Country Footy: Ballarat league season preview for 2024
The return of the Ballarat league for season 2024 is finally here. We breakdown every team’s ins and outs plus reveal how each club is thinking and deliver our own verdict.
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Darley will try to become the first non-Ballarat team in more than 20 years to win back-to-back Ballarat football league crowns.
But it faces tough tests from Ballarat’s best teams and Melton who is looking for redemption after being eliminated in straight sets last year in finals.
We look at each team ahead of the new season, which starts on Saturday April 13 for 10 teams and April 20 for one team.
Bacchus Marsh
Last year: 8th
Ins: Rye Penny (Gisborne), Josh Calvitto (Dunnstown), Sam Crea (Ballan), Cohen LeSeur (Gordon)
Outs: Not revealed.
Club says: “We’re building, we’re putting a lot of faith in our junior program. The objective this year is to make the finals and build on that. Dennis (Armfield) has played 170 games of football, so there’s an immense wealth of knowledge he brings to the table as well as Andrejs (Everitt). And together with our existing coaches from last year, in the football department, we think we’re heading in the right direction.” Ian McClure, president.
We say: It’s a Carlton revolution at the Cobras with Dennis Armfield and Andrejs Everitt coming to the club to coach. Last season the team stormed home and won four of their last five matches with their only loss coming to the Premiers by 12 points. Last year was all about investing in youth and building for the future. With the team close to finals and the addition of Armfield and Everitt the team can contest for the finals. The question is about whether another year of development in the youngsters can yield those results with how competitive the competition is. Bacchus Marsh will be hoping it is.
Ballarat
Last year: 9th
Ins: Lauchlan Dalgleish (Drysdale), Harry Butler (Carisbrook), Zak Rinaldi (Carisbrook), James Carpenter (Uni Blacks), Rhett Montgomerie (Centra Districts), Connor Bade (Carisbrook)
Outs: Mitch McGrath, Lawson Prendergast
Club says: “We are trying to win more games than we lose, if that puts us in the finals, well and good. We’ve got to be better at our clearances, while we were competitive at stoppage last year the quality of clearance is important. We also want to use the ball well. There’s only two ways of teams scoring against you, stoppage or turnover. If we went through the data we would have had a few goals against from turnover last year. We need to use the ball a little bit better.” – Chris Maple, coach.
We say: It looks to be another rebuilding year for the Swans under Chris Maple. The Swans were competitive throughout last year, winning five games, but lacked consistency throughout the year as well. The recruitment of Lauchlan Dalgleish is huge for the club and will put them right in the hunt for finals in what looks to be a competitive fight for the top-six. Will it be enough? We say they might be one more year away.
Darley
Last year: 1st
Ins: Mikey Edwards (Banyule)
Outs: Billy Sullivan, Shane Page, Darren Leonard
Club says: “We’ve certainly got the motivation there and Dan (Jordan) is very good in the communication methods with the players and the playing group. It’s hard enough to win one premiership let alone trying to win two in a row. It generally comes down to teams towards the end of the season who have the depth or are less injured. That’s what we’ve got to be mindful. For as long as possible we’ve got to have a strong and healthy list that can compete to their optimal level. We’re hopeful of a successful year and where that gets us to remains to be seen.” – Mark Shelley, president.
We say: No team outside of Ballarat has won the competition back-to-back since 2001 when Melton won. Since then seven teams have tried and not been successful, including Melton last year. Darley will start the season as one of the favourites and rightly so. They were the best team all season and have the best player in the game with Brett Bewley a two-time Henderson Medallist. The team has lost some players in the off-season but the losses should be overcome by others at the club. The other positive is the club is permanently back at home, after delays in the build of their new clubrooms. so it should become a fortress for them. Expect them to be around the mark.
East Point
Last year: 3rd
Ins: Mickitja Rotomah-Onus (Southern Mallee Giants), Matt Romeril (Skipton), Billy Jones (year away).
