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.
3. Brady Searle (West Adelaide)
Unable to break into a strong Glenelg midfield that propelled the Tigers to last year's premiership triumph, Searle transferred to West Adelaide over the off-season in search of more opportunities.
Stepping into an inexperienced and developing midfield group, Searle has immediately assumed a major role in the Bloods' engine room, averaging 21 disposals, eight tackles and four clearances across 12 games.
Measuring in at 187cm and 90kg, Searle is doing much of the bullocking work at the stoppages, helping to ease the burden on emerging midfield guns Kobe Ryan and Sam Frost.
The inclusion of the big-bodied Searle has enabled West Adelaide's midfield brigade to start matching it with the best in the competition, which has been seen on numerous occasions this year.
Most notably, the Bloods' onballers took down their more fancied counterparts from Woodville-West Torrens and North Adelaide in devastating fashion earlier this year.
Searle was unsurprisingly prominent on both occasions, setting the tone with his desire to win first possession and make life difficult for his opponent.
More than anything else, it is this attitude and leadership that has made Searle such a crucial acquisition for a football club that is finally starting to emerge from years of darkness.
