Everything to play for – season preview

Castlemaine

The Magpies have done incredibly well on the recruiting front.

Key forward Bailey Henderson played for the Magpies’ juniors before heading to Strathfieldsaye Storm and is a huge plus for the Don Moran-coached Castlemaine.

Other gun recruits are Zach Denahy, Tommy Horne, Brendan Josey and Kaleb McBride as the Magpies strive for an elusive victory or two, or more.

Youngsters such as John Watson, Brodie and Jackson Byrne, and Callum McConachy will have gained a lot from matches they contested in ’21 and from another tough pre-season.

Castlemaine meets Kyneton in the first round on 9 April at Camp Reserve.

 

Eaglehawk

The Hawks will be keen to improve on a 6-6 record last season.

Key recruits for the Travis Matheson-coached Two Blues include Brady Rowles who was on the Sydney Swans rookie list in 2020 and played VFL with Essendon last year.

Other ins include Fraser Verhay from Moama, Dillon Williams, Liam Marciano, Ethan Hewitt and Mark Storey.

Koby Hommelhoff has joined Wycheproof Narraport; and Brenton and Sam Conforti, and Jarrod Findlay are now at Cohuna Kangas.

The play of Billy Evans, Joel Mullen, Jack Dye, Darcy Richards, Oscar Madden and Sam Harper will be crucial for the Borough.

 

Gisborne

The Bulldogs have arguably the best attack in the competition.

Last season it was captain Pat McKenna with 53 goals in 10 matches and Jack Scanlon kicking 26 who led the way in a 9-3 season as the Rob Waters-coached Gisborne finished fourth.

Add the class of Josh Kemp, Jake O’Brien, Ethan Foreman, Seb Bell-Bartels and Gisborne is capable of scoring 20-plus goals each week.

Recruits to Gisborne include Dan Davie who previously played at Kyneton and then went to Mount Pleasant, and midfielder/forward Matt Pannuccio from Riddell.

Gisborne will be without gun defender Tim Walsh who has joined the Riddell Bombers.

Golden Square

There have been few changes to a squad which achieved a 10-2 record last season and will be a force to be reckoned with.

Among the recruits are Jarrod Fitzpatrick and Liam Jacques from Bridgewater.

A premiership winner with Golden Square, Harry Donegan gone the other way, and Zane Keighran is now with Mount Pleasant.

Joel Brett had 47 goals in 10 matches, and Jayden Burke with 45 goals, were the key targets last year in a team led by Jack Geary, Ryan Hartley, Hamish Morcom, Matt Compston and Jon Coe.

The Christian Carter-coached Bulldogs are at the QEO first-up against South Bendigo.

 

Kangaroo Flat

The Kangaroos are aiming to be far more competitive after a 2-10 record last season.

James Flaherty is another second-year coach in the competition and will be keen to see the continued improvement and more consistency from many youngsters.

The Roos have welcomed back Mitch Rovers who starred in the under-18s grand final victory in 2019 and spent last season in Sandhurst’s senior team where he kicked 16 goals.

Other recruits include Mitch Collins, Darcy Kelly and Sam Barnes, while Kevin Clark has joined North Wangaratta.

Key players include ruckman/forward Nick Lang, Lachlan Wilson, Mitch Trewhella, Brodie Fry and Jake Hywood.

 

Kyneton

In his second year in charge, Tigers’ coach Paul Chapman will be confident of improving on last season’s 3-9 record and racking up more wins at Kyneton Showgrounds.

The Tigers have bolstered their defence through the signing of Mason Crozier who previously played for Rowville and Port Melbourne Colts, while Steve Georgiou has joined from Rowville.

Another huge plus for the club was gun on-baller Rhys Magin sticking with the yellow and black and taking on the crucial role of coaching the under-18s team.

Generating more attacking play, strong defence and capitalising on chances are a key focus for the Tigers.

Maryborough

The Magpies have welcomed back dual premiership-winning onballer Rick Andrews as senior coach.

As a player, Andrews achieved plenty of success in stints at Maryborough, Sandhurst and Charlton.

In recent years he has taken on various roles with Greater Western Victoria Rebels.

Recruits include ruckman/key forward Patrick Chard, key back/forward Anthony Tatchell, Ethan Ross, Spencer Wardlaw, Liam Freeman and Joshua Ross.

Jacob Lohmann returns to Princes Park after time with GWV Rebels, North Melbourne’s VFL team, and Lake Wendouree in the Ballarat league.

The Magpies will field an under-18s team for the first time since 2016 with Brady Neill at the helm of Maryborough’s rising stars.

 

Sandhurst

The Dragons’ run in 2021 was 9-3.

Ins for the Ash Connick-coached Sandhurst include Zac Pallpratt, Jake Wilkinson, Lachie Murdoch and Harrison Free.

A major blow was gun ruckman Chris Down deciding to join Mount Pleasant in the Heathcote DFNL, and Nick Stagg and Lachlan Ross have joined Kerang.

The Dragons will be without Beau Cross who has crossed to North Bendigo in the Heathcote comp.

It’s a tough first-up assignment for Sandhurst as it treks down the Calder to play Gisborne at Gardiner Reserve.

Key players include Lee and James Coghlan, Matt Thornton, Blair Holmes, Alex and Joel Wharton, Oscar McKinley and Sean O’Farrell.

 

South Bendigo

The Bloods were on the cusp of making a long-awaited return to the finals on a win-loss record of 9-3 last season.

Playing coach Nathan Horbury will be urging the South Bendigo to sustain the pressure and prove the ’21 form was no fluke.

Liam Byrne and Isaiah Miller return to the club as playing coaches and bolster the team’s strength at centre clearances and stoppages.

Key forward Sunny Brazier has joined Hurstbridge.

Players to watch include Kaiden Antonowicz and Michael Herlihy in attack; Cooper Leon, Ollie Simpson, Zac Hare, Brayden Torpey, Brock Harvey, Joel Swatton and Zac Hare.

 

Strathfieldsaye

Storm won 10 games in a row and was top of the ladder when the 2021 season was called off.

Co-coaches Darryl Wilson and Shannon Geary have a hungry and talented squad to work with.

Newcomers include Boe Alexander who previously played at Mallee Eagles and Bridgewater; Brady Hore from stints at Birchip-Watchem and Leitchville-Gunbower.

Also back at Tannery Lane are Evan Dorrington, Joseph Mayes and Paddy Blood, and Michael Pilcher as a specialist assistant ruck coach.

Major departure is half-back flanker/midfielder Kellan Smith to Heidelberg after a 199-game Storm stint that included premierships in 2014, ’15, ’17 and ’19.