EFNL 2025: Mark Sandilands appointed Lilydale coach

Lilydale has wasted no time appointing its next senior coach, with a replacement named just three days after its first-year mentor called it quits. Latest here.

Lilydale has wasted no time appointing its next senior coach, with a replacement named three days after first-year mentor Duncan Jones called it quits.

The Eastern Division 2 club has unveiled Mark Sandilands as its full-time successor following Jones’ shock announcement on Sunday.

Sandilands played more than 280 senior games and won six premierships with Upwey – including one as playing-coach in 1999.

He also steered the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League at interleague level from 2006-2012, before serving as an assistant at Vic Country under household names Peter Knights and Danny Frawley.

EFNL 2025: New Lilydale coach Mark Sandilands. Picture: Lilydale FC

Across 2022 and ’23, he was a right-hand man at Coates league club Eastern Ranges.

In a statement on Tuesday night, Lilydale said Sandilands brought a “well-polished” CV.

“With an exceptional track record in player development, team success, and leadership, Mark joins the club with decades of experience at junior, senior and interleague coaching levels,” the club said.

“Mark brings a strong commitment to culture, structure, and development, and while this is his first chapter with us at Lilydale, his passion for building competitive, connected teams aligns perfectly with our club’s vision for the future.”

Lilydale currently sits last on the ladder with a 2-8 record.

Sandilands inherits a team which has won just eight matches combined across the past three seasons, with a winless campaign and relegation from Division 1 in 2023.

He becomes the club’s third senior coach in as many years.

“We look forward to the energy, experience, and leadership he’ll bring to the Falcon community in 2025 and beyond,” the club said.

The new mentor’s first assignment is a seventh-placed Waverley Blues at Central Reserve on Saturday, with the Blues desperate to stay in touch with the top five.