VFL 2025

Remove this Banner Ad

AussieNick1999 said:
VFL Rewind posted on Facebook that it would be at Ballarat. Is Cragieburn unavailable as well? I figured it would be there if it was just a matter of Frankston being unavailable.
Click to expand...
Seems like Cragieburn isnt otherwise it would be there youd think.
Shonuff77 said:
I wanted it to be at Craigieburn. I've been to the Ballarat ground, it's pretty good. Looking forward to it, hopefully they let the spectators on the ground.
Click to expand...
They should.

Its a bit hard to find VFL venues closer to metro Melb with most VFL grounds shared with cricket.

I would have liked to have known if La Trobe Bundoora was available

There was a VFL double header hosted there in 2020 (Coburg v Box Hill, Port Melb v Williamstown) and surely you'd think that would be good enough to host 3 games in one day.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Zero Hangar article from yesterday also reporting that the standalone carnival will be held in Ballarat, as well as the matchups and start times:

10:45am - Port Melbourne vs Frankston
1:15pm - Coburg vs Williamstown
3:45pm - Northern Bullants vs Werribee

www.zerohanger.com

VFL confirms 15 practice matches ahead of 2025 season

A block of pre-season matches spanning more than a month have been revealed.
www.zerohanger.com www.zerohanger.com
 
Flyingleslieskite said:
Seems like Cragieburn isnt otherwise it would be there youd think.

They should.

Its a bit hard to find VFL venues closer to metro Melb with most VFL grounds shared with cricket.

I would have liked to have known if La Trobe Bundoora was available

There was a VFL double header hosted there in 2020 (Coburg v Box Hill, Port Melb v Williamstown) and surely you'd think that would be good enough to host 3 games in one day.
Click to expand...
Great oval at Latrobe, great facilities: it's a shame that they're not in the higher echelons.
 
SeaSide said:
Great oval at Latrobe, great facilities: it's a shame that they're not in the higher echelons.
Click to expand...
Yes great facilities but will only be used as a training oval by the AFL and La Trobe Uni FC for games as you can’t drink alcohol during the day while games are on only in function room after games and training from what iv been told
 
‘Strong foundations’: new coach, CEO and signings for Sandringham

It’s been a thin few years for Sandringham in the VFL, but an influx of young players and two key appointments have the Zebras primed for the 2025 season. See the signings here.

@paulamy375

Sandringham VFL's new era

It’s been a thin few years for Sandringham in the VFL, but an influx of young...

Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.

follow

Sandringham has a new senior coach, a new CEO and a new football manager.

It has a bunch of new players and will also have a new captain this year.

Will it lead to renewed success for the VFL mainstay?

Its supporters earnestly hope so.

From 1992 to 2006, Sandy were a formidable force, winning seven premierships, including four while in alignment with Melbourne.

But it’s been hard going in the past few years. Their most recent finals appearance was in 2016 under Paul Hudson. Since then the closest they’ve come to seeing in September was last year. Even then they were six points shy of qualifying for the wildcard round for the sides placed seventh to 10th. They finished 12th with eight wins, nine losses and a draw.

The Zebras have also struggled to put up players for VFL teams of the year, the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal and the AFL draft. Only Tom Langdon and Hayden McLean have been drafted from Sandy in the past decade, slim pickings for a club in the middle of what AFL talent ambassador Kevin Sheehan calls a “hot spot’’ for football talent.

Much has happened at the Trevor Barker Beach Oval since the final-round match of 2024.

Coach Jake Batchelor (Richmond) and CEO Marcus Ashcroft moved on, as did a large group of players.

Sandringham Dragons region manager Mark Wheeler accepted the role of chief executive, bringing with him Tia Pastore as football manager, and St Kilda, Sandy’s VFL partner, installed Brendon Goddard as senior coach.

Wheeler was keen for a new challenge after almost two decades in the Coates Talent League and he saw it at a club he always regarded highly.

Officially, he started in December. But, aware that a lot of signings are finalised in October and November, he was chipping away at recruiting well before then.

