Collingullie-Glenfield Park will be without accomplished midfielder Matt Beckmans this season.
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Beckmans has left Crossroads Oval after five seasons with the Demons, joining De La Salle in the Victorian Amateurs Premier League.
Collingullie-Glenfield Park captain-coach Luke Gestier said the club was disappointed to lose a player of Beckmans’ calibre.
“We’re obviously disappointed to lose a player of his quality,” Gestier said.
“We wish him all the best with the move to Melbourne, he was a great servant for Collingullie.”
Beckmans is a two-time premiership player at Collingullie-GP and won the Ron Hutchins Medal for best-on-ground in their 2014 grand final win.
He was originally drafted to Sydney Swans and spent the 2008 season on the club’s rookie list.
Beckmans enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2017, spending more time through the midfield and winning plenty of the football.
He was also named in The Daily Advertiser’s 2017 Riverina League Team of the Year.
Gestier believes there is a couple of young players at the club that can step up and help fill Beckmans’ shoes.
“I’m really excited about a couple of young kids coming on, who could possibly slot into a midfield role similar to Matt,” Gestier said.
“So as one door closes, another opens.”
The Demons have now lost a couple of key players over the off-season in Beckmans, Steve Jolliffe (Howlong) and James Morris (North Wagga).
The playing futures of Chris Jackson and Brad Aiken also remain in some doubt.
On the positive side, Collingullie-GP have welcomed former Wodonga Raiders coach Ben Klemke from West Adelaide, as well as Dusty Rogers and Dereck Singe from Henty.