![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/02\/566311827_1024141917_23091.jpg\")
But Carmody can see the potential.<\/p>\n
“We haven’t really spoken about that (top four expectations), we’ve just spoken on playing a certain way,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We will be reasonably young and with that sometimes comes inconsistency, so our main focus is consistency at training and hopefully that can translate into game day, and in turn we can challenge the top teams that are going around.”<\/p>\n
The Kangaroos will again put their trust in the game plan that has delivered plenty of success in recent years, including a top four finish last year and a grand final appearance in 2024.<\/p>\n
But it will feature a few tweaks, according to Carmody.<\/p>\n
“There’ll be a few changes. We’ll have greater leg speed, so we will be able to spread a little bit better,” he said. “But in essence, what we do generally stands up, it’s just that we didn’t get it quite right in finals.<\/p>\n
“We are really focused on going over our game style and getting it right and just adding a few little layers to it.”<\/p>\n
On their failure to win a final last season, Carmody said: “I was still proud of the boys \u2013 we were pretty banged up last year and by the end we were short of a gallop for a few guys.<\/p>\n
“We were still competitive in both games against Darley and in particular in the second half against Melton. We gave ourselves a chance to win it in the last quarter by getting within eight points.<\/p>\n
“It probably showed we were a little bit off a Darley, a Sunbury and a Melton.<\/p>\n
“They were the only teams that beat us last year, so we’ve got to be better to peg them in.”<\/p>\n
On the recruiting front, centre half-back Sam Lucas, who arrives at East Point fresh from winning Hampden league club Cobden’s best and fairest award last year, has immediately impressed and looks set to play a key role<\/p>\n
“He is a great intercept mark and really athletic at about 6’5″,” Carmody said.<\/p>\n
“He’s someone who is going to really bolster our defence.<\/p>\n
“We were probably a bit short down back \u2026 even if you go back to the grand final in 2024, we were probably one key position player short and that’s where (Melton’s) Liam Carter got hold of us.<\/p>\n
“He’s a fantastic fellow as well, so he adds to the culture of the group.”<\/p>\n
Carmody said the Kangaroos were unlikely to see much of the returning Lachie Charleson, who will be a regular presence in Werribee’s VFL team following his two-year stint at Port Adelaide.<\/p>\n A popular figure at Eastern Oval, Charleson, who debuted in the senior ranks at the Kangaroos as a 16-year-old, has been an ultra-positive influence despite his limited interactions with the playing group.<\/p>\n “He did a bit off-season training with some of the boys, which was a great experience,” Carmody said.<\/p>\n “The way the VFL draw is, not many (BFNL) teams will get to see their VFL players much at all.<\/p>\n “But he is very keen to play when the opportunity arises.”<\/p>\n Other new additions include former Hepburn trio Will Austin, Tom Brown and Jackson Hogan and Jesse Marshall (Buninyong).<\/p>\n Brown, the brother of East Point star Jacob and a former Kangaroos player, will hold down the ruck, while the well-built Hogan will serve as a ‘crash and bash’ type forward, aiding the likes of the developing Jarrod Joyce.<\/p>\n It’s not just the recruits who are impacting in pre-season.<\/p>\n Carmody is thrilled to see some of the club’s emerging and former GWV Rebels affiliated talent throwing up their hand, among them midfielder Fraser Molan (two senior games last season), Cooper Glenwright-McGuane off half-back, former under-19 best and fairest Kep Jones, who debuted last season, and Dylan Hiscock.<\/p>\n The Kangaroos will have an earlier start to proceedings than most, launching the season with a standalone clash at home against Bacchus Marsh.<\/p>\n It’s the second year in a row the Kangaroos and Cobras have met on Good Friday, with East Point winning a spirited battle at Maddingley Park last season by 17 points.<\/p>\n Jacob Brown was the standout performer with four goals in a high-calibre contest that drew a strong crowd.<\/p>\n Eager to see how his new-look team shapes for the first time under true match conditions, Carmody \u2013 a staunch supporter of the Good Friday standalone game concept \u2013 is thrilled to be involved.<\/p>\n “We played down at Bacchus Marsh last year and Zac Tuohey played; it was a great day and a big crowd,” he said.<\/p>\n “Bacchus did a fantastic job of hosting it, but we’re looking even more forward to it this time as it kicks the season off.<\/p>\n “You can play as many practice matches and intra-club matches as you want, but the boys are just really keen to get going.<\/p>\n “Playing in front of a big crowd \u2026 a home game \u2026 and with a new-look team and a lot of youngsters, its sure to be a great day.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" EAST Point coach Joe Carmody says the Kangaroos will embrace a fresh look and start in 2026, having bid farewell to some highly credentialed members of their core, but with some exciting new recruits at their disposal. The Kangaroos this week ticked off their third week of post-new year training, with Carmody thrilled by the […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/02\/600320588_1024222826_23530.jpg\")