He had some names to replace. Darby Hipwell, Tom Blamires and Tarkyn O’Leary took off for Frankston, Oliver Lowe and Will Brown headed to North Melbourne, Hugo Hall-Kahan signed with Williamstown and captain Anthony Seaton opted to return to local football, St Kevin’s in the amateurs.

Wheeler oversaw three consecutive Coates Talent League premierships with the Dragons, including last season’s thumping grand final win over the Rebels.

Unsurprisingly, the Dragons produced another bunch of draftees last November. But Wheeler has jumped on some players who missed out – Ned Maginess, Lachie Voss and Bailey McKenzie have signed with the Zebras, and Ben Seers, Jack Cheep, Charlie Eerhard, Oliver Moodie and Aaron Taylor are training with them.

Elwood Peckett on the move for the Dandenong Stingrays last season. Photo: Rob Lawson/AFL Photos

More, returning 19-year-old Dragons Oscar Cheetham, Charlie Rozenes and Sam Buck will link with the Zebras.

Elwood Peckett, the son of Justin, is also from the CTL, coming across from the Dandenong Stingrays.

The Zebras were also chuffed to land local lad Jonah Campigli, last year’s amateur football Rising Star from Old Brighton.

There are no former AFL players on the way, but Wheeler says the list has a lot of potential, will be developed and should produce some “exciting’’ prospects.

“You’ll see when it’s announced in a few weeks that there’s a lot of Coates Talent League pathway players here,’’ he says. “We’re going to create strong foundations.’’

Those comments will please St Kilda.

In 2023, the Saints announced they would rookie-list a Sandringham player every 12 months. It was seen as a way of strengthening the alignment and to entice more young talent to Sandy.

But last November St Kilda took no Zebra, believing there wasn’t a player capable of making the step-up.

“It’s very hard to play AFL,’’ Wheeler notes.

He thinks the Saints will have more players to consider at the end of 2025 – if the arrangement continues.

The clubs are working through an MOU to continue an alignment that began in November, 2008.

“Our partnership with St Kilda Football Club is about developing their players and developing our players,’’ Wheeler says.

“I see us an extension of the Talent League a little bit, developing players to get them ready for senior footy. Our philosophy is you’ve got to be a three-position player and the players we’ve signed know that. It’s about training and preparing with good habits and when you get your games having that ability to play in multiple positions.

“Winning is important for us – every time we pull the jumper on, we want to win – and it will come with having that bit more talent around. St Kilda’s list is getting stronger every year and we think ours will be the same.’’

Blake Watson is likely to be the new captain following the departures of Seaton and Hipwell. He’s played 42 games since 2022 and become a respected figure around Sandringham.

Brendon Goddard in a moment of triumph with the Saints.

It will be AFL 300-game player Goddard’s first role as a senior coach. He has been an assistant with the Saints for two years, and will have his former teammate Lenny Hayes and St Kilda head of development and Box Hill Hawks premiership coach Damian Carroll as two of his match-day assistants.

“He’s a great appointment,’’ Wheeler says of Goddard. “That was done purely by St Kilda. It was the right appointment. It’s part of his growth as a coach. He’s been in the system a little while but he’s still a young coach and he’s got a young group. Brendan’s talking to them about leaving each session better. I think it’s exciting for him and for the club.’’

The 2025 season will also be the first that the Southern Saints VFLW team operates as Sandringham.

St Kilda formed the Southern Saints in 2017 but Sandy took over the licence and management in 2020.

The Zebras said the name change would eliminate confusion about the connection between the VFL and VFLW teams and create a “unified football program’’.

The Sandringham VFLW side will wear the same home jumper as the VFL team.

“They’ll wear the Sandy colours and sing the Sandy song,’’ Wheeler says. The experienced Lachie Harris has been appointed coach. A minimum of six St Kilda AFLW players will turn out for Sandy each week.

Sandringham is trying to build on the ground and off it too.

