St Mary’s has confirmed the departure of a trio of premiership stars as it prepares for the next generation of talent to make its mark at Anthony Costa Oval.
Defender Ryley Hall, ruck Nick Nott, and the versatile Doug Bond have all called time on their GFNL careers.
A talented junior who played Talent League football with Gippsland Power., Hall joined Grovedale in 2013,
He was a vital contributor as the Tigers booked a maiden GFNL grand final berth, winning the GFNL’s Rookie of the Year award.
Hall also made four appearances with Geelong’s VFL team that year.
After 50 games with Grovedale, Hall joined St Mary’s in 2016, winning the best-and-fairest in his first year at the club.
He played 94 games for the Saints, with what turned out to be his farewell appearance coming in the Round 4 win over Colac at Central Reserve.
A member of St Mary’s 2019 and 2022 flags, Hall was also a three-time GFNL Team of the Year member.
Bond will finish his time at the Saints just short of two milestones.
He played 95 games and kicked 99 goals at senior level in the navy blue and green after joining the Saints while still on the Geelong Falcons list in 2014.
From Deniliquin, Bond played with the Falcons while attending school in Geelong.
His best season was as a livewire forward, kicking 21 goals from 15 games, as St Mary’s snatched a famous victory in the 2019 grand final.
A Geelong Amateur junior, Nott played 15 games in two seasons at St Albans across 2016-17 while making seven appearances at VFL level for North Ballarat.
He played five games with Werribee in 2018 before joining St Mary’s in 2019.
Nott’s best football at St Mary’s came in 2022, playing 17 of a possible 20 games and finishing third in the best-and-fairest as the Saints proved too strong for Leopold in the grand final.
However, he could manage just five games this year after pre-season surgery.
