Jayden Nelder signs up as a Bathurst Giant for the 2023 AFL Central West season

After spending the last two seasons playing with the Orange Tigers in the AFL Central West competition and hitting his 100^th game milestone, Nelder has made the switch to join the Bathurst Giants men's tier one ranks for 2023.

Though he previously was a rival to the Giants, his friendships with players at the Bathurst club played a role in luring him across.

"He is good mates with Jacob [Molkentin] and a few of the boys, so he approached the club and obviously we're not going to say no," Giants coach Shane Broes said.

"I think he's just keen to play with the boys he's played against. He's obviously formed a good bond and relationship with those guys and now he wants to come along and play with them and we're very happy to accommodate that.

"So he's signed up with us and is keen to have a good year."

During his time with the Tigers Nelder did well enough to earn Central West selection, but he already had a strong background in the sport before joining them.

He played his football in the Riverina, spending time with both Collingullie Glenfield Park and North Wagga.

Given his ability to fill a number of different positions, Broes is delighted to have him in his squad as he steps up as head coach of the men's side for the first time.

"He's sort of the same age as a lot of the boys, so he'll fit really well into the playing group," he said.

"He's a versatile player, we can play him forward or back, so he can be a little link man to fill a hole that we need to on a day.

"He's also keen to be part of the leadership group at some point, so we'll see how we go with that."

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Nelder is the first of what is expected to be a handful of new Giants recruits for season 2023.

As for those who will return after pushing the Bathurst Bushrangers all the way in last year's grand final, Broes reports they have been doing their own pre-season training sessions.

They are driven by the desire to win the men's tier one premiership for the first time.

"We've been in two grand finals now, we got one towelling and last year we got pretty close, so I think they are hungry to just take that next step," Broes said.

"The boys are very excited, we've got training groups set up, running groups and skill groups, and the players have been driving that.

"Our official training won't be until the 8th of February, but the boys have been training prior to that, they're training two nights a week currently.

"That's what they want to do, that's driven by them, they're as keen as mustard.

"Most of them play cricket and footy together, so they've got that bond all year round. So we're really looking forward to a very successful year on and off the field."

While the draw for the 2023 season is yet to be released, it is slated to start on April 29.

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