Already salivating with a Grand Final rematch to open up

It’s that time once again, the footy is back with the first round of games this Saturday afternoon, can you believe it. With that in mind, let’s wipe the slate clean from the off season and go through each team’s prospects for 2023 PEGS FC and Old Camberwell Grammarians move to the Premier C, whilst St Mary’s Salesian and Whitefriars drop down to Division 2. West Brunswick and Ivanhoe have been able to leapfrog their position into Division 1 after an incredible Grand Final in 2022 UHS-VU and Preston Bullants were dropped from Premier C and will make up the newcomers in 2023.

Kew Fc

Kew Bears are shaping up for another big season, unlucky not to move up to Premier C last season after falling at the final hurdle in the Preliminary to Old Camberwell Coach Ian Aitken will be looking to get the most out of his team this season to have a chance to head back into Premier C for the first time since 2017.

The Bears have a good track record at home ground at Victoria Park only losing to PEGS and salvaging a draw in the latter part of 2022 Michael Hannen, key forward will look to continue his form of last year to get Kew home in a lot more games after kicking 36 last season.

Consistency like last season will be the key for Kew as they chase that elusive premiership. The Bears start round 1 at Packer Park under the lights at 6.40pm against Rivals Glen Eira Gryphons.

Glen Eira

The Gryphons surprised many in 2022, finishing third behind Kew, and PEG S at the end of the home and away season.

Coach Jon Edgar will be optimistic this season on the chances for the Gryphons, they will have to do this season without Nick Dickinson and also ex-captain Julius Waras Carstensen as both of them announced their retirement over the off season.

There’s expectation and hope on Alex Ewrin-Ross and Stuart Carey both taking their games to new heights this season if Glen Eira are to stand up once again.

The Gryphons take on Kew at Packer Park under the lights on Saturday. They come into the contest with a good track record at home only dropping one game, it should be an absolute cracker.

Ivanhoe Afc

Ivanhoe are back in Division 1 for the first time since 2016, fresh off the Division 2 Premiership against West Brunswick winning by just a single point.

Having a very impressive track record at home at Ivanhoe park, it will be very interesting to see how they compete in 2023, Ash Close carved his way to 71 goals in 2022 followed by his twin tower Billy Drake who smashed 61 goals. Close has a different role this year, no longer the senior coach, handing that over to close friend, and competition best and fairest Wayne Schultz. Whilst, Drake has opted to play footy elsewhere in 2023.

Wayne Schultz will be wanting to ideally see the Hoers challenge those top sides. Ivanhoe are home to West Brunswick at Ivanhoe Park to open up the season, the Division 2 Grand Final rematch, will it be a replay of six months ago?

Oakleigh

The Krushers will be aiming to really climb the ladder this year to get into finals since the 2018 Preliminary Final. A mixed bag at home in 2023 at the W.A Scammell Reserve going at 5 wins and 4 losses.

Young coach James Francis will try to look to key forward Aaron Cloke to emulate the year he had in 2022 by smashing out 75 goals including a bag of 10 vs St Marys. The brothers Liam and Tom Gillard will be keen to help make the Krushers push for that elusive final berth. Krushers take on Prahran at Scammell Reserve at 2pm, will the Krushers be able to take one up on their previous year ladder competitors?

Old Peninsula

The Pirates will be looking to rebuild after they survived relegation in 2022, coach Peter Williamson will try to get the most out of his playing group, Bradley Schuurman, Ben Williamson will be instrumental figures of motivation for the group to keep grounded throughout this year.

After 20 years with his name inside the forward 50, the Pirates will need to call on a new forward after Shaun Payze made the decision over the pre-season to hang up the boots. 428 games, 1033 goals alongside his name.

Having some success at home last year they will be looking at that to get them a good start. Therry Penola are their first assignment at the Harry Mcdonald Oval at 2pm.

Prahran Fc

Prahran FC are looking the goods for season 2023, bolstering their playing lineup with many recruits such as Alex Maxwell, William Axford-Wood, Mackenzie Mayne to name a few. 2022 was a pretty decent season for Prahran, despite not making finals since 2017, will this be the season that they climb into finals and push a case for Premier C ?

