As a long-suffering St Kilda supporter, I was worried about which of my favourite St Kilda players could leave Moorabbin for greater opportunities, while also excited as to who the list management team could lure to the club.
As one of the more active team’s this trade period, there was plenty of drama, though I’m happy to admit, we may finally be seeing the Saints as a bit of a destination club (fingers crossed).
Ultimately, we landed every one of our main targets, though sadly lost a favourite Saint in Jack Steven among others.
And while it remains to be seen whether these players will pay off in the long term, there is plenty to like of their prospects.
Brad Hill and Dan Butler both have premiership experience, something we don’t have much of at the Saints, while Paddy Ryder should be a good mentor for Rowan Marshall.
But lets not bang on too much about my beloved Saints.
It was open borders across the whole league, with West Coast now boasting one of the best midfields in the competition after finally landing Tim Kelly, the Western Bulldogs securing book ends in Josh Bruce and Alex Keath, while Gold Coast had more than a slither of hope after getting a couple new faces into the club.
But the week was just as much about the deals that didn’t get done, as the ones that did, with Essendon and Sydney butchering a deal on Joe Daniher, as Carlton missed the boat on Jack Martin and Tom Papley.
Taking this down to a regional level, however, I’m sure we will be seeing this happen around our local football clubs in the not too distant future, with coaches and key personel working behind the scenes in securing their talent for the 2020 season.
Whether it is resigning key players, losing others, or recruiting new talent to the club, it is sure to be busy off-season for the Benalla Saints, Benalla All Blacks, Goorambat and Violet Town.
The Saints have already announced a number of key resignings on their social media accounts, with David Mennen, Chris Welsh, Nick Warnock and Brody Webster all going around again under the tutelage of new coach Jake Pallpratt.
As for the Ovens and King League, the All Blacks and Goorambat could see an influx of players after fellow competitor Glenrowan went into recess for the 2020 season, while leaders Nic Spencer and Sam Gladstone will be hoping to recruit well to fill key holes in their respective teams.
Looking to shoot back up the Kyabram District League ladder, Violet Town has gone about resigning several long time servants, as well as securing a new full forward in Will Farrer, who has played for both Southern Districts and NT Thunder in the past.
And with pre-season just around the corner, we are sure to see many more signings in the coming days and weeks, as each team's list continue to shape up.
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