Former Essendon midfielder, son of AFL great signs with Ballarat Football Netball League club for 2023 season

The 27-year-old played five AFL games, and 82 VFL matches for the Bombers from 2014-2019 before moving to Northern Queensland, where he won Cairns City's best and fairest in 2021.

Since returning to Victoria, Long has trained with Collingwood's VFL squad, where he is pushing for a spot on the list alongside North Ballarat utility Sam Glover, who recently re-signed with the Pies.

Long is the son of two-time Essendon premiership player and Norm Smith Medallist Michael Long.

Long is Bacchus Marsh's third marquee recruit for 2023, following the signing of former Western Bulldogs rookie Luke Goetz and former SANFL livewire Jake McCreery.

Goetz, a 202cm ruck, never played an AFL game but boasts plenty of experience in the VFL and made a name for himself as one of the premier players in the Geelong Football League with Bell Park.

McCreery, the older brother of Collingwood forward Beau, joins from Cove in the SA-based Southern Football League, where he kicked 16 goals from 11 appearances last year and was named best-on-ground six times.

The 25-year-old previously spent two years with SANFL outfit South Adelaide, winning the club's reserves best and fairest.

Bacchus Marsh finds itself in a transition period after a mountain of off-season departures including former Henderson Medallist Dan Burton (Point Cook) and 2022 BFNL team of the year member Nick Stuhdlreier (Greenvale).

Harrison King, who finished fifth in last year's Henderson Medal count, has signed for Barwon Heads alongside Ryley Stuhldreier.

Jason Williams will take the reins as coach, replacing Tom German who has joined Spotswood after three years with the Cobras.

Williams, 29, will serve as a non-playing coach and arrives with a background that includes serving as head coach of the Indigenous Talent Programs with the AFL, where he oversees under-18 programs for boys and girls from an Indigenous and multi-cultural background.

Williams was also the inaugural head coach of the Fitzroy Cubs - an AFL Indigenous and multi-cultural side - and an assistant with the Northern Bullants and the Calder Cannons.

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