EFL 2018: South Croydon signs Max Warren, Chris Jones and Jordan Walker for 2019
South Croydon could again be faced with player points headaches in 2019 after an aggressive recruiting strategy that has netted three former Box Hill Hawks players.
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South Croydon could again be faced with player points headaches in 2019 after an aggressive recruiting strategy.
Box Hill premiership player Chris Jones and 2017 best and fairest winner Max Warren have put pen to paper at Cheong Park.
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Warren was aligned with Premier division rival Balwyn this year but failed to play a game — either at Box Hill or for the Tigers — because of a persistent knee injury.
The 25-year-old also played one game at North Melbourne during his four seasons on the AFL club’s list.
Former Hawks midfielder Jordan Walker has also signed with the Bulldogs, again positioning last year’s premier as one of the teams to beat in the Eastern Football League.
Jones and Walker have been aligned with South Croydon but will be full-time next year.
The signings will again put the squeeze on the Bulldogs’ player points system, which operated at near capacity during the 2018 season.
Warren arrives as a five-point player, while Jones (four) and Walker (three) will also chew into the cap.
But coach Luke McCormick said the trio would be able to fit in South Croydon’s best side.
“We’ll be tight again, as we were this year,” McCormick said.
“Everyone else drops one — obviously everyone who played this year — but again it will still be fairly tight if we had our best side playing.
“We can fit them all in, which is the benefit of the points system.
“Thankfully these guys have come to us for the right reasons and that is to want to play.
“You could have gone after a few more but the points don’t allow that and you still want to look after your locals as much as you can.”
Premiership player Ben McDonald (travel) and Michael ‘Zippy’ King (retirement) are the only departures of note.
Jones and Warren will strengthen the backline, while McCormick said Walker would add to the Bulldogs’ midfield.
“He’s an inside mid that can still use the footy quite well … that’s pretty much where he’ll play I would have thought,” he said.
“Hopefully he brings that little bit extra to our midfield. We’ve got a couple of boys that are getting on a little bit, who we still expect to play and play roles, but it’s just a bit of youth and exuberance.”
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