“We’ve met with Goulburn Murray AFL and the GVL — a lot of work has been done in the background,” he said.
“We’re probably about 15 players short of where we’d like to be at this stage of the season, but our numbers at training have been improving every week.”
A major positive since the Saints’ call-out has been the resurgence of its netball sides, with a number of players answering the call to line up for Benalla this season.
One of those is Sally Washfold, who is set to make a comeback to join the Saints’ A-grade netball side after stints in Division 1 in the Victorian State League for Monash University Hawks.
Johnson said a major contributor to the Saints’ player exodus this year had been the attraction of Ovens and Murray League, which now holds the status as one of the “premier leagues” of country football in the region.
“Of our 30-player group, we lost about 15 players from our senior list,” he said.
“We’ve seen a large amount of movement to the O&M, they’ve got six or seven more ex-AFL talents over there this year.
“Unless they’ve got a link, it’s really hard now to attract players to Benalla.”
Johnson said a club community session would be called by the board in coming weeks, where all those associated with the Saints will be summoned for discussions on the remainder of their off-season recruitment efforts.
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