Daniel Toman, Nathan Beck and Rhys Clark have all signed with the Gold as the club continues to build its stand-alone list ahead of the 2013 VFL season.

Clark and Beck have joined the Gold from Goulburn Valley Football League club Kyabram and are earmarked to play key defensive roles.

“We’ll probably add 25 new players to our list, so getting guys who have been solid contributors from the GVFL, which is ranked the No. 1 league in Victoria, is going to be good for us,” Gold coach Aussie Jones said yesterday.

“Both players are really keen for the opportunity and are definitely good enough to play VFL footy, so they will be fighting for some key position posts down back.

“We’re not flushed with a heap of talls, so to be able to get these two locked away is a good start.”

Beck is a highly-regarded player who is keen to take his footy to the next level.

“It has been good playing in the GVFL for the past few years, but I’m looking to take that next step and improve my footy,” he said.

Beck – who has also played key forward for Kyabram – has been a GVFL inter-league representative for the past two years, showing the esteem in which he has been held in country Victoria’s premier league.

The 22-year-old hopes the experience of having played inter-league football will be a good stepping stone to what he will encounter next year in the VFL.

“Inter-league was a good experience... it was a lot quicker than the usual Saturday afternoon football and a bit of a taste of that next level,” Beck said.

“Hopefully, having that little bit of experience can help me out.”

Beck described his Kyabram team-mate Clark as a quality defender with a damaging left foot.

“I’ve played with him for the past couple of years. He has mainly played full-back for Kyabram and taken one of the key forwards each week,” Beck said.

“He’s a beautiful, long and accurate kick whose rebound from defence is strong.”

Adding to the Gold’s midfield brigade will be Woodend-based Daniel Toman, who won the Northern Blues’ VFL development league team best and fairest this year and previously played with Assumption College.

“He’s a nuggety midfielder who, as well as winning the development league best and fairest, played three games in the senior side this year,” Jones said.

“From what I’ve been told, he was very stiff not to play more senior footy down there, so he comes to us at a stand-alone team wanting more opportunity, which we can certainly give him.

“Having seen him train on Tuesday night, you can tell he’s a quality act.”

Toman, 20, said the Gold being a stand-alone club was a key selling point in his decision to sign with Bendigo.

“With the stand-alone team, hopefully, there will be more opportunities,” Toman said.