Myrtleford recruit Nick Warnock says it was now or never to join O and M

Warnock, who turns 29 next month, played his 150^th game at home club Benalla Saints last season and is a long-time Goulburn Valley representative forward.

"It was just a change of direction, I've been keen to have a go in the Ovens and Murray for a few years now, I nearly went with (former Benalla coach) Lukey Morgan when he left Benalla to go to Wangaratta," he revealed.

"We have a little more flexibility workwise, I just thought it's probably now or never.

"Sam Martyn's a great mate of mine, so when he joined, it was also a contributing factor."

The GV's 2018 Morrison medallist is expected to be one of the league's top midfielders at the Saints.

"He's an absolute star, he's easily the best player I've played with," Warnock offered.

The 193cm Warnock will form a powerful combination with Ryley Sharp, with club president Ian Wales admitting the Saints were over-reliant on the latter last season.

The tall timber duo will mirror Wangaratta's attacking formation with power forwards Ben Reid and Michael Newton.

"His best asset is his contested marking, he's very strong and hard to remove for a defender, kicking at goal is always something that's been a bit up and down, but he's definitely one of the top forwards in the GV," Benalla co-coach Will Martiniello suggested.

"We were looking for him to play at centre half-back, just the way he intercept marks and contested marks, that's such an asset."

Martiniello revealed Warnock had agreed to play for Benalla in 2022.

"He did commit to us about two months ago, it was up on our socials (social media) and everything," he said.

"It was pretty shattering for him to then turn around and say he wanted a change and something different."

Benalla has lost a number of players and Warnock knew the perception of his departure.

"It was early days (when I committed), it was a verbal (agreement), I fully understand how it was going to look when I made the decision to leave," he admitted.

"As much as people think it was after a few people were jumping off the ship, it wasn't that.

"A couple of things have changed from that point (of the verbal commitment), we moved out of town to my parents' dairy farm (among them)."

Warnock points to his decision to verbally join Wangaratta in 2019 and then remain at Benalla as evidence of his passion for his home club.

"I had nine years straight of senior football at Benalla, so I'm loyal to the club," he explained.

'I fair dinkum love the club and love everything that they do, I love the people and there's certainly no bad blood from my point of view.

"We've (wife Grace) just had our third child (Raffy) on December 8, you could argue that's a reason why you wouldn't try something different.

"It's just where I'm at (with my footy), I look at 2019 and it feels like yesterday and it was three seasons ago, I thought I'll be sitting here in another three seasons and it will be too late."

Warnock has also been impressed with the O and M's massive recruiting blitz.

Yarrawonga signed Michael Gibbons straight from Carlton, while a host of clubs have improved their lists markedly.

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"From the outside looking in, it's (the league) certainly gone past (the GV) in general," he replied when quizzed if the O and M had kicked clear.

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