EFL 2019: Andrew Padbury and Damian Bertacco among departures from Whitehorse Pioneers

Whitehorse Pioneers will field a new-look side in 2019 after losing half their premiership team during the Eastern Football League off-season.

Andrew Padbury gets a kick away under pressure last year. Picture: Mark Dadswell/AAP

Whitehorse Pioneers will field a new-look side in 2019 after losing half their premiership team during the Eastern Football League off-season.

Whitehorse’s leading goalkicker for the past two seasons, Andrew Padbury, has returned to Old Scotch, while key back Alistair Quinn has retired.

Grand final best on ground Damian Bertacco will be overseas, while midfield guns Matthew and Anthony Mariani have transferred back to East Burwood.

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Bertacco’s brother Matthew is another key omission after playing 13 senior games last year.

Defender Noah Khan has crossed to Essendon District league club Essendon Doutta Stars, while Team of the Year member Jesse Hockey will line up with VAFA outfit De La Salle.

Padbury kicked 129 goals in his two seasons at Springfield Park and will leave a significant void in the forward line, while Anthony Mariani also contributed 25 goals last year.

Anthony Mariani has returned to East Burwood. Picture: Davis Harrigan

Whitehorse president Joe Manno said the club had “lost about 10 (premiership players) through retirement and moving on to other clubs”.

He said he expected the departures to test the club’s depth.

“We’ve lost a few guys from the reserves as well that have retired or moved on so we’ll be tested, yeah, absolutely,” Manno said.

“We’re not going to have guys that have played with us for a long time, lots of new faces but having said that, they’ve all been pretty good on the training track, showed a lot of enthusiasm and dragged some of the older guys along.”

Thomas Young and Bart Wallace have both returned to Whitehorse and will be valuable additions.

Young has played 28 games at VAFA Premier division club Old Trinity in the past three years, while Wallace has spent the past two seasons at Rosebud.

Jayson Fabris and Troy Dynes are also among the young players that will be given senior opportunities after graduating from the under-19s.

“We’ve got a couple of other players that we’ve recruited to the club but they’re probably the two (Young and Wallace) highest profile guys and guys we know have played with us before,” Manno said.

“We’ve picked up a host of other players from other clubs that we’re hoping will fill the void, especially in the midfield, where the Mariani brothers were.”

Bart Wallace is back at Whitehorse Pioneers after a stint at Rosebud. Picture: Richard Serong

Whitehorse will compete in the Eastern Football League’s Division 3 competition this year after last season’s grand final triumph over the Glen Waverley Hawks.

Despite the departures, Manno said he expected the Pioneers to be playing finals.

“Jumping up a division, it’s always going to be a challenge,” he said.

“We’ve set our goals, even before we found out who’s staying and who’s leaving with the fact we wanted to make finals this year.

“We think we’re good enough to get to the finals this year, how far we go we don’t know.”

Whitehorse opens its season on April 6 against Chirnside Park.