The Demons have welcomed Rogers on board after he spent last season as assistant coach at Hume League club Henty.

Rogers is no stranger to the Riverina League, having spent three seasons at Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes before the move to Henty.

Rogers has previously represented Riverina League and Collingullie-GP captain-coach Luke Gestier is looking forward to having the key utility at Crossroads Oval.

“Definitely, we’re pretty happy to have him on board,” Gestier said.

“He looks like he’ll be a key player and a good utility for us really.

“It’s handy to have someone like that.”

Rogers played a number of roles at the Goannas, spending a year at centre-half-forward, the wing and even in the ruck.

Gestier has no concrete plans for Rogers yet.

“We might play him pinch hitting in the ruck a bit, depending on what Jacko’s doing,” he said.

Rogers is the first player the Demons have welcomed on board since their six-point grand final defeat to Leeton-Whitton in September.

Collingullie-GP have lost classy midfielder Steve Jolliffe to Hume League club Howlong, while they are unsure of the playing futures of ruckman Chris Jackson, who travelled from Newcastle this season, and champion Brad Aiken.

Jackson is unsure of his plans for next season, while Aiken, who was assistant coach this year, has returned to the Giants Academy.

“We’re definitely planning to be without Brad for the first half of the year, until his commitments with the Giants are finished anyway,” Gestier said.

Hard-working midfielder Jimmy Kennedy has been promoted to assistant coach.

“Jimmy adds a bit of experience, and although it’s not a big key, he’s well-liked and well respected by the playing group,” Gestier said.

“The time was right for a changing of the guard and to add a bit of youth into the system. It’s something the club hasn’t really had for a while, for better or worse they’ve always had their stalwarts but we’ve decided to bring in a bit of youth and that’s the theme we’ve got going for next year.”

Gestier is happy with how things are shaping up, amid a quiet off-season in the Riverina League to date.

“We haven’t blown anyone out of the water with a heap of recruits but we’ve kept the majority of our list together and that’s the key for us. We’ll build from there,” he said.

Gestier is in Melbourne and will undergo minor surgery on his troublesome knee on Tuesday.

He expects to be back in full training by the time the Demons resume pre-season training at the end of January.

“It’s just a bit of a clean out, fixing up meniscus and a little bit on the ACL,” Gestier said.

“It will put it to bed. Four to six weeks recovery and I’ll definitely back into training after Christmas.”

Collingullie-GP get pre-season training underway on Monday, December 4 at Glenfield.