VAFA Premier C Men’s preview: The list changes, players to watch, coaches comments and more ahead of season 2023
Mass list changes have occurred at some VAFA Premier C clubs but ultimately, this season looks tighter than ever before. See the ultimate guide to the campaign here.
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The VAFA Premier C season is set to entertain with a race to the top which looms tight while the bottom two spots will be every club‘s nemesis.
This year, the competition will have an extra bye round after Old Mentonians put all its teams into recess.
A fit and firing Old Camberwell and PEGS will enter the competition after earning promotion from Division 1 last campaign.
It’s difficult to predict how the season will pan out in 2023.
See the in-depth look at every club below to gain an idea of how each team might fare.
HAMPTON ROVERS
Last season: Second (15-0-5, 148.33%, preliminary final)
Captain: Christian Carnovale
Ins: Clinton Young (Gisborne), Will Walker (North Melbourne), Austin Parker (Old Mentonians)
Outs: Richard Atkins (retired), Daniel Corp (retired)
Coaches comments: Anthony Quon
“Coming off a good year last year – I think we achieved a lot last year even though we lost by a point in the prelim, I think that was a great result still – we will have a few new faces from the under-19s coming through and a couple of guys return through long term injuries,” he said.
“The group is still pretty hungry to go one better absolutely, but we know it is going to be a very even Premier C this year.
“I think PEGS and Camberwell coming up from Division 1 will be extremely competitive teams.
“And given it is only a nine-team comp, every win is going to be valuable.
“We have only got one game at home for the first four or five weeks so if we can take the points in those away games in particular, that will set us up through the winter months.”
Player to watch: Chris Perkins. The wingman suffered a shoulder injury last season which stopped his great run in form, which started back in 2021. After completing a pre-season and working to getting back to full-fitness, Perkins could light up the C-grade this campaign.
MARCELLIN
Last season: Eighth (7-0-13, 87.39%)
Captain: Patrick Howe
Ins: Callum Brown (Collingwood), Sam Billinge (Preston Bullants), James May (Mitcham), Tom Hancock (Lara), James Robertson (returning player), Josh James (returning player), Alex Tremple (returning player) Finn Brown (Heidelberg), Josh James (returning player)
Outs: Patrick Hamblin (retired), Mitchell Jones (retired), Daniel McMahon (retired), Jeremiah Antypas (St Mary’s NFNL), Adrian Bonato (St Mary’s NFNL)
Coaches comments: Simon Abrahams
“We are still a very young team so the focus is more on development but we are also looking to find a bit more consistency when it comes to our competitiveness throughout the course of games,” he said.
“That’s probably our main focus point at the moment.”
Abrahams said the new inclusions to his side will add experience.
Player to watch: Matthew Capetola. The half-back and on-baller has joined the leadership group and has built up strong fitness over pre-season. He is a skilful player who is set for a strong season.
MAZENOD
Last season: Third (13-0-7, 125.74%, semi-final)
Captain: Matt Fewings and Tom McKenna (co-captains)
Ins: Nil
Outs: Chris Campbell (South Belgrave), Sam Michael (Murrumbeena)
Coaches comments: Peter Banfield
“We have had a solid pre-season, we have had good prep,” he said.
“I think this year, we will be pretty young given the nature of the kids coming up from the 19s and pretty much the group that played last year.
“I am looking for our group to be consistent and looking to improve.”
Asked about his side’s chances of reaching new heights this season after making a semi-final last campaign, Banfield said “you just never know.”
“You just don’t know what the opposition has recruited, teams coming in from D1, you just don’t know.
“I’m pretty much just about just trying to improve and trying to be consistent, and for my younger players to continue to get better.
“I never talk about winning and losing, I just talk about making sure we are having fun and enjoying the environment and doing the best we can.
“Wherever that will take us, it will take us.”
Players to watch: Hayden Boyce. He played in the under-19s last season as a full forward and kicked the most goals in the competition with 47. The youngster is coming back from a shoulder reconstruction which ended his season early last year. He is set to miss the opening game but when he becomes available, he could produce some promising performances.
