EDFL: Oak Park welcomes new faces, lose premiership heroes
Oak Park is primed for its journey into Division 1 next with several recruits bolstering its playing list while three premiership heroes have hung up the boots. Here’s where the new players fit in.
Essendon
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Oak Park never wanted to rush out and make dramatic changes to its list before the 2024 season.
After winning the EDFL Division 2 premiership and earning promotion to Division 1, the key was all about stability according to coach Todd Clark.
The Roos have been productive in the recruiting market with the arrival of six new players from last season.
Former Team of the Year star Liam Molloy is the headline signing after he spent 2023 in the UK playing cricket and will be joined by former Calder Cannon Paul Pascu, who is a former Oak Park junior.
Oliver Aitken and Tom Lay have crossed from Coburg Districts while Josh Ksiazek will remain in the competition’s second tier after moving on from Glenroy.
Joe Townsend-Booth has arrived from Spotswood.
Their arrivals will help offset the retirements of Jack Kennedy, Travis Anderson and Scott Gilliland while Taj McCartney has joined Tullamarine.
“The guys who have retired have gone out on a high,” Clark said.
“We’re happy with what we’ve been able to do.Our list is pretty stable which is pretty important heading into Division 1.
“The last few years we’ve been a pretty young side, now those players are between 23 and 26 so they’re in a good spot to keep playing together. You can go after guys who can offer you something for maybe one or two years but we wanted a more long-term approach.”
Clark said he hadn’t set any expectations for his side heading into next year knowing the jump to Division 1 footy is a big one.
“It’s obviously going to be different,” he said.
“Bringing in these new guys are going to help us be competitive. Pre-season has been really strong for us so far.”
Oak Park will open its 2024 season on April 6 with a standalone game against Maribyrnong Park.
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