Bendigo Advertiser | It would seem top-end talented recruits have been harder to come by for BFNL clubs this off-season. NOTHING creates a buzz in the local footy circles during the summer months quite like recruiting talk.
What new recruits are confirmed for clubs, who’s rumored to be signing, and what players are on the move out of leagues are always hot topics once one season ends in September and the next begins in April.
But this year in regards to the Bendigo Football-Netball League, with less than seven weeks left until the first ball is bounced on Good Friday the amount of top-end talent coming into the competition doesn’t look to be at the same quantity as the past.
Could it be the recent structures that have been brought in by AFL Victoria – the player points system last year and accompanying salary cap this year – is already having an effect on Bendigo league recruiting?
Among the mantras of the AFL Victoria measures is to keep recruits to a minimum and to build from within with juniors.
Looking at the BFNL clearance list, excluding players coming in from the Bendigo Junior Football League to play under-18s, the numbers of ins as of this past Thursday was 75, the departures at 93.
Of the 75 listed on the clearances,