Shaun Lovell. The half forward has been a standout in pre-season, showing strong commitment to the club and good signs.
OLD CAMBERWELL
Last season: Fourth in Division 1 (10-3-5, 172.56%, grand final)
Captain: Angus Milham
Ins: Jay Kennedy Harris (University Blues), Harrison Veitch (Mitcham), David McColl (Old Carey)
Outs: Simon Bennett (retired), Robert Deev (retired), Cameron Wilson (retired)
Coaches comments: Tim Killworth (assistant coach)
“What we’re really excited about most is we got a really strong contingent of under-19s,” he said.
“Either second-year under-19s or kids straight out of the school, there are quite some talented kids who have put their hands up to play.
“We’re looking to play probably four of them each week in the ones.
“So that’s really exciting because we have probably lost close to 600 games of experience from our three retires.
“It has given us the opportunity to blood some of these kids who have performed really well in the praccy games.”
Killworth said the club would take it one step at a time with what they want to achieve.
“Well first and foremost, stay in the grade,” he said about his club’s expectations.
“We have been a Premier C club for a long time and then we had that stint in D and then got trapped there with Covid.
“So first and foremost, our goal is clearly to do enough to stay in the grade, and then win enough games, and then we can challenge for a spot in the four.”
Anson Brownless will lead Old Camberwell as senior coach for 2023.
Players to watch: Harry McColl. The utility is a youngster to look out for.
Sam Beechey. The utility is another young player at Old Camberwell who could be a star of the future.
Liam Thomas. A centre half forward and ruck who is another youngster coming through the ranks at Old Camberwell.
OLD CAREY
Last season: Ninth in Premier B (1-0-15, 43.85, relegation)
Captain: Zander Adam
Ins: Marc Lock (East Keilor), Mitch Wooffindin (Port Melbourne VFL), Danyon Reinbold (returning player)
Outs: Jonothan Marsh (Keilor), Will Mitchell
Coaches comments: Aaron Bailey
“I think for us, we are going to be a really young group and being able to bring a couple of guys in their late 20s with VFL and AFL experience is really important for us,” Bailey said.
“They will be a terrific support on the field for the group we have.”
Bailey said the club were looking to become a more competitive side in 2023.
“I think as a club our focus is around building something sustainable, certainly we want to return to B-grade and higher levels but the philosophy for us is about building a really competitive group,” he said.
“So when we do return (to higher grades), we want to have a group that is able go up and be competitive.
“So our focus is getting experience into our list and starting to get some wins and bring some competitive football back to the club consistently.”
Player to watch: Tommy Horton
OLD IVANHOE
Last season: Fifth (12-0-8, 123.93%)
Captain: Harry Frazer and Nick Reeves-Smyth (co-captains)
Ins: Patrick Naish (West Coast), Nick Riddle (Greensborough),Billy Murphy (Preston), Reed Jepson (Northcote Park).
Outs: Michael Mitris (coaching), Daniel Stanford (travel), Jordan Stanton (travel).
Coaches comments: Jarrod Gieschen
“I think everybody is excited about the opportunity this year,’ he said.
“I think as I mentioned to you last time, our captain retired and a few players have retired and gone overseas so we did need to recruit hard and we have done that.
“We think the competition is going to be strong because some of the other teams have recruited well.
“So we are really looking forward to testing ourselves out.”
Gieschen said his side would strive for finals after finishing fifth last season but understood it could take time initially with the makeup of his team.
“It’s a very new group of players,” he said.
“There is probably going to be eight or nine players that haven’t played footy together before so the first focus is on just making sure everybody gels.
“But the feeling around the group is a level I hadn’t seen probably in the last few years because of the addition of these senior more experienced players.”
Player to watch: Luke Scuderi. He finished last season with the most goals in the Premier C competition with a stunning 64 goals.
