Former Fremantle Docker Joel Houghton signs with SWFL club Eaton Boomers after switch from Collie Eagles

The Eaton Boomers have signed former Fremantle Docker Joel Houghton for the 2022 SWFL season. The power forward has made the switch to the South West Football League club four successful years at the Collie Eagles in two separate stints. On the back of a tough year, the Boomers have wasted no time in getting down to business and coach Darren Rigby believes Houghton will add some sparkle to their game style. “We had a good forward, but we probably did not have that big, key forward so to speak,” he said. “We feel we had enough forward entries, but we just were not able to put scoreboard pressure on and kick goals. “I think Joel is the player who can answer that.” More SWFL: Houghton had an injury interrupted season in 2021, kicking 11 goals as the Eagles missed the finals. In his first season at the club in 2017, he beat fellow former Docker Brett Peake to the goal-kicking award, topping the charts with 65 goals. He would then return for another single year spell in the WAFL with East Perth, kicking 16 goals at league level, before coming back to the Eagles. Second-year Boomers coach Rigby said with his experience at AFL and WAFL level, Houghton will also be an ideal mentor for his younger teammates. “We were talking about it with him when we met,” he said. “Joel has been around a bit – been on an AFL list, been in Perth and in this league for quite a long time. “Our entire leadership group is 23 years and under. “So adding someone with that sort of experience is a massive plus for us.” The Boomers currently have the youngest captain in the league, with defender and best and fairest winner Mitch Kings taking the role outright at the start of this season. The 29-year-old was taken by the Dockers with pick 36 in the 2009 national draft — the same year they took Harvey product Anthony Morabito and two-time Brownlow Medal winner and current captain Nathan Fyfe.