players to be competitive."
The Lions will officially start pre-season training in mid to late January, when these rugby league stars will become familiar faces around the Highlands.
Aiken said the club appreciated the support of its sponsors and there continued to be sponsorship opportunities at the Lions.
"It's a great time to be a Lion."
He said they still had a few more spaces to fill for the 2021 season.
Lions fans can keep up to date with club news on the Mittagong Lions Senior Rugby League Facebook page.
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