Wodonga Raiders snare the prized signature of former Crow and Lion Cam Ellis-Yolmen

Ellis-Yolmen is the best credentialled and arguably the biggest signing in the club's history after playing 48-matches at the elite level with Adelaide and Brisbane Lions.

He has initially signed a one-year deal at Birallee Park with an option of a second.

The former Crow and Lion played for Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL this year.

Ecstatic Wodonga Raiders coach Marc Almond said Ellis-Yolmen's signing was not only a huge boost on field but also provided a huge injection of hope and belief off-field as well.

"No doubt it's a huge coup for the club and a bit of reward for all the people involved in the tough job of recruiting," Almond said.

"Signing players of this calibre is a bit like winning the recruiting lotto and provides the club with a bit of traction, momentum and hopefully credibility.

"Most importantly Cam will provide a huge boost to our on field performance which ultimately we need to do to climb the ladder.

"The club has had its fair share of high-end talent since joining the O&M but I can't think of anybody who can boast a similar CV or as highly credentialled as Cam."

Almond revealed they were able to secure the prized signing after assistant coach Joel Price made initial contact with Ellis-Yolmen via Facebook Messenger.

"Pricey has got an uncanny knack of being able to build connections with potential recruits from out of nowhere really," he said.

"To his credit, he flicked Cam a message a few months ago and it all snowballed from there.

"It literally happened from nowhere and now we have the biggest signing of the off-season so far which is a huge credit to Pricey.

"There has also been a mountain of work gone into signing Cam from our recruiting committee including Stephen Clarke and Vin Glass and quite a few others."

Ellis-Yolmen also recently signed with Southern Districts in the NTFL.

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Almond said the 29-year-old would relocate to the Border before the start of the upcoming season.

"Cam and his partner, Natalie, came down here a month ago and loved the area and the people they met from our leadership group," he said.

"They are looking for a bit of a change from city life and experience of country life.

"I feel a lot of their values as a couple align with mine as a coach and what the coaching staff and club is trying to achieve.

"Having a recruit move to the area is always a lot more desirable than travelling."

At 190cm and around 100kg Ellis-Yolmen is a big unit for a midfielder but also has the ability to play key forward.

"Cam is a really big bodied midfielder but can play as a key forward as well," Almond said

"He is proven himself at the elite level as a midfielder but can kick goals which will make him such a weapon in the O&M."

Ellis-Yolmen joins siblings Nick and Tom Bracher alongside Hayden Clarke as recruits and help offset the loss of arguably the club's three best players in Isaac Muller, Jarrod Hodgkin and Max Beattie.

Raiders finished ninth this season with a 1-17 record with Almond hopeful of securing further recruits.

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