Left: From Eagle to Puma, then back again … Ben Hughes, the reigning SFL division three best and fairest, confirmed he would play at the Doveton Eagles this season despite already being cleared from the club to play at Lyndale.By Glen Atwell
AFTER dumping the Doveton Eagles in December, Ben Hughes has decided to ditch new club Lyndale Pumas and return to the Eagles nest.
Only weeks after Hughes was officially cleared to leave the division three club, the steely defender has been lured back to Doveton by an offer he described as ‘too good to refuse’.
The move has sparked a war of words between Hughes and former Eagles coach Paul Wilson, who, was dramatically sacked by Doveton at the end of last season and then recruited to Lyndale as an assistant coach.
Wilson orchestrated Hughes’ transfer to the Pumas and said the club was bitterly disappointed that he had walked out on his new contract almost as quickly as the ink on it had dried.
“He had been cleared onto our list, it’s a shame he’s gone back for the money,” he said.
But Hughes said it was more than the money that convinced him to fly back to Power Reserve just three months after his departure.
“I’ve been training at Lyndale and signed on thinking I was definitely going to play there,” he said.
“But the Eagles have laid down an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
The offer included a well-paid playing position and the role of assistant coach.
Wilson said could not understand why Hughes would throw away a chance to play division-two football.
“It’s a step in the right direction, from division three to division two,” he said.
“But Benny decided not to move forward, it’s an interesting choice.”
Hughes’ playing fate still rests in the hands of the Lyndale Pumas that will now have to clear him back to the Eagles before the season starts on 1 April.
