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East Point has picked up another emerging Central Highlands Football League export.
Former Buninyong tall Joel Ottavi has signed with the Ballarat league club.
He joins Jacob Brown from Hepburn as a young recruit via the CHFL.
This brings to three the number of East Point players doing pre-season with the Essendon VFL training squad – adding to Brown and former North Ballarat Roosters-listed Jake McQueen.
Ottavi’s move to East Point meets a demand put on him by Essendon VFL coach Dan Jordan.
Ottavi earned a place on the Bombers’ list last season and played three VFL games.
In conjunction with getting a contract with the Bombers, he moved from Buninyong and adopted Essendon District league club Keilor as his home club.
Ottavi had planned to return to Buninyong next season, but Jordan expressed his displeasure with the move.
Jordan said he did not want the young forward potentially exposed to average opposition on poor quality grounds.
He said the Ballarat Football League was the minimum standard Ottavi would be required to play in the region if he was to stay on the Essendon list.
Jordan, who was a BFL best and fairest and four-time leading goalkicker while with East Point, is preparing for his first season as Essendon’s VFL coach.
East Point football director Gary Wilson said Ottavi was another exciting young talent to have on board.
East Point opens its season against Ballarat on Saturday, April 21.