From Frankston Standard Leader
Reported by Paul Amy
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FRANKSTON'S latest recruit has come a long way to play in the VFL - all the way from Jacksonville, Florida.

Alex Starling, who was scouted by the Sydney Swans two years ago, arrived in Melbourne on Saturday, being collected at Tullamarine by Dolphins coach Simon Goosey and assistant Bob Keddie.

Starling, 24, 196cm and 93kg, is a college basketballer who was signed by the Swans in 2012 under the international scholarship scheme.

But a stress fracture of the leg prevented them from listing him as an international rookie this year.

However the injury hasn't extinguished Starling's dream of playing football.

From Bendigo Advertiser
Reported by Travis King
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THE Bendigo Gold will hope the saying 'be careful what you wish for' doesn't ring true after the VFL fixture was released on Tuesday.

The Gold got the home draw it wanted, with five bumper clashes against AFL clubs' standalone teams.

But Bendigo will also face a challenging away fixture.

The positives include QEO clashes against Geelong in round one, Essendon on Good Friday evening and Footscray on Anzac Day night.

Richmond on a Saturday night and Collingwood to kick-off the final round are other highlights.

From Geelong Advertiser
Reported by Nick Wade
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THE winds of change that howled through Geelong's AFL team have continued down to the Cats' VFL side.

The VFL Cats are in the midst of a changing of the guard as they look for Troy Selwood's replacement as captain and someone to step into the midfield role vacated by best-and-fairest winner Mark Corrigan.

But the expectation for next year is very much the same and the Cats believe they will be around the mark again as they chase a third straight grand final appearance.

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by Michael Pollock
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NORTH Ballarat is set for a blockbuster start to the 2014 Peter Jackson VFL home and away season, with the club learning yesterday that it will play four stand-alone VFL sides in the opening five rounds.

The release of the 2014 fixture has seen a fan-friendly draw for the Selkirk Roosters, who will open their season on March 29 against Collingwood for the second straight year.

North Ballarat Roosters football manager Marg Richards is excited about the potential of the draw to bring supporters to games, but is also keen to see how the club adapts to the changing competition after cutting its development league team earlier this year.

From www.vfl.com.au
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The Peter Jackson VFL 2014 fixture has been released today, with the competition returning to 16 teams for the first time in over a decade.

The competition will expand with alignments between Williamstown/Western Bulldogs and Coburg/Richmond having come to a close at the end of last season, and all four clubs fielding standalone sides next year.

Coburg will return to their traditional nickname of the Lions, while the Western Bulldogs will play under their traditional name of Footscray (Bulldogs).

Current club training venues for Richmond and Western Bulldogs will to host VFL matches, with games for competition points to be held at Victoria University Whitten Oval for the first time since 1997and ME Bank Centre (Punt Road Oval) since 1964.