As the SANFL home and away season nears a close, we're taking a look at the 10 best recruits who have joined the SANFL this season and the impact they have had on their new club.
A number of ex-AFL players, and one current one, feature in our list, as does an Eagles big man and a Tiger defender who were pulled out of retirement.
In no particular order, here are our 10 best SANFL recruits of the year.
1. Will Snelling (Sturt)
As the raging Magarey Medal favourite and leader of most media awards to this point of the season, it is hard to go past Will Snelling as recruit of the year.
Returning to the SANFL after being delisted by Essendon at the end of last year, Snelling has been a superb recruit for Sturt, who beat his former club West Adelaide in getting his signature.
Having played mostly as a small forward at the Bombers, Snelling has slotted straight into the Double Blues midfield, adding speed and classy ball use to complement the likes of James Battersby and Tom Lewis.
Despite missing two games with personal issues earlier in the season, Snelling still ranks third in the competition for disposals and second for tackles, proving his value on both sides of the ball.
Across 13 games he has averaged nearly 30 disposals, seven clearances and 11 tackles, registering at least 20 touches and six tackles in every game this season.
Possessing both toughness and cleanliness with ball in hand, Snelling could be the difference that sees Sturt go one step further and claim the premiership in 2024.
