By Blair Burns
Southern Football Netball league (SFNL) Division 1 is set to be action-packed from the word go and couldn’t start any better with a mouth-watering matchup between two long-term rivals under lights at Kalora Park this Saturday night.
Narre Warren is entering the SFNL with a full trophy cabinet having won three of the past four Outer East Premier grand finals, and will resume its rivalry with Cranbourne in a blockbuster, but these aren’t the only storylines this season.
After a half a decade of sustained success, Cheltenham is searching for a three-peat, Dingley is chasing redemption on last year’s two point grand final loss, while Cranbourne aims to bounce back from its 85-point loss to St Pauls McKinnon in the first final.
Or is this the year that St Pauls McKinnon goes a couple better to win the flag? Or does Springvale Districts set itself up with a double chance?
There are plenty of other sides chasing success and hoping for a resurgence up the ladder to give them a shot at the ultimate success when the season comes to a close.
Narre Warren is one side which is committed to embracing the challenge of 2025 as they look to continue their success, ensuring no complacency seeps into their club.
With a season record of 19-1 (including finals) last season and a premiership, the Magpies have well and truly built a winning culture and senior coach Steven Kidd says the players hope to “put their best foot forward” in the SFNL.
“We’re going into a new comp and we’re under no illusions that we probably won’t get away with what we did (in the OEFNL), that’s no disrespect to who we were playing against but it’s going to be more of an even competition this year,” he said.
“We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and all of the clubs were great … we had a great period there and it was awesome to win a premiership last year with a very young side.
“But I think it’s the right move for us and something we needed to continue to drive the standards … there is certainly an air of excitement about the new challenge.”
Kidd said even the younger players at the club who have never played against Cranbourne knew exactly how big the occasion this weekend will be.
“They are aware of where it’s at, we certainly make a big point of the rivalry and the players are well and truly looking forward to it,” he said.
“It huge to have this game back, they’ve been a great rival over many years and to not have it over the last few years has hurt the club … we expect a big crowd there and both sides will be going at it, it’ll be massive.”
Despite a plethora of recent silverware, Kidd said the side will not be letting expectations get out of hand but have the obvious desire to play finals.
“That is probably our first goal and just continuing to improve and make each other better,” he said.
“The training standards were high, but I think we will be pushing them to another level and working on our fitness, we want to be one of the fittest sides in the comp.”
The Magpies are hoping to be young, fit and fast and Kidd said around 60 per cent of the team are under the age of 23, but that’s not without a nice blend of experience.
Will Howe is one of the young stars for Narre Warren, the 23-year-old has been a handful for defenders over the past few years with goal tallies of 68, 64 and 52 in recent seasons.
“He has so much talent, he’s a pretty casual guy and enjoys time with his mates and stuff but with the talent he possesses, he could really do anything he wants,” Kidd said.
“We’re pretty excited about what he will be able to bring to the club in the future and hopefully he can go to another level this season.
“We debuted about 10 players last year so we are more than prepared, the players know they have to train, train well and keep their form up because there are lots of young guys waiting for an opportunity.”
Kidd started his senior coaching career with a bang, winning a premiership in his first season and has years of experience as an assistant coach to back him up.
“I’ve been an assistant coach for about seven years prior to coaching last year, it’s a great start and awesome to have a flag under the belt,” he said.
“But as soon as the dust settles on all of that, it doesn’t take long to put it on the backburner … it’s a challenge going into a new comp and I will continue working as hard as I can to provide the best circumstances for players to perform.”
NARRE WARREN
President: Peter Lindsay
Coach: Steven Kidd
Captain: Joel Zietsman & Trent Papworth
Last Year: 1st (17-1) (Outer East Premier Division) Premiers
Leading Goalkicker: Will Howe (52)
Key Ins: Jake Richardson (CHF– returning player), Jett Kearney (Berwick Springs)
Key Outs: Brad Scalzo (retired)
Youth/Experience Ratio: 60-40 – Some of our younger guys are becoming more experienced, guys like Will Howe and Riley Siwes have got another year under their belt so hopefully it holds them in good stead.
