The Swans have welcomed Verhagen on board after he recently moved to Darlington Point for employment.

Verhagen is no stranger to the region and has previously played four seasons with Farrer League club Charles Sturt University (CSU), before having a year at Lockhart in the Hume League.

He arrives at Griffith after a couple of seasons at home with Mooroopna and is looking forward to having his first crack at the Riverina League.

“I never got a chance to play RFL when I was in Wagga so it will be good to get the chance to step up,” Verhagen said.

“It will be a challenge but I’m pretty excited.”

Verhagen managed 11 senior games in the strong Goulburn Valley League competition over the past two years.

His addition at Griffith proves valuable as the Swans have lacked key defenders over the past couple of seasons.

They already answered their key forward issues with the signing of Brent Arho, while they have now also added to their key defensive stocks with the addition of Verhagen and the return of Richard Malone.

Griffith coach Adrian Pavese was pleased to welcome another quality footballer on board.

“I’m pretty happy with the way things are progressing at the moment but there’s still a long time to go for the first bounce,” Pavese said.

The Swans returned to finals for the first time in a decade last year under Pavese and have improved their position over the off-season.

They take on Leeton-Whitton at Exies Oval in round one on April 22.