It has a $4 million redevelopment on the drawing board, taking in work at both buildings at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

Stage one includes an upgrade of the away rooms.

The second stage involves a second-storey addition to the administration block.

“We want to go up,’’ Wheeler says. “We have partial funding – the AFL’s committed their amount, we’ve committed ours, and we’re looking for state and federal grants. To be honest, that’s one of the things that drew me here, the facility upgrade.’’

The VFL season will start on March 22-23.

NEW ZEBRAS FOR 2025

Jonah Campigli

The Old Brighton youngster was the VAFA’s 2024 Rising Star after a season in which he kicked 33 goals from nine matches for the Under 19s, then 16 from 12 for the seniors. The Zebras got in ahead of Richmond for a player one VFL coach believes is “draftable’’.

Ned Maginness

Maginness, the son of Hawthorn premiership defender Scott, was a 19-year-old Sandringham Dragon last year, splitting his time in the Coates Talent League and with Old Scotch Under 19s. He also appeared in the Young Guns series.

Andrew Mathieson

Wingman Mathieson was at GWS in 2023, at Box Hill Hawks in 2024 and next year he’ll be with the Zebras as he tries to building on his 16 VFL games.

Bailey McKenzie

McKenzie follows new Sandy CEO Mark Wheeler from the Sandringham Dragons, where he kicked 27 goals from 10 games in 2024, including six in the preliminary final against Dandenong Stingrays.

Elwood Peckett

Coming off a strong season for Dandenong Stingrays that put him into draft contention, the son of former St Kilda star Justin Peckett has linked with the Saints-aligned Sandringham. He played mostly as a midfielder/forward for the Rays and averaged 17.4 possessions from 16 matches. His performance against Murray Bushrangers at Shepparton vaulted him into the Coates Talent League limelight: there were 25 touches and five goals.

Jet Peckett

The older brother of Elwood becomes a Zebras after a stint at Frankston, where he played two senior games in 2024. He was more prominent at Bonbeach, regularly getting in their best.

Liam Purcell

The 196cm Purcell played 16 VFL games for Collingwood from 2022-24. A Mordialloc-Braeside junior, he made his start in senior football at Parkdale Vultures, crossing to St Paul’s in the Southern league in 2023. At 24 he’ll be one of the more senior figures on the Sandy list.

Billy Richardson

“Big Billy’’, as Sandy CEO Mark Wheeler refers to him, is from the Brisbane Academy, and played four VFL games for the Lions last year, as well as three matches in the national Under 18 championships.

Lachie Voss

Playing as a 19-year-old, the tall and talented Voss had a VFL game with the Zebras last year and figured in the Dragons’ grand final win over the Greater Western Victoria Rebels. He was also part of their 2022 premiership.

Ethan Williams

The 2023 Sandringham Dragons premiership player and Port Melbourne Colts product spent last season with GWS’s VFL team, playing 11 games and averaging 13.9 disposals. His best performance came against the Zebras, when he had 24 touches across half-back.
 
caseman2 said:
In 2023, the Saints announced they would rookie-list a Sandringham player every 12 months. It was seen as a way of strengthening the alignment and to entice more young talent to Sandy.

But last November St Kilda took no Zebra, believing there wasn’t a player capable of making the step-up.
Click to expand...
I don't think that was the deal 🤨
 
bedford said:
Camels piss , we had it at our cricket club and no one liked , couldn't even give it away for free
Click to expand...
I'm sorry your cricket club has a bad taste in beer
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Remove this Banner Ad

VFL 2025

Similar threads

R
SANFL vs. VFL 2024 -- State Match Wrap-Up
Replies
0
Views
1K
raboyle
R
AnUltimateRessie
2024 VFL Season - Finals
76 77 78 79 80
Replies
2K
Views
83K
CFC1995
C
Fitzroyal02
VFL 2024- Code Sports article
Replies
5
Views
1K
eth-dog
eth-dog
C
Time to fold the VFL?
2 3
Replies
59
Views
7K
glengowan
G

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top