Rising Star: Jimmy Dwyer – He’s had a great pre-season and is still U19 but will play quite a few games with us, he’s tall and can play either end of the ground, so we’re pretty excited about him. Sam Johnson – He came in last year, has had a shoulder surgery and we expect him back in May or June.
Take It To The Bank: You can guarantee our team will … show a lot of spirit and work hard, continuing to try and make Narre Warren very hard to beat.
Grand Final Prediction: Cheltenham and Dingley
CRANBOURNE
President: Chris Keenan
Coach: Angelo Soldatos
Captain: Zak Roscoe
Last Year: 5th (9-8-1)
Leading Goalkicker: Zak Roscoe (33)
Key Ins: Kyle Lanham (Scottsdale NTFA), Lewis Robbins (ruck – Nightcliff NTFL) Luke Morell (Berwick Springs)
Key Outs: Tyson Barry (Frankston), Mick Boland (lower div footy), Jordy Bertrand (Langwarrin MPFL), Josh Cochran
Youth/Experience Ratio: 40/60 – Good mix, we have seven or eight blokes under 21 so a fair bit of youth, but we still have the older core group from the past few years.
Rising Star: Ethan Campbell – Turned 18 just last week, he played a bit of senior footy last year but his praccy game was really good and he had a super summer, definitely one to watch.
Take It To The Bank: You can guarantee our team will … defend well.
Grand Final Prediction: Dingley and Cheltenham
BENTLEIGH
President: Brett Marshall
Coach: Jack Jess
Captain: Callum Dooley
Last Year: 8th (5-13)
Leading Goalkicker: Dimitri Fasoulis (42)
Key Ins: Daniel Smart (def – Warragul), Mitchell Smart (ruck – Warragul), Caleb Sheehan (def/mid – Strathfieldsaye)
Key Outs: Nick Buffalo
Youth/Experience Ratio: 60/40 – Still have a relatively young list but full of enthusiasm that will bring a lot of excitement to our game style. We’ve built on experience, bringing some quality people into the club which will help straighten us up.
Rising Star: Tom Dowsing – Elite forward half pressure and a good goal sneak.
Take It To The Bank: You can guarantee our team will … be extremely hard to play against.
Grand Final Prediction: Hard to go past Dingley and Cheltenham, two high quality outfits that will prove very hard to beat.
CHELTENHAM
President: Adam King
Coach: Justin Pickering
Captain: Jack Worrell
Last Year: 1st (17-0-1) Premiers
Leading Goalkicker: Luke Garnaut (44)
Key Ins: Riet Pal (def – Noble Park), Guy Studdley (wing – Mentone Grammar), Riley Bonner (fwd – St Kilda)
Key Outs: Rob Cathcart, Sam Dunnell (both retired), Ronan Keating (Chelsea Heights)
Youth/Experience Ratio: We are lucky to have a great spread of U23s, 25-30 and over 30s. This has provided a good environment to play youth at various times over the past three years. We played 47 players in our senior team last year and 46 in 2023.
Rising Star: Murphy Bleink – A tough backman with a great set of hands.
Take It To The Bank: You can guarantee our team will … increase our pressure even more and leave no stone unturned to win three in a row.
Grand Final Prediction: Narre Warren
EAST BRIGHTON
President: Ben Douthie
Coach: Nick Jewell
Captain: Kai Love Linay
Last Year: 6th (9-8-1)
Leading Goalkicker: Nicholas Corp (49)
Key Ins: Alex Keath (Western Bulldogs), Ben Reid (Collingwood/Wangaratta), Tom Bracher (Richmond VFL/Wodonga)
Key Outs: Cale Love Linay (Dalyston)
Youth/Experience Ratio: Good mix of early 20s and a couple of early 30s.
Rising Star: Kyle Cooper – Hard worker.
Take It To The Bank: You can guarantee our team will … will fight every minute of every game.