Outs: Brad Whittaker, Cam Lovig, Mitch Walsh
Club says: “We got to a preliminary final last year but only just got into the top 6 so need to work on consistency and continue to develop the younger players. Our goals for us this year is to be consistent with our performance and work on being effective in the different phases of the game. Our contest is very good but still work to do in transition.” – Joe Carmody, coach.
We say: East Point were the surprise packets late last year, knocking off reigning grand finalists Melton and Sebastopol before being eliminated by North Ballarat in the preliminary final. Joe Carmody comes in as coach and will be intent on getting the team to the grand final, at a minimum, after also making the preliminary final in his last role at Ballarat. The Kangaroos have all the ingredients for success this year with the Johnson brothers, Matt and Jordan, remaining and Jackson Merrett also signing on. Along with the injection of youth and a couple of handy recruits, returning home, East Point is primed for another premiership tilt.
Lake Wendouree
Last year: 10th
Ins: Bailey McKimmie (Skipton), Jayden Wright (Ararat Eagles), Will Clark (Hay), Bailey Cameron (Ocean Grove)
Outs: Flynn Loader
Club says: “We just want improvement. As our coach Rohan Brown says there is no ceiling. From a club point of view we want improvement and the way Rohan has been running pre season, highly professional and well structured, I think we’ll play a better style of football and we know our young guys will be better again.” – Michael Taylor, president.
We say: It looks to be another rebuilding year for the Lakers with the focus of building games into their younger players. Rohan Brown comes to the club and he’s got some handy recruits, including two-time Mininera league best and fairest Jayden Wright. It will be hard for the team to make finals but one thing is guaranteed, the Lakers will be a competitive team to beat throughout the year and will surprise a team or two.
Melton
Last year: 4th
Ins: Jaycob Hickey (Diggers Rest), Lachlan Hickey (Diggers Rest), Billy Sullivan (Darley)
Outs: Ben Archard, Brenton Payne
Club says: “All the players have bought into the new regime under Troy (Scoble), they are very fit and are keen to go better than they did last year. You’ll find a very different game plan and style under Troy. It’s systems based. Everyone plays to win premierships but new coach, new style, we are confident it will stack up but you never know. It might need a year or two.” – Matt Kerr, president.
We say: The hard luck story of last year’s Ballarat league. Melton lost four games for the whole season with two of them coming in consecutive weeks to end their season in the finals. The team just ran out of legs in the end. The addition of Troy Scoble as coach is a major one for the club and the team has retained most of the team which won the premiership in 2022. The lack of height is a concern and could be hard to overcome but a premiership tilt is in their grasp.
Melton South
Last year: 11th
Ins: Patrick Veszpremi (Woorinen), Ryder Rousch (Sunbury), Stuart Hobijn-Allen (Airport West), Jayden Welch (Broadford), Anthony Wilson (Port Adelaide (SANFL)), Darby Schilder (Geelong VFL), Daniel Johncock (EDFL)
Outs: Not revealed.
Club says: “We’re coming from a long way back and there’s plenty to be done. I’d love to think we can win some games but it’s going to be a challenge coming from so far back. Our average losing margin last year was 158 points and we won one quarter of footy. We’d love to be in games for longer and slashing those margins, that’s in the short term. I’d love for us to win a couple of games but the focus has really been laying the foundations for everything so we can start to really impact in season two. That’s the goal we’ve set ourselves.” – Travis Hodgson, coach.
We say: It’s going to be a tough season for new coach Travis Hodgson but he’s aware of what it will take to get the team back to the top. Melton South has made some good recruits and despite the large losses in the team last year there were some good players in the squad to build around. It’s going to take time for the team to become a finals or premiership threat but this year there will be some positive signs, and importantly, a win along the way.
North Ballarat
Last year: 2nd
Ins: Brendan Howard (Beaufort), Noah Cockerell (Cairns Saints), Dakin Morris (Russells Creek), Kayne Lewis (Hastings), Tal White (Geelong Falcons), Liam Deering (Traralgon)
Outs: None as yet.
