THE GC17 franchise has claimed another big scalp with Western Bulldogs recruiting manager Scott Clayton accepting a position with the AFL's second Queensland club.
Clayton has been at the helm of the Bulldogs' recruiting for the past nine years, joining the club in 1999.
He leaves Whitten Oval having been responsible for landing several key players including Robert Murphy, Daniel Giansiracusa, Mitch Hahn, Ryan Hargrave and Lindsay Gilbee – but will now head recruiting for the Gold Coast franchise from the beginning of 2009.
"A role like this is extremely rare in football so it will be exciting for me," Clayton said, in a statement released by the Bulldogs on Monday.
"I have been extremely fortunate to work at the Western Bulldogs for a long period of time where I have seen the club go from strength to strength with an exciting and innovative brand of football and a real team environment.
Clayton, also a former playing list manager for the Brisbane Lions, will build the development side which will play in the TAC Cup next year and the VFL in 2010 before a team is fielded in the AFL from 2011.
GC 17 Chairman John Witheriff said he regarded Clayton as one of the best recruiting and list development managers in the country.
“We wanted the best in the business and Scott has agreed to join our journey to become the most exciting sporting club in Australia," he said.
"His work at the Brisbane Lions was instrumental in building a playing list that won three straight premierships and he has built a talented, young list at the Western Bulldogs,” he said.
“Building this football club is one of the great challenges in football. Scott’s experience, his skills and his knowledge of young football talent is perfectly suited to making this a success.” Witheriff said, adding that Clayton edged out a talented list of applicants to snare the position.
The Bulldogs have acknowledged the services of their departing staff member, with general manager of football James Fantasia thanking Clayton.
"Scott has been a valuable staff member at the Bulldogs and we would like to thank him for his dedication and passion for the club over the past nine years," Fantasia said.
"We will now use Scott's departure to evolve our recruiting process and structure. This will see the commencement of a new chapter in our recruiting strategy for the club."
Clayton will oversee the Dogs' draft selections in 2008 and take up his new post next year.
Western Bulldogs chief executive Campbell Rose said the Bulldogs will look to use Fantasia, who was previously the recruiting manager for Adelaide, when reshaping their recruiting strategy.
"Scott will have the chance to create a team from scratch, which is something that any recruitment manager would love to have the opportunity to do," Rose said.
"We are fortunate that we have a football manager such as James Fantasia who has a credentialed recruiting background and comes from a club (Adelaide) with a strong recruiting record.
"He has extensive experience in football recruiting. This is a great asset. James will now use his insight to take our recruiting football operations and performance to a new level."
Collingwood assistant coach Guy McKenna last week joined the developing GC17 club as its first coach.
