North Ballarat players Mitch Gilbert, Nathan Olver and Liam Cullinan have made the move to the Emus.

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They join former North Ballarat teammate and recently appointed co-coach Sam Willian, who moved to Skipton in 2020.

Jack Romeril has signed on too, coming from Buninyong and Brad Ryan will also don the Emu's colours after crossing from BFL club Ballarat.

The recruiting coup comes after the side entered 2020 with some key signings from East Point.

Rhys Monument and Jethro Kirby made the move and Daniel Kilpatrick, a BFL premiership winner with North, also moved across. All three will return after being unable to play a game last year due to COVID-19 forcing the season to be cancelled.

Nick Szabatura has also joined the club, who previously played for South Barwon in the Geelong Football League.

Skipton Football Director Chris Gawne said the new recruits have settled in beautifully and will add a lot to the senior list.

"We think they'll add some really good depth to our list and we think that they're proven performers, they've come from BFL sides and they've got a lot more experience so they'll add a lot of depth and experience to us and leadership," he told The Courier.

Gawne added that the while the seniors are strong, the juniors are struggling for numbers in the under-15s and under-18s.

Country football is hurting at the moment as kids move away for school, university or sporting chances and Gawne adds it can be hard to lure them back.

The club is therefor searching for coaches of both sides and a junior coordinator. Gawne said the club is gender neutral, welcoming female applicants and invites any girls interested in playing under-15s to join.

Skipton couldn't field an under-18 side in 2019 however, its under-15s were competitive.

In the limited games in 2020, the under-18s were strong, with Ballarat players joining the club as their season was cancelled.

Those players have gone back to their BFL clubs. Gawne said Skipton is doing everything it can to field strong juniors.

"We are concerned about our juniors. I understand that people see that we played finals in our seniors in 2019 and we've recruited well but to be honest that recruiting ... has only helped us maintain a list that will enable us to field two sides," he said.

"In terms of future viability, we're at a crossroads."

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