Former Cat finds fresh spark at Centrals

FORMER Lara co-captain Aaron Stone says a fresh start at Werribee Centrals has reignited his love for football as the Centurions surge to an unbeaten start to the Geelong and District Football League (GDFL) season.

A dual best-and-fairest winner and 100-game player at Lara, Stone crossed to Centrals this year and has quickly become an important part of the club’s impressive 5-0 opening to the season.

The midfielder played a key role again last weekend as the Centurions thumped 2025 finalists Belmont by 89 points to remain two games clear on top of the ladder.

After spending his entire senior career at Lara, Stone admitted the move was initially difficult, particularly after the Cats endured a challenging 2025 campaign that yielded just one win before the club’s decision not to field senior sides this year.

Stone said Lara’s withdrawal from senior football this year had been heartbreaking to watch, but believed the reset could ultimately help the club rebuild.

“You don’t want to see that happen to your local club, or any club for that matter,” he said.

“It might have been the thing that is needed. You don’t want to be keep losing every game by 100 points against the top sides. You want to be able to compete.

“I know for me in the end, after doing it for a while, it turned into a bit of a drag and you don’t enjoy your footy when that’s happening to you every week.

“As much as it hurts, it’s just probably one thing that hopefully they can come back bigger and better and stronger from there.”

Now reunited with former Lara teammate Connor Linehan-Cunningham, Stone said the strong culture at Centrals had made the transition far easier than he first expected.

“Before Christmas, I was still a bit worried. I wasn’t enjoying it and didn’t know if I was even going to play or go through with it,” he said. “But after Christmas, I probably found my footing a bit more and [started] having a couple of functions with the boys and spending more time outside of footy with them.

“You start to realise how good the group is that you’ve got around you.

“As soon as I started getting to know the boys a bit more on a deeper level, it definitely became a lot more enjoyable.”

After finishing eighth last season with a 7-10-1 record, Centrals have emerged as one of the competition’s biggest improvers following a busy off-season. Stone said the side’s selfless mindset had been key to its rapid rise.

“I think the big thing is that you don’t have anyone who’s trying to be the person,” he said.

“We’ve got seven new faces just this year that have come in and played, and those boys aren’t coming in and trying to be the hero; they’re not trying to do everything.

“Everyone’s just playing their role and it probably was a prime example on the weekend against Belmont, with everyone playing their role. It’s amazing what we can do.”

Stone also compared Centrals’ culture to the successful Lara sides he played in earlier in his career.

“I was talking to [coach Rhyce Prismall] about it the other day, it’s similar to Lara with how many locals they’ve got playing and have come up through the ranks, or have played there in the juniors, gone somewhere else, and came back,” Stone said. “It’s amazing that the camaraderie they’ve got; everyone gets around each other.”

Despite the fast start, Stone said the Centurions were focused on staying grounded as they prepare for their biggest challenge yet against reigning premiers North Geelong this weekend at home.

“Obviously, you’d love to get a flag, but I think it’s just trying to keep consistency in our game,” he said.

“You’ve just got to take it one week at a time.

“You just go out there and try to play the best footy you can for that week and once that one’s finished, then you look forward to the next week.

“I think the big thing we do is we live in the now. We don’t think about that big picture.”