Brett Dickinson the coach would be hoping to see the best out of Matt Clifford as he slavered 58 goals including a masterclass of nine against St Marys.

A mixed bag at Toorak Park going at 4 wins 5 losses, but will look to take that record to another level in 2023. Like Old Xaverians in William Buck Premier, Prahran will not have a home ground as such through this year, making their trek back to finals slightly tougher. Opening up the campaign, they’re travelling to play Oakleigh first game. Will they take their game to new heights?

Preston Bullants

Preston Bullants are back into Division 1 for the first time since winning the flag in 2019 against UHS-VU.

Coach George Cotsonis will be looking to try to get his team back into the Premier C despite not having the best of luck in 2022. Rory and Conor Howard will need to be back to their best again for that to happen Ethan Lowe with 22 goals with a best of five against UHS has had a strong pre-season, and is expected to assist in getting his team over the line in more games this season.

The Ants will be looking to get there season off to a flyer facing off against UHS-VU at the W.R Ruthven Reserve at 2pm

Therry Penola

Where to begin with this group of Lions ?

This is the time to take their game to a new level this season as Brendon Payne tries to bring the Lions back into the finals contention after having an average season.

Kane O’Halloran, a brilliant forward who amassed 52 goals in 2022. Jackson Young, Nicholas Castalidi and co will be looking to get off to a fast start when they travel to Old Peninsula.

UHS-VU

UHS-VU coming down to Division 1 with the Bullants will try their best to get themselves back into Premier C for 2024. Coached by Paul Rocke, he will be looking to Ben Dimattina, Fraser Allen to try and steer the ship to get them back up and running for season 2023.

Led by James McGee in the forward line kicking 22 goals in season 2022 with a best of four against Ormand will he be the difference to get the UHS into a lot more games this season?

UHS-VU will take on Preston for the first game at WR. Ruthevan Reserve kicking off at 2pm. Two evenly matched sides, a contest that’s sure to go down to the wire.

West Brunswick

The Magpies after falling agonisingly short by a point to Ivanhoe in the Division 2 decider of 2022, have returned to Division 1.

Coach William Dilllon will be keen to see how his team competes against the likes of Kew, Glen Eira, and Ivanhoe AFC. With Liam Buckler slamming home 40 goals closely aided by Ben Hutchins with 36 they will need to put their kicking boots on this season as they will look to do that again in 2023.

West Brunswick came off a very impressive record last season at Ransford Oval in Parkville, the ground is fortress for the Magpies. The aim, bank as many wins as possible this season when playing there.

They’re on the road this weekend, against their grand final nemesis Ivanhoe. Will the Magpies be able to swoop in and get their first win for the season ?

I think so, but I guess we will wait to find out.

Round 1 Tips

Kew

Glen Eira Old

Oakleigh

Preston

Ivanhoe

UHS-VU

West Brunswick

Brunswick footy, Bloods culture, and the battle of the Yarra Valley all on offer

After a thrilling finals series with Ivanhoe AFC producing an incredible last-minute victory to snatch the trophy over West Brunswick by a point, the VAFA Men’s Division 2 is gearing up for an exciting 2023 season, with several teams looking to make an impact and push for promotion to the top tier.

Aquinas

Aquinas are fighting hard to work their way to the top four after a resilient 2022 season.

Fortunately, with six of their first seven games at home, it may provide them with the opportunity to create a strong foundation and a bit of confidence for the rest of the season.

Last season they were in the middle of the table at season’s end, an off-season of recruiting could see them break into this year’s final four, and be a contender when it matters most.

Brunswick

After coming down from Division 1, 2022 saw a strong performance and reached the finals.

Coach Tommy Hunter endured much turnover over the off-season resulting in a younger side which may provide opportunities to their 19s players.

Tall midfielder Tom Hedley joins the club with his older gun brother Josh, in addition to quick footed Harris Mitter and Jake Ralston who’ll bring a tough physicality to the backline.

