Goudemand with the 2021 League Leaders’ Shield. This is the Super League’s equivalent of the minor premiership.
The Junee Diesels continue to strike fear into the opposition with their work in the transfer window, with French International Mickaël Goudemand putting pen-to-paper on a deal that sees the 29-year-old back-rower join the Diesels for at least the rest of the 2025 season.
Goudemand has had a storied career overseas, including playing 65 games for SO Avignon from 2010-2016, eight games for the Dewsbury Rams in 2017, 99 games for the Catalans Dragons from 2018-2023, 18 games for Leeds in 2024 and then finally playing this past season alongside incoming Diesel coaches Ben Shea and Chase Bernard. He also made his international debut for France in 2018, playing 12 times for his country since.
Mickaël’s trophy cabinet includes the 2018 Challenge Cup which saw his Catalans side defeat the Warrington Wolves 20-14 in England’s iconic Wembley Stadium, as well as a runners-up medal from the 2021 Super League Premiership, where St Helens beat Catalans 12-10.
The Frenchman reportedly turned down an approach with Super League side Castleford Tigers earlier in the year to continue playing in France with Albi, it looks to be a massive coup for the Junee side.
Coach Ben Shea looks forward to welcoming Goudemand to the Diesels, having previously shared the field alongside him at Albi as well as Chase Bernard who is just one week away from his maiden game this season, “I thought that the standard on the weekend wasn’t too bad but it will probably be a bit of a challenge for him, coming down from where he’s been; essentially in the Super League for the last 10 years and coming down here it’s a bit different style of footy. It’s not as fast, but there’s still plenty of contact. In general, he’s just a very professional player, he’s got good ball skills, good leg speed, runs hard, can tackle, and is a brilliant, good worker. He’s the ultimate professional, probably not the biggest guy, but again he’s big enough and a good ball-playing lock forward, that’s how I’d describe him.”
“We’ve got a lot of quality in the back row as well as our centres, so hopefully when he comes and does a bit of ball playing through the middle, that’ll help the halves out and unlock the wider areas of the park, but also, I think it’ll help our middles as well because we’ve got quite a few good young forwards, but you can kind of get stuck in that trap of running one out of the hooker every tackle. So I think he will not only unlock the guys out wide, but I think he’ll help just through the middle given the bigger boys a little bit more space as well.
“Mika could play in the halves with ease, not only did he fill in a few games after a half went down injured, he legitimately started probably two or three games at half for us in France this year, as he’s got good ball skills. I think his natural position is a lock, because he’s more of a worker and likes to get involved and that but if he needs to play half, that’s no drama.”
Shea expects Goudemand’s versatility to open up avenues for other Diesels to play in multiple positions, where he believes they can excel, “I think his versatility is probably going to be the best thing Mika brings. From what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, I think (Daniel) Foley could be the best fullback in Group 9, but just for what we need at the moment, he’s playing in the halves, still, Jese (Wainibuli) does a really good job at fullback, but he could jump in the centres no dramas, the best thing for us at the moment is Foley half, Jese at fullback, but once Mika comes he will start freeing up guys a little bit more. He is going to help whoever’s in the halves a lot more and provide us with a lot more ball-playing ability.”
Diesels President David Holt believes the signing marks a great day for the Club, “I think all you have to do is look at Mika’s resume to know the calibre of player we’re bringing into the football Club. We expect him to be not only terrific on the field but with his vast experience terrific off the field as well in a leadership role.
“When you look at some of our games earlier in the season, there were a couple of tight ones that we’re hoping Ben, Chase and Mika can help turn into wins, when you look at our team now, you can’t help but get excited. We had a quality playing group already who’ve made massive strides this year and will continue to get better with the three I’ve mentioned joining and hopefully mentoring them alongside some of our current leaders in Daniel Foley, Damian Willis, Jordan Walker, and a few others. We have plenty of knowledgeable football heads at our disposal.”
The quality utility forward will be a welcomed addition to the side ahead of a tough clash against the Gundagai Tigers in Gundagai this Saturday.
-Tully Potts
The South West Slopes Times covers an area approximately the size of Fiji in country NSW. We look after a population of more than 50,000 people with our staff servicing 7 major towns and dozens of villages with our story telling footprint.
We offer weekly print editions at $3 a copy and we also offer digital subscriptions across 3 months $30, 6 months $60 and 12 months $120.
We are one of the last truly local independent family run newspaper businesses in the state.
Contact us today to find out how we can promote your business or organisation across our huge network by emailing ads@thetimes.net.au or by calling 0413 763 216.
If you have a news tip, lead or scoop for us please make contact as we love celebrating our communities. You can contribute articles via our South West Slopes Times website.