ORMOND
Last season: Seventh (10-0-10, 102.67%)
Captain: Tom Buckley
Ins: Howard Persson (De La Salle), Doulton Langlands (North Albury)
Outs: Joseph Nowell (Beaumaris), Travis Hine (retired)
Coaches comments: Greg Hoskin
“The proof will be in the pudding,” he said.
“We’re confident that we will be fairly competitive.
“We have got a few boys with the travel bug so it will be interesting to see how we go throughout the season.
“We will have a bit of unavailability particularly in the middle of the season.
“We were sort of mid-table last year, we feel like we’re getting better.
“We had a bit turnover year last year in terms of we were able to blood a few younger guys and we see them getting better every week.
“So we are hopeful that we will be pretty competitive, that’s sort of what we’re thinking at this stage.
“We are not getting too carried away that’s for sure.”
Players to watch: Will Mccartney. The midfielder showed promising signs last season and is heading into his prime at 21-years-old.
Leon Alao. The defender is destined for a good season with his athletic capabilities. He is also aged 21.
PARKDALE VULTURES
Last season: Sixth (11-0-9, 127.07%)
Captain: Jack Edwards
Ins: Ryan McDermott (Springvale Districts)
Outs: Daniel Knowles (Chelsea), Liam Purcell (St Paul’s Bentleigh)
Coaches comments: Owen Lalor
“It’s the third year from where we have come from... two years ago we didn’t win a game in B-grade in 2021 in the covid affected season,” he said.
“We played 11 games, zero wins and we were such a young club of 18 to 21-year-olds.
“And then last year, back to C-grade and we lost our first five games and then we won 11 of our next 15 games so we were starting to see real development in these young kids.
“So those two years, we have now got a lot of players who have now played 20 to 30 senior games of football.
“So naturally this year, we are looking for that development to continue.
“These 20 to 30-game players, another year older, another pre-season, just a bit bigger and stronger, and just feeling more confident at the level.
“So were hoping to see continued development in a very young group of footballers.”
Lalor said his side’s form in the second half of last season proved his senior team could potentially do enough to sneak into the top four.
His side picked up wins against top four sides, Hampton Rovers and Old Geelong, who were promoted to B-grade.
Player to watch: Matthew Emmanouil. An up-and-coming inside midfielder at the Vultures who has been playing seniors for a few seasons. The 19-year-old has shown promising signs and will give his heart and soul each week.
PEGS
Last season: First in Division 1 (16-0-1, 255.52%, premiers)
Captain: Zach Genovesi
Ins: Max Philpot (Williamstown VFL)
Outs: David Benson (retired)
Coaches comments: Andrew Horne
“I think we are tracking pretty well,” he said.
“We obviously played in the grand final and were successful last year in D-grade.
“We didn’t want to make the mistake of being underprepared.
“So we came back in early to mid November to make sure we got work into the boys to make sure we were prepared for the step up in C-grade.
“We have had three hits outs.
“We played Anglesea out there and we had a close win.
“We played Woodend away as well and we had a really good win.
“And I feel like, because we didn’t go out and recruit too many and we have had the consistency with the group, obviously playing all last year and this year as well, the connection between all players, back to mids, and mids to forward, it’s really showing through.
Horne had high expectations in his side’s first season after promotion.
“We are not here to make up the numbers,” he said.
“We are definitely ambitious and we make to be pushing for that top four of course.
“We obviously got our first four games at home which will hopefully set us up well for the season and grab those early wins.
“We got Mazenod first up who are going to be really strong.
“I think they finished third last year so it will really be a good test and I think it will show us where we are at in the pecking order so come the 15th of April, we’re ready to go.”
Andrew Beever will co-coach alongside Horne.
Players to watch: Mitchell Baker-West. The tough inside midfielder is starting to be a handy player on the outside. He is showing good signs of linking up play, which is making him a top player.
Jack McKernan. The halfback has only been playing footy for three or four seasons after previously playing soccer. He has picked up the game well and he is reading the play and using his speed superbly.
Oscar Bales. The tall footballer also switched codes from soccer to footy and it showing great signs leading into the season.
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