Runner up Best & Fairest Ben Wilson is seeming to be a prospect after playing at another level in pre-season.

Facing the Old Paradians who kicked them out of the finals last season, Hunter made it clear the team will bring Brunswick footy to round 1.

Bulleen Templestowe

A tough 2022 season stung the Bullants 6-12. Possession was a struggle for the team, but with Andrew Verga at the helm and a strong pre-season, the golden wings are likely to rise the ranks and pressure for a finals.

The club has had a lean few years, last year was somewhat stabilising for the Ants, this year is another stepping stone in getting the club back to its glory days.

Mhsob

The 2022 season was a tale of inaccuracy for the Unicorns. Unable to convert their quick footy to the scoreboard left them empty handed as a result of an excruciatingly narrow miss from the finals.

Winning six of their first seven games ushered by three one hundred-point thrashings, the Unicorns will be ones to watch out the gate this season. They’ll be hoping to have more players take their game to new heights in 2022, with the campaign kicking off against Bulleen this weekend.

Old Paradians

Old Paradians had a belter of a season in 2022 with thirteen wins, finals bound and leaping to preliminary falling short after a brush with the Magpies.

Justin Whitcher’s eye for footy is likely to leave a mark for 2023 if the boys can translate footy to field, especially against a discontent and hungry round 1 Brunswick.

Old Yarra Cobras

Coming in this year as a merged club (Yarra Old Grammarians and Manningham Cobras), Coach Nathan Monaco is looking to make a dent in Division 2.

Inclusions such as Anthony Lamana from Old Xaverians, Nathan Sambevski from Kew and Lewis Mitchell from Tasmania are likely to create concern for opposition.

Francis Joseph and Eddison Donelan are ones to watch after an impressive pre-season.

Overall, Monaco has placed much emphasis for a Cobra culture on attention to detail, setups and game-plan to bounce back from the 2022 merger problems and strive for a finals spot.

Parkside

The Parkside boys endured a dogged 2022 after a 12 point loss in the Division 3 Grand Final.

It’ll be a hard season being promoted up to Division 2, but if their resilient finals campaign tells us anything about Demons culture, they’ll bring the heat against the relegated Division 1 Whitefriars in game one.

And, if it is #YearoftheDevils, they may even snag a win against their newfound rivals South Melbourne in round 3 in the Grand Final rematch.

South Melbourne

Patrick O’Callaghan’s South Melbourne squad stormed through Division 3 with a 13-3 record and a convincing finals series.

Passing the torch to Nick Abbott, we’re excited to see if the footy field bleeds for the bloods for the jump up to Division

2. With the recent Australian Grand Prix engulfing the Albert Park facility, the fixture sees the Swans away for their first six games.

It won’t be the warmest of welcomes to Division 2 for the Bloods, but, if they’re like their counterparts in the AFL, it’s exactly how they like it.

ST MARY’S SALESIAN

A quarter of a decade since the merger the saints were left barren last season, left 0-18 and 2734 points scored against.

A year for rebuilding, a culture for confidence, Clay Tait has a hefty task on his hands to return classic Saints footy in the drop down to Division 2.

Whitefriars

The drop from Division 1 after a competitive 3-15 left much thought for Head Coach Lucas Matthews to rebound in 2023.

The Friars have seen an optimistic pre-season adding some flair to the roster, Spencer Larson, Josh and Jack Coates from Mitcham, and the return of James Perrin and Jack Elmer

Lucas’s eye for talent has picked a couple young guns to develop including Matthew Dickenson, Noah Sealy and Pat Cotter, we’ll see them test the waters in various positions.

A heavy emphasis on ball movement, offensive and defensive transition, a confident culture, with the admixture of a roster filled to the brim with talent, the Friars are certainly ones to watch this season.

Round 1 Tips

St Mary’sv South Melbourne

Old Paradians v Brunswick

Old Yarra Cobrasv Aquinas

Parkside v Whitefriars

Bulleen Templestowe v MHSOB