North Heidelberg will have a new captain in 2025 with Brody Bell taking on the mantle

31 for 31: North Heidelberg has a fresh look this season and a new captain with long-time leader Kyle McDonald standing down. Brody Bell talks about what it means to lead he Bulldogs.

There’s a passing of the torch at North Heidelberg.

After four years in the job, Kyle McDonald has passed the captaincy to Brody Bell this season.

McDonald helped steer the club through two cancelled seasons and led the Bulldogs to NFNL Division 1 finals in two of the following three years.

Bell takes the reins after serving as vice-captain last year and deputising for McDonald in several matches.

He’ll be joined by Team of the Year forward Brock Chircop (vice-captain) and Adam Giobbi, Tim Rivis, Brodie White and Liam McKenna in the leadership group.

Kyle McDonald has passed on the captaincy. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Bell said it was a proud moment and he was excited to lead a new era at Shelley Reserve.

“It’s big shoes to fill with KMac not around this year,” he said.

“He’s a stalwart of the club and a really well respected member of the group whether he’s playing or not.

“I had a little opportunity (last year) and he gave me some guidance, showing me during training what to do and when the right time was to talk to people.

“I’m excited to put my stamp on it and show the lads what we’re capable of.”

While taking on the captaincy, Bell has faced his own challenges as he recovers from an off-season shoulder injury.

However, he has no doubt he’ll be tossing the coin come Saturday in the traditional season-opener against Heidelberg, this year at Warringal Reserve.

“It will be a good challenge, just because it’s a new group and new coaching staff,” Bell said.

“It’s been a challenging pre-season for myself too, having a shoulder injury and not being out there for the majority of the pre-Christmas (training).

“(Coach Kasey Duncan) gave me a nudge a month or two after the season finished that if things fell the way they did the captaincy would most likely be mine.

“I had some time to think about it and get my head around it, so it’s not to sudden.”

After finishing third last year, North Heidelberg lost both its finals in a disappointing end.

The club has a new look this year with Duncan taking the coaching reins from Jason Heatley, McDonald and Nick Matthews weighing up their future and several new faces arriving over summer.

Keilor premiership player Todd Stevenson, Jesse Wallin, Liam McKenna, North Melbourne VFL-listed Ben Bath and former AFL-listed big man Fraser Thurlow have bolstered the Bulldogs list as they look to keep pace in Division 1.

Bell was confident of another good showing in 2025.

“We saw some outside noise about where were we’ll finish but we just put that aside, those things are wrong the majority of the time,” he said.

“We know where we’re at we know where we want to be at the back-end, it’s not necessarily about your front-end form.

“Hopefully we can prove some people wrong.”

FRESH FACES TO LIFT NORTH HEIDELBERG

There will be a fresh look about North Heidelberg this season but the ambition remains the same.

After a straight sets finals exit last season, the Bulldogs will again be pushing for a top-three finish.

Led by new coach Kasey Duncan, the NFNL Division 1 contender could have as many as 10 new faces selected for its Round 1 blockbuster against arch-rival Heidelberg.

The likes of Todd Stevenson, Jesse Wallin, Ben Bath, Fraser Thurlow and Liam McKenna are all expected to have big impacts this season.

Duncan will also look to promote the club’s young talent after North’s under-19s reached the Division 1 preliminary final last year.

Mitchell Dillon looks for a North Heidelberg teammate. Picture: Josh Chadwick

Stepping up from assistant coach under Jason Heatley last year, Duncan was looking forward to seeing what his team could achieve.

“I’m really happy with what we’ve built in terms of depth and how the new guys have come along and we’ve got some guys that are still a few weeks away.

“It’s going to be a new looking Dogs outfit … but change is good,” Duncan said.

“With me coming in as coach, implementing a new style of ball movement, new style of defence, a change in the coaching group.

“The fresh faces have been brilliant for the group, what we did bring in was experience, high-end players that have won premierships and played at VFL level and the younger pups have thrived on that.”

Despite an off-season makeover, the expectations remain high at Shelley Reserve.

The Bulldogs struggled with injury at the end of last year after reaching a preliminary final in 2023.

“There’s definitely fire there, we knew our best footy was as good as anyone’s, but unfortunately we had some sore blokes but had to pick them and we limped in,” Duncan said.

“Losing two finals by under three goals, we went down to two great sides, Greensborough was in great form and Montmorency.

“The aim is still the same, to finish top-two or top-three, it’s the best spot to finish.

North Heidelberg defender Nick Matthews. Picture: Andy Brownbill

North Heidelberg midfielder Kyle McDonald. Picture: Andy Brownbill

“We’ve got to bank big wins early and as we always do we start with the benchmark, Heidelberg first up, that’s always a good test to see where you’re at.”

North will need to replace star forward and league-leading goalkicker Parker Heatley (59 goals), while Jared Crosbie (Kilmore), Michael Florance (Kinglake) and Zane Anderson (Whittlesea) are other notable departures.

Keilor premiership players Stevenson and Jesse Wallin arrive from Donald, Bath crosses from Greenvale, Thurlow travels down from AFL Sydney Premier Division premier North Shore and McKenna signs from Bonbeach.

The likes of Jacob Walker and Nathan Redeski also bring Division 1 experience.

Bath is VFL-listed at North Melbourne, while Josh Hamilton and Dane Whitnall earned spots at Northern Bullants, Hamish Murphy has moved to Williamstown and Liam Hunt returns to the level with Footscray.

If Hunt is unavailable, Duncan has pinpointed an emerging young gun to step up, while a key forward returns from serious injury to help fill Heatley’s boots.

“Cooper Bujega has really stood up with likes of Liam Hunt at VFL,” Duncan said.

“He’s got plenty of midfield minutes over the summer, he’s got raw pace and really clean around the pill, so he’ll get plenty of time in there.

“Brody White is massive for us and Todd Stevenson looks like he’s going to be good across centre half-forward.

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“Adam and Ben Giobbi have come back fit and strong, everyone forgets about Ben a little bit after having that big hamstring last year, he’s like a new recruit.

“We’ve got to find 50-odd goals and Ben and Adam will be two of the boys up front, sometimes they work well together, sometimes they don’t, but it will be exciting to watch.”

Adding to the fresh look at Shelley Reserve is a set of new goalposts, which Duncan joked replaced the ones installed when the ground was first established.

The Bulldogs are also bullish about the club’s women’s program after its debut season in 2024 and under-19s team following its success last year.