One SANFL club was in no mood to fool around when it sent out a dull media release confirming four major signings – and saying goodbye to two outgoing players.
The Central District confirmed late Thursday night that Jarrod Schiller, Travis Schiller, Justin Hoskin and Luke Habel had all signed up for the club for the next season and had no hesitation in praising the quartet for their re-signing.
In the same breath, the Bulldogs, who finished penultimate in 2020 with three wins, gave brothers and former AFL players Daniel and Troy Menzel an open farewell clip after they decided to go to reigning SANFL Premier Woodville-West Torrens.
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“The club is pleased to announce the signing of four of our players in Jarrod Schiller, Travis Schiller, Justin Hoskin and Luke Habel,” the Bulldogs said in a statement.
“In view of the tough reduction in the salary cap for the 2021 season, it is gratifying that these four players have accepted the situation and have opted for the dogs in 2021 without hesitation. Since all four boys are natural leaders within the playgroup, it is great when they lead the way.
“Daniel Menzel and Troy Menzel have decided to move in a different direction and are playing with Woodville / West Torrens.
“The club are still trying to recruit a few players and look forward to tackling the 2021 season with a group of players who are ‘Team First’ in their mindset and want to play for red, white and blue.”
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The brothers’ decision to join the Eagles, who took the SANFL flag in 2020 after losing just four games in the year, appears to have come as a shock to the Central District.
After Daniel Menzel signed with the Bulldogs at the end of 2019, he missed the entire 2020 SANFL season after breaking a foot during a training exercise in early July.
The 29-year-old had an injury-ridden AFL career and underwent four knee reconstructions in nine seasons at Geelong before being limited to seven games with Sydney in 2019 following groin surgery.
“Daniel recently had an operation to just take a plate out of his foot to hold him together,” said new Central District coach Paul Thomas SANFL radio Last month.
“He’s very excited and desperate to get active and get back moving in a way that he can improve his fitness, to be footy again, and to reach a footy level that will help a team do the best they can his. ”
Troy Menzel played 40 AFL games for Carlton and four for Adelaide before being removed from the list. He spent 2018 in the Adelaide Footy League before returning to Junior Club Central District for the last two seasons.
After Troy Menzel took fourth place at the SANFL Goalkicking Award last year with 33 goals, he was named joint vice-captain with Jarrod Schiller for 2020 and came fifth in the best and fairest Bulldogs.
Habel was the 2020 Bulldog captain, Jarrod and Travis Schiller finished second and fourth on the club’s best and fairest count, and Hoskin finished third when he won the club’s Goalkicking Award.
In addition to securing the Menzel brothers, the Eagles have signed former Essendon midfielder Kobe Mutch as well as his brother Rhys Mutch and former Gold Coast player Clay Cameron for 2021.
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