Former NRL player Jeremy Latimore is keen to help guide Mittagong Lions to premiership victory

And now Jeremy Latimore will don the green and gold of Mittagong Lions in 2021.

A "random message on Insta" alerted Jeremy to the Lions' interest.

President Matt Aiken had attempted to reach out to him before through Facebook but Jeremy never saw the message and it was not until he was contacted on Instagram, that he got in touch with the club.

After his initial talks with Matt, things moved pretty quickly, and within a week, he along with Jimmy Grehan and Bryson Goodwin had signed with the Highlands club.

It was Jeremy who reached out to Bryson to see if he would also be interested in joining the Lions.

The pair had played together in the lower grades coming through to the NRL and their sons have also played under-7s football together.

"I'm really looking forward to getting down there. Obviously we want to win the competition. I feel with us and a good nucleus of local players we're going to be competitive every week," Jeremy said.

"We're not just there to make up the numbers. I'm very driven to have success."

With Jeremy and Jimmy being good mates, it was another "massive incentive" to come to the Lions where they could both play together.

The pair played a couple of games together in the Illawarra competition this year before Jeremy decided not to continue because of changes made to the competition due to Covid.

"With him not coaching [Jimmy] he can focus on playing and getting the body right for a long season."

While Jeremy has visited the Highlands before, he said he looked forward to getting back up here before the start of the season to check out "what Mittagong has to offer".

"Matt is a passionate individual and he spoke so highly of the club and the town."

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