Grand Final Prediction: Dingley
MURRUMBEENA
President: Jason Cotsis
Coach: Michael Kinsella
Captain: Sam Michael
Last Year: 1st (17-0) Div 2 Premiers
Leading Goalkicker: Todd Elton (58)
Key Ins: Nic Minchin, Nathan Scollo, Harry Boontjes (Beena juniors), Julian “Wheels” Callahan (Gippsland Power), Edward “Big Ed” Standish (Oakleigh VAFA), Will “The Fresh Prince” Smith (Doveton Doves), Ash Salter (Casey VFL), Pat Bannister (Caulfield Grammarians VAFA), Michael McLaughlan (St Kevins), Tom Buckley (Sandringham VFL), James Corboy (Northern Bullants VFL)
Key Outs: Henry Woodward (Caulfield Bears), Todd Elton (East Sunbury), Wade Lees (East Sunbury), Ben Humphries (retired)
Youth/Experience Ratio: 70-30 – We are on the younger side of the list, on path for the future and looking to 2026 and 2027, hoping to get a lot of games into our U19s.
Rising Star: Nathan Scollo – He could kick 60 goals as a full forward but is better at full back; he will be a real surprise for a lot of teams.
Take It To The Bank: You can guarantee our team will … be the fastest team in the league and be extremely exciting.
Grand Final Prediction: Dingley
PORT MELBOURNE
President: Stacy Massis
Coach: Justin Taylor
Captain: Justin Taylor
Last Year: 7th (8-10)
Leading Goalkicker: Josh Caddy (26)
Key Ins: Robbie McComb (Port Melbourne VFL), Charlie Clarke (Western Bulldogs), Rory Lehmann (Coorong Cats SA)
Key Outs: Dane Swan (gone everywhere), Josh Caddy (St Arnaud), Stephen Brewer (Broadbeach)
Youth/Experience Ratio: 50/50 – Our list has had a bit of turnover since last season with a focus on bringing young and talented kids through the senior setup.
Rising Star: Eren Soylemez – Has had a massive pre-season and is ready to take his game to a new level.
Take It To The Bank: You can guarantee our team will … compete for every minute we’re out on the field.
Grand Final Prediction: Narre Warren vs Dingley
SPRINGVALE DISTRICTS
President: Greg Scott
Coach: Chris Thompson
Captain: Mason Russell & Jack Sketcher
Last Year: 4th (10-8)
Leading Goalkicker: Kyle Hendy (36)
Key Ins: Jack Sketcher (mid), Kyle Martin (mid), Jack Beech (ruck), Matt Tyquin (mid), Liam Heasley (key pos), Ricky Johnson (mid)
Key Outs: Stefan Feehan (retired)
Rising Star: Ky Allcock – A 19-year-old developing key position utility who can genuinely play in any position.
Grand Final Prediction: Springvale and Cheltenham
ST PAULS MCKINNON
President: Matthew Selkrig
Coach: Andy Scott
Captain: Matt Kreymborg & Jimmy Sziller
Last Year: 2nd (15-2-1)
Leading Goalkicker: Matthew Kreymborg (57)
Key Ins: Wade King (Benalla Saints GVL), Will Dwyer (Shepparton Swans GVL), Will McCartney (Shepparton United GVL), Rhys Kennedy (Ormond VAFA)
Key Outs: Majok Aneet (East Keilor), Kieran Knox (retired)
Youth/Experience Ratio: 60/40 – We’ve got a great core of guys around the 21-26 group now ready to take over.
Rising Star: Daniel Plotkin – A new player to the club who has had a massive pre-season and is ready to announce himself at senior level.
Take It To The Bank: You can guarantee our team will … make McKinnon Reserve a fortress again.
Grand Final Prediction: St Paul’s McKinnon vs Dingley
DINGLEY
President: Clint Brooks
Coach: Zach Horsley
Captain: Jackson Peet
Key Ins: Jacob Duscher (Highett), Tom McCarthy (Highett/Richmond VFL), Jake Mullen (Noble Park)
Last Year: 3rd (Runner Up)
Season Record: 13-5
Leading Goalkicker: Caleb Lewis (66)
