Melton South coach Travis Hodgson discusses the Panthers’ expectations, recruits

Melton South is back in the Riddell District looking to break a more than two-year losing streak. What do the Panthers believe they can achieve in 2025?

John Kovarik in action for Melton South. Picture: Andy Brownbill

It’s a homecoming but also a journey into the unknown for Melton South.

After a near 30-year absence, the Panthers return to the Riddell District league in 2025 looking to rebuild.

The club hasn’t won a game since 2022, riding a losing streak of 39 games, but is looking to make a winning transition from the Ballarat league.

South has drafted in the likes of Richmond premiership hero Marlion Pickett and fellow ex-AFL talent Sam Darley to supercharge its ambitions.

With the return to the RDFNL, the likes of juniors Will and Jake Thornton-Gielen and Daniel Vasjuta are back on board, while Kevin Klix and Alec Goodson have signed on.

Sam Darley in action for Tiwi Bombers. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Marlion Pickett in action for Tiwi Bombers. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Panthers coach Travis Hodgson said it was an exciting time for the club.

“It’s hard to set goals and know where you’re expectations are, because of the unknown, but I do feel like we’re back in the right competition for us,” Hodgson said.

“Others feel that too, the amount of players that have returned to the club because they want to be there without coercion.

“The comp change will be good for us but it’s hard to know where we’ll fit in, we haven’t won a game since mid-way through 2022, so you’ve got the tread with caution when you set your goals.

“You look at Kyneton, they’ve gone from missing Bendigo league finals by a game and missed Riddell finals first up, so it’s obviously a competitive comp.

“There’s a few sides that look top-four locks, the two grand final sides don’t look like they’re going anywhere, Diggers is probably the team of the decade and Macedon is never far away. I think we could find ourselves anywhere from fourth to eighth.”

Hodgson said the club was determined to finally end its winless run.

South had contrasting practice match performances against Central Highlands pair Dunstown and Springbank, getting a big win and copping a bruising loss.

Melton South coach Travis Hodgson. Picture: Hamish Blair

It faces a difficult welcome, hosting Diggers Rest in Round 1 on Saturday.

The Melton derby against Centrals follows before facing fellow newcomer Gisborne Giants and then a bye.

Hodgson said his team would be tough to play against, coming with a different style.

“I’m looking forward to it, it’s been a long time without a win,” he said.

“We’ve got a tough one straight up, Diggers, and we’re going to have a few important players out.

“It’s one if we could get that win on that day it would really set our season up.

“We’ll continue using the same system that we worked on all last year, hopefully execute it better.

“Riddell league footy looks a bit different compared to Ballarat, so we’ll be different – there’s a fair difference statistically.”

Pickett was understandably the biggest recruiting story of the RDFNL off-season.

The star midfielder arrives fresh out of Punt Road, retiring after 91 games and two AFL flags.

However, he will be unavailable for the opening few rounds after being suspended playing for the Tiwi Bombers in the Northern Territory league.

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Hodgson said the likes of Pickett, Darley and the Thornton-Gielen brothers would be the perfect foil for the club’s young talent.

“Marlion and Sam will be two of the best players in the comp,” he said.

“We also got a dozen games into our kids last year in the Ballarat league, which they’ll be better for, and we’ve added some good young players from other clubs.

“We’ve really stiffened that 20-25 age bracket, I think that will help us, but we’ll still have a lot of kids straight out of the under-19s.”