Old Eltham Collegians lands biggest signing in club history with Collingwood premiership player

NFNL Division 3 club Old Eltham Collegians has secured the biggest recruit in club history, signing a Collingwood premiership player for 2024.

Steele Sidebottom and Brent Macaffer at Collingwood training. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Old Eltham Collegians has secured arguably the biggest recruit in club history.

In a stunning coup, Collingwood premiership star Brent Macaffer has signed with the Turtles for the 2024 NFNL Division 3 season.

Macaffer returns from two seasons at Tooradin-Dalmore in the West Gippsland league, where he won a premiership and league best-and-fairest in 2022.

The 35-year-old still lives in the northern suburbs and travelled to Gippsland each week.

Macaffer played for neighbouring Eltham for three seasons, earning Team of the Year honours in each and won the Division 2 league best-and-fairest in 2019.

He’ll join former Panthers teammates Matt Keys and Matt Williamson at Eltham College.

Turtles coach Matt Sleeman said Macaffer was exactly the player the club needed to take the next step.

“Willo (Williamson) played a fair few seasons with Caff and reached out to him and it was a reasonably quick turnaround, a couple of weeks after we spoke to him we gave us an answer,” Sleeman said.

“I think a lot of people would have expected (him to play Division 1).

“He still looks like he could play AFL, he’s still pretty fit and they have Premier Data in (West Gippsland) and he averaged 36 touches.

“At the end of the season we outlined we outlined what sort of players we needed and a ball-winning midfielder was definitely one but I don’t think we dreamed we could get someone at that level.

“Often over the last two years we’ve questioned do our midfielders work hard enough, why don’t they get enough possessions, we do our own stats and 25 is a high number for our mids.

“If he’s getting it 35, that’s another 10 or 15 times someone else is getting it because he’s got elite skills ... as a forward, Willo is pretty excited too.”

Brent Macaffer in action for Eltham. Picture: Nathan McNeill

Premier Data recorded Macaffer winning 35.9 disposals per match and 156 ranking points.

He’ll return to the Northern Football Netball League, which he joined in 2017 after 77 games for Collingwood, including the 2010 premiership.

A return to a local club was a big selling point for Old Eltham.

“That was a good selling point for us, he lives three minutes from the ground,” Sleeman said.

“The non-travel factor and being so close made us a really strong choice.

“He said he lives in the area and wants to get to know more people in the area and create a wider network.”

Old Eltham recruited significantly last off-season, bringing in the likes of Jackson Freebairn, Hugh Kavanagh, Jaedyn Kearney, Liam Rushton-McCoach and Williamson.

Williamson won the league goalkicking and together with Seb Francis-Perkins, Tim Ellis and Nick Milne was named in the Team of the Year.

However, the Turtles fell at the preliminary final hurdle for the second year in a row.

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Sleeman said the club will continue to look to strengthen its list.

“We’ve spoken to a fair few players and Caff coming across, he’s given us a few names,” he said.

“We were after some mids, another forward and I don’t think it’s a secret we’ve got the best defence in the comp.

“Tim Ellis has re-signed and his partner in crime Daniel Hallett has re-signed as well and Hugh Kavanagh is coming back again.”