Sojourner wrote:sjt wrote:CENTURION wrote:bloody hell, North and South are in even more trouble! break out the brown paper bags boys!!
Yeh, and the new import rule should really help them (South) out - not. Ridiculous (sorry off thread).
I think its a mixed bag for South, we recruited a swag of very junior players and much like other sides that have gone a similar way have seen around a 50% success rate in identifying players that can play at the level required and show some good prospects. Several players recruited have returned which leaves the club in a position to be able to recruit to replace them. My hope is that South will look more towards more established players in interstate competitions, rather than going to heavilly towards another group of project players because I feel that the losses from this group would be less and with the recruiting hurdle it may be a better way to go. Time will no doubt tell of course!
Where South can make some gains is in recruiting locally from other competing sides in the SANFL and I do think we as a club will be fairly active in this area. One advantage that we do have is that there is a significant amount of room in the cap to go after an Eagleton or similar type player be they returning from the AFL or playing for a competing club. South have lost a number of players in this manner, would be good to see the tables turned for a change - or at least see clubs that have helped themselves to SAFC players have to raise the wages of the players on their list to keep them!
I don't think Eagleton is the type of player South need. As mentioned on the retirement thread, blokes like Welsh and Thurstans intend on playing for a couple of years but underestimate the dedication required away from playing day. Eagelton, being of similar age, could well turn out similar, unless be is keen on an off-field role after playing.
