A desire to be settled in one location, both personally and professionally, will see St Joseph’s star Luke Webb depart this year’s grand finalist.
The multiple GFNL Team of the Year back selection has confirmed to K rock Football that he will play with Central Highlands club Bungaree in 2026.
Webb purchased property in suburban Ballarat mid-year with his partner Maggie, and his job as a finance broker is also based in the city.
“(I) had been travelling up and down the highway for a fair bit with work whilst I was still living in Geelong, so it probably just got to a stage where it was becoming too much,” Weeb said.
“With the rigours of GFL footy, you can’t just rock up and play; you’ve got to commit, and, unfortunately, (I) just couldn’t bring myself to do it again.”
Webb concedes that telling St Joseph’s co-coaches Ron Watt and James Gow he was departing Drew Oval for a second time, having spent a year with Bendigo league club Strathfieldsaye in 2023, wasn’t easy.
“Gowy’s one of my best mates, and (I) definitely felt guilty about telling them that I was going,” Webb said.
“But they were very respectful, and I think they obviously understood where my life was at and everything.
“You’ve got to be committed to get it done at GFL level, so they understood that it was obviously taking it out of me, and I was pretty sore and wounded towards the end of this season.
It was disappointing that we couldn’t top it off (with a premiership).
“But, they’re in good hands; they’ll hopefully be around the mark again next year.”
Webb takes plenty of experience with him to Bungaree.
He made 91 senior appearances with St Joseph’s after arriving from Tasmania, featuring in their premierships in 2017 and 2018 after coming from Tasmania.
Webb also managed five VFL appearances with Geelong.
“My partner’s family are born and bred Bungaree people; her old man loves the place,” Webb said.
“They’d left me alone, but once he heard that I was a sneaky chance of going there, they started to up the pressure a little bit.
“But it’ll be nice to head there and get to know the community a bit more and her family, and, hopefully, get some success there.”
Webb joins Joey Chaplin (Western Australia), Felix Henderson (Sebastopol) and Jack Leonard (Queenscliff) as confirmed departures from St Joseph’s.
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