Panthers flag intentions with strong recruitment drive
BELL Post Hill stalwart Nick Costello says the heavy recruiting around the GDFL has put pressure on the club to add more talent while its premiership window is open.
Multiple clubs have bolstered their lists with former GFL players. Winchelsea, Bannockburn and Inverleigh have been particularly active.
Costello said the Panthers had also pushed to bring in more talent, knowing the chance to win a premiership was next year.
“We were probably about three or four extra players away from making that next step last season, so to be proactive with our recruiting and focused on getting young recruits in with a bit of speed,” he said.
“The new young guys have brought that extra level of excitement and I think we’ve got guys who are really going to add to it all.
“It gives us good depth that we haven’t really had since Covid, so to have that knowing there are eight or nine good players in the reserves that can step up and play a role really offers us plenty of value through a long season.”
Bell Post Hill’s big inclusions include Boe Collins, Renn Lovitt and Mink Govus.
But defending premier Bannockburn has landed the league’s biggest fish by luring Reece Conca for the season, while Inverleigh has signed James Hussey out of South Warrnambool.
Costello said the competition was the strongest it had been in years.
“Inverleigh and Bannockburn have topped up again, but Winchelsea has gone hard, Thomson has picked up some good players, too,” he said.
“It’s hard to get a bit of a grip in the pre-season. It takes until about round 10 when everyone’s played each other once to know where everyone is at. Sometimes these bigname recruits don’t quite make the impact they should.
“We try not to focus on what’s going on outside of these four walls, but it’s hard not to notice what everyone else is doing to get better. The competition is stronger.”