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http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/12/01/9354_geelong_spor...
[b]Bell Park signs three recruits [/b]
Michael Auciello
01Dec07
BELL Park has bolstered its grand final list with the signing of three major recruits.
The Dragons have nabbed Nick Batchelor and Jarrod Garth from Werribee's VFL team, as well as Bannockburn midfielder Aaron Broom.
Coach John Fitzgerald said the club would effectively have another three new recruits in Brad Manczak, who is returning from overseas; and Sam Talarico and Matt Jovanovic, who both missed last season with knee injuries.
"We're really pleased, at the end of last year, having finished second, we had a fair idea of what we needed and what we had to improve,'' Fitzgerald said.
"These guys that are coming in, new recruits and guys returning, replace a few guys who are going overseas or who have left the club.
"We needed to replace those guys and add a little bit more experience around our younger guys.''
Batchelor and Garth, a marking forward, are both former Geelong rookies, having been drafted in 2005.
Bell Park, seemingly out of the finals race a month before the finals series, stormed home to make the grand final, eventually going down to triple champions South Barwon by 37 points.
Fitzgerald said the club would certainly need to live with heightened expectations in 2008. ``Yeah, there's no doubt the expectations are there, for sure,'' he said.
"The whole list is aware of that, so is the coaching staff and as a club we're working towards that.''
The Dragons began their 2008 pre-season on Monday, and last night their new recruits joined teammates for a run and cycle session at Eastern Gardens.