Club says: “Footy is about growing all the time and looking for ways to get better and we’re a club that doesn’t look back. Our goal is to play the minutes a bit better and deal with moments in games where it is not going our way. It’s about hanging in there and restricting the damage. Also for our players to continue to grow their game.” – Brendan McCartney, coach.
We say: Unlucky not to win last year’s premiership, conceding a goal in the final minute of the game as Darley won. When you consider North Ballarat hasn’t lost many players and have recruited well, landing some height and some added midfield grunt, it’s scary to think what this side can do. If the natural rise happens among their younger, home grown, players and Stewart Crameri and Riley Polkinghorne have strong years, there is no doubt this team can go all the way. Will be Ballarat’s best chance of premiership success.
Redan
Last year: 6th
Ins: Zac Mortlock (Natte Bealiba), Brandon Green (Waubra), Joe Black (De La Salle Old Collegians), Lachie Bond (Newtown and Chilwell)
Outs: Izaac Grant, Will Madden, Jarrett Giampaolo, Liam Hoy, Declan Murphy, Declan Phillips,
Club says: “We’ve got a strong core of young players, I think 11 under-19s played senior football last year, and we think their natural progression will see us improve. We will be very different, and more mobile than what we have been. We think these guys are pretty early on in their football journey and they’ve got a lot of improvement to come. They’ve shown they are talented players at senior level last year and it’s up to us as a coaching group to educate them on all facets of the game. We might get some good results and surprise some teams along the way.” Gary Learmonth, coach.
We say: They might have lost a lot of players in the off-season but you can’t right off the Lions this year. While a lot of their experienced players guided them to finals, the Lions also had almost a dozen under-19 players involved. Natural growth from them will help Redan to keep around the same mark with finals a definite chance. The loss of Izaac Grant is huge, as the leading Ballarat goalkicker, but if Darley can win a premiership after losing their leading forward the year before, the Lions can fill the void as well.
Sebastopol
Last year: 5th
Ins: Mitch Johnson (Glenthompson Dunkeld), Reece McNally (Pimpinio)
Outs: James Keeble
Club says: “We’re not getting carried away or worried about that (premiership success), we’re worried about what is in front of us. Developing the young list and focusing on our short term KPI’s (is the goal). The long term goal, of course, is we want to win a premiership but that’s not the driving factor right now, the focus is on getting the most out of each minute we are together. There’s some good juniors who are coming through the ranks and it would be not wise of us to recruit a heap of numbers and restrict their development as they have senior potential. We don’t have to change too much in my opinion, we just need to produce our best football more often because our best footy is right up there with everyone else.” – Tony Lockyer, coach.
We say: The Burras have lost a lot of players in the off-season, so plenty of doubt remains whether the team can replicate its third place finish in the regular season or its grand final appearance in 2022. This year is the third straight year the club has a different coach but if Tony Lockyer coaches like he’s led the team, it will be well on its way to making the finals again. The team is in the hunt for a top-six but it may also fall short given how strong the competition is.
Sunbury
Last year: 7th
Ins: Dean Muir (East Keilor), Ben Eales (Gisborne), Jordan Tentonello (Rupertswood), Ben Cameron (Kyneton), Seb Morris (Sandhurst),
Brock Landt (Rupertswood)
Outs: No significant losses
Club says: “It was devastating to miss the finals last year. Last year’s season finale (losing the last match to miss finals) heralded what we’ve got this year. I think we’ve stepped up another level. When you have a coach with league experience, like Matt (White) has got, you have been taught by someone who has been taught by the best in the country. That’s reflected in the attitude in the players, they love him. Going on the practice match form we are going to be very hard to beat.” Jack Medcraft, president.
We say: There’s plenty of motivation from the Lions to write the wrongs of last year, especially the last game of the season, and make finals again. And the team is on track to do it. Matt White is a great signing and the Lions have retained most of the squad plus added some handy recruits. Are they good enough to be right at the top with a couple of teams? We don’t think so but they will certainly be among the finals prospects capable of pulling a shock or two in the finals.
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