Bell Park Dragons announce new signing after Cat’s delisting

Bell Park has landed a former Geelong-listed midfielder for the upcoming GFNL season, bolstering a developing list under second-year coach James Saker.

Osca Riccardi has signed with Bell Park. Picture: Alan Barber

Bell Park has landed a major signature for season 2024, with former AFL-listed Cat Osca Riccardi signing on for the upcoming season with the Dragons.

The 19 year old, who landed at the Cats in the 2022 Rookie Draft with the 32nd overall pick, did not play a game at Geelong during his single-season stint at the club.

However, the hard-running midfielder averaged 12.8 disposals, 3.2 marks and 0.7 goals through his 13 game in the Cats’ VFL side, having spent much of 2023 playing on the wing.

He did play one game in 2022 for the VFL side before signing on with the Cats’ AFL program, and he will return in the hoops in 2024 after signing a VFL contract at the club.

Riccardi was one of three delistings in early September for Geelong, with forwards Sam Simpson and Cooper Whyte also not being extended at the same time as Riccardi.

While he is expected to spend the majority of the season in the Cats’ VFL side, Riccardi landed on the Dragons as his interchange club for 2024 despite his father Peter leaving Bell Park in the off-season.

Dragons coach James Saker believes the club’s newest recruit will have a profound impact on the playing group, despite a likely limited availability for Bell Park.

“When it became apparent that Osca would need a local club to align with we were very keen to be that for him, and Peter (Riccardi, Osca’s father) suggested it would be worth having a conversation with Bell Park,” he said.

“Osca is a great young kid who came across really well, he’s really professional in his output and he’s really clear in what he wants to get out of his footy, so if we get him for one game, three games or half a dozen, hopefully we can help him in that pursuit.

“He’s also got a lot of mates at the club as well, so it was a relatively easy transition for him to make, he fits that bill of young talented midfielders, he’s got great running power too so we’re excited to have his services.”

Bell Park also added the services of ruck Ollie Bridgewater in the off-season, while Ben Lloyd and Ben Worme are returning to the club full-time for 2024 after their respective stints in the VFL system.

Saker said the addition of Bridgewater was an important piece for the club.

“We knew going into next year we needed to find ourselves a ruck, we had some really serviceable efforts last year but to get a recognised ruck who’s still young is great for us,” he said.

“He’s a great young kid that will fit into the group really well.

“We were pretty fortunate that a large part of the playing group re-signed really quickly, it meant we could focus on recruiting new players rather than retaining guys.”

Originally published as Bell Park Dragons announce new signing after Cat’s delisting