Recruiting Stories

Now that the passing of time doesn't affect recruiting confidences, I thought I'd reminisce about a few recruiting stories from my time at Westies.

With some others, I used to watch hours of videos of NEAFL and Tassie and VFL games, to identify likely recruits.

At the time, North Ballarat were about to fold in the VFL and I watched a lot of their games. I was really impressed by their ruckman and we contacted him about paying at the Bloods. He was interested and we brought him over to have a look. I attended dinner with him and a couple of others, including our then captain. It went well and he was keen and although we all knew he was a draft chance, he hadn't been talked up that much. He went back for the remainder of the season and unfortunately for us he smashed it.

He would have been really good at Westies, but.....

Pick 10: St KIlda - Rowan Marshall (North Ballarat).

I have seen a contract signed by Michael Barlow to join North Adelaide days before he was rookie listed by Fremantle with one of the last picks of the Rookie draft in 2010. He went on to win 3 Ross Glendinning medals in Western Derbies.

rocket_rooster wrote:I have seen a contract signed by Michael Barlow to join North Adelaide days before he was rookie listed by Fremantle with one of the last picks of the Rookie draft in 2010. He went on to win 3 Ross Glendinning medals in Western Derbies.

I never saw the contract but Greg Edwards told me that he had seen the Michael Barlow contract. It must have been signed whilst Glenn Elliott was CEO.

When Geelong sacked Greg Williams, Williams had signed with Glenelg, however Sydney knocked on his door with a huge offer & the rest is history….this was in the mid 1980’s

bayman wrote:When Geelong sacked Greg Williams, Williams had signed with Glenelg, however Sydney knocked on his door with a huge offer & the rest is history….this was in the mid 1980’s

Geelong never sacked Greg Williams. In fact he won their Best and Fairest in his last season there, 1985. He was then lured to Sydney at the same time as his Geelong coach, Tom Hafey.
Perhaps it may have been earlier when Williams was rejected by Carlton in both 1982 and 1983 and returned to play at Golden Square in Bendigo. Geelong then recruited him In 1984

Then South Adelaide coach Greg Anderson supposedly try to sell the Panthers to Chris and James Gowans saying that Noarlunga was like the Bondi of Adelaide.

Big Phil wrote:Then South Adelaide coach Greg Anderson supposedly try to sell the Panthers to Chris and James Gowans saying that Noarlunga was like the Bondi of Adelaide.

And Elizabeth is !!!!

bayman wrote:

Big Phil wrote:Then South Adelaide coach Greg Anderson supposedly try to sell the Panthers to Chris and James Gowans saying that Noarlunga was like the Bondi of Adelaide.

And Elizabeth is !!!!

No, I think the closest beach is St Kilda. They were both at St Kilda so that is what got them over the line.

The crabs, bayman. The crabs.

Kris Grant being the only SANFL club official to visit them at their home in Anglesea is what got them signed, so I am told.