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Subscriber only Magpies Crusaders will field a potent goalkeeper tandem in the upcoming NPL Queensland campaign after securing the signature of incumbent shotstopper Jayden Tower. The club announced Tower s return via Facebook on Monday morning. Tower was coach Tom Ballantyne s main man between the posts during Magpies Crusaders stint in the Mackay Premier League last year. He made his NPL Queensland debut against Gold Coast United early last year, before Magpies Crusaders were dumped from the restructured competition following a COVID-19 induced break. The club has since recaptured former starter Willem Lejeune to be the lead man on its return to the state league set-up but in Tower, Ballantyne has a more than capable back-up.
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Subscriber only Returning Magpies Crusaders goalkeeper Willem Lejeune promises to make every post a winner next season once he leaves friends and family in Canberra behind for a second stint in the NPL Queensland. Lejeune will pack up stumps and move north in February next year with goals even more ambitious than when he did the same this time last year. I m extremely keen to make the most of my time up there, he said. I m leaving my family and girlfriend down here so I need to make sure it s worth it. Lejeune was a strong presence and on-field leader in his five-game stint between the posts last season, before a restructuring of the NPL Queensland competition pushed Magpies Crusaders out.
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From afar, Ballantyne would critique the young fullbackâs game with an eye to 2021 and Dunnâs eventual return home to Sologinkin Oval.
This week that return became a reality.
After a run of six goals in four games for Redlands United last season, Dunnâs star was on the rise and a host of clubs after his signature.
Able to be deployed as a fullback, wing back or out-and-out attacker, the 23 year old quickly became an attractive prospect.
But when Dunn left Mackay to pursue his football dream, for a second time, he did so with every intention of returning, a better player than before, to Mackayâs black and white.
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After his stellar display for Redlands United at the back end of last season, Lathan Dunn was a man in demand by a number of NPL Queensland clubs.
So it was telling that the 23 year old chose to return home to Mackay and link up with Magpies Crusaders for 2021.
The club officially announced Dunn’s return via Facebook today.
Goals came thick and fast for the fullback turned striker, who was forced into an unfamiliar attacking role when Redlands’ goalscoring options dried up at the pointy end of the season.
In round 17, he scored his first goal for Redlands against Eastern Suburbs – the start of a month-long goalscoring stretch which ended with a hat-trick against Brisbane Roar Youth on November 8.