NEWTOWN & Chilwell has signed former AFL player Ryan Gamble for 2012.
Gamble put pen to paper and met his new teammates for the first time at training last night.
Despite rumours suggesting Gamble signed on at the weekend, the former Geelong and St Kilda forward only agreed to terms with the club yesterday.
Newtown & Chilwell coach Jacob Spolding said Gamble would add an extra dimension to the Eagle's line up this year.
"He will be really important for us across many areas of the footy ground. He can play forward, back or through the midfield," Spolding said.
"Ryan will play many roles throughout the year, he won't play one position. He will play where we think he will give our side the best impact on any given day.
"It is a great result for our footy club and rounds out our recruiting for season 2012. We are rapt to have Ryan on board."
He said the club was confident it would get its man after it tabled the offer to the 24-year-old who played 35 games for the Cats and Saints kicking 42 goals in six seasons.
"I sat down with Ryan before training at 5.30pm and outlined where I thought he would fit into our program at the footy club and he was rapt to hear where he could fit in and help out and he jumped on board," Spolding said.
The Eagles were in talks with the former South Australian for three weeks, battling it out with rivals Bell Park and St Joseph's for his signature.
Gamble's signing is another big coup for the Eagles.
Last week the club announced it had signed former Geelong champion Brad Ottens for the season.
While Goulburn Valley star Ryan Normington, Northern Bullants VFL vice-captain Jarrod McCorkell and East Geelong's Luke Edmonson will also wear black and red next year.
"We highlighted we were probably five or six players short and we went out to find them," he said.
"We managed to get them, so hopefully they help us become a successful side."
MEANWHILE, Football Geelong CEO Lee Hartman said the league has ruled out implementing a salary cap.
"It is not in our thinking at the moment. We have had one in the past and it didn't really work well," Hartman said.
"The VCFL and Football Victoria are looking at a state wide points system.
"We don't think the current point systems would work too well down here, so there is nothing that will be happening at the moment."
Under the format, which grades players over a wide-ranging criteria, players would be ranked on football credentials rather than payments, with clubs required to fit all their players under a total points cap.
Hartman said the gap between the league's top and bottom sides was "a concern".
"That is why we have had a look at the points system," he said.
Last Modified on 07/01/2013 13:38