Pearcedale will place a heavier reliance on its younger players in 2026 after losing experience stars Brett Eddy, Ryan Bastinac and Jordan Bastinac.
Eddy has hung up the boots and while the club hopes he may get itchy feet and play some games around travel commitments next year, the 36-year-old is ready for a rest in the immediate future.
The star forward has played the past two seasons with the Dales and kicked 150 goals across 39 games – an average of almost four per game.
Not only has he kicked bags every week and won the MPFNL Division 2 goalkicking in both seasons, but he has been a valuable asset with his great experience and leadership.
“He has kicked 78 goals this season, so it is a lot of goals to take out of your forward line,” president Jeff McGuiness said.
“He has been a great mentor for all of the boys and has taught them forward craft.”
Due to travel commitments, Ryan Bastinac has decided he will play closer to home at Aspley Hornets up in Queensland, with brother Jordan moving up north to join him.
The Bastinac brothers first made the move to Pearcedale ahead of the 2022 season, a package deal with father Peter who also signed on as coach at that time, and will coach into 2026.
McGuiness said that after a few years of development, the younger players in the team were ready to hit their straps.
“We brought those (senior) boys in because we needed experience, but now all of the young kids have got between 50-100 games under their belt and have had plenty of natural improvement,” he said.
“They are all pretty close and don’t want to leave each other, that’s why it has been easy to re-sign them.”
Despite the three departures, the Dales will welcome back former junior Lachie Marshall from Pines, who is set to play a key role in the midfield.
Other key players who are locked in for the 2026 season are Cruiz West, Kaolan Thornton and Luke Daniel.
