VAFA Premier C: Club-by-club previews
New Ajax coach Lachlan Buszard has spoken of the opportunity which lays ahead of his side this season. With three key players, including the leading goalkicker, from last season out, the Jackas are backing the kids.
Vic Amateur
Don't miss out on the headlines from Vic Amateur. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The VAFA Premier C season is getting closer and we’re taking a look at every club.
See our rolling coverage of every club’s pre-season.
AJAX
New Ajax coach Lachlan Buszard sees plenty of opportunity for his young group to continue building in season 2025.
After a first week finals exit last season, Ajax are predicted to again be around the mark this year under the guidance of the former GWS Giants Development Academy mentor.
Buszard’s career has seen him work alongside AFL coaches including Kevin Sheedy, Mark Williams and Leon Cameron while he’s previously overseen programs at Eastern league power Blackburn and Xavier College.
He is also a premiership coach UTS Bats in Sydney.
With his first pre-season with the Jackas now coming to a close, Buszard is ready to hit the ground running.
“I’m really excited to see what we can produce as a playing group, the first three rounds of the season are going to give us a good indication of how we stack up,” he said.
“We’ve played a couple of practice games so far and I’m still learning about the players but they’ve shown some great signs so far.”
Ajax has lost three key players for the 2025 season including last year’s leading goalkicker Richie Simon who went down with an achilles injury.
Noah Webb is having a year off footy while midfielder Charlie Hamilton has moved to East Malvern in the Southern league.
“There’s a lot of senior experience which goes out of the side with those departures but it presents an opportunity for the younger guys,” Buszard said.
“We’re going to be a young side but the beauty about that is you can watch these guys grow together.
“The improvement we see this year will come from the youth.”
Ajax doesn’t officially play a home game at Gary Smorgon Oval until round 5 when it welcomes PEGS due to the club’s ground taking in the Melbourne Grand Prix circuit.
The Jackas’ first two “home” games will be played at Elsternwick Park (round 2 v St Bede’s Mentone) and Princes Park in Caulfield South (round 3 v Prahran).
An opening round trip to Marcellin awaits on Saturday.
PEGS
Watching his son play senior footy for the first time, Rob Kerr thought there was an opportunity to get involved.
Kerr’s son, Jackson’ played 11 senior games last season.
Now Rob is the new senior coach and he’s excited about the young group’s potential.
Kerr has a strong connection to the school having been a former First XVIII footy captain before his AFL career with North Melbourne and Sydney.
“Pre-season has been good, we’ve had a good consistent group,” Kerr said.
“If we play to our potential, I think we should be really competitive against every team in the competition. We’ve got a reasonable mix of players to pick from across the board.”
Four fresh faces have arrived at the club during the off-season and are expected to push for senior selection.
Athletic forward Matthew Barake arrives from Gisborne where he played under Kerr in two under-18 premierships in 2022 and 2023 with Luke Weber also making the move from the Bendigo league club.
Dominant ruckman Adeola Akintola has joined from St Albans with Marcus Height arriving from Uni Blues.
“The guys we’ve brought in are on the younger side as well,” Kerr said.
“Ade is a big ruckman who follows up with his work impressively. We’ve already been trying a few of the guys in different positions.
“Sometimes as a coach you seem them differently to what others have.”
And for what type of footy Kerr wants to see his side play, it’s quite simple.
“We want an attacking brand of movement,” he said.
“We want to be faster with the ball.”
MAZENOD
It sounds simple but Mazenod coach Peter Banfield is aiming to see more development from his side.
The Nodders broken even with a 9-9 record last season to finish fifth on the ladder but three games outside of the finals race.
Having lost several important players in recent off-seasons, Banfield’s side has seen the average age drop with much of the senior core now coming out of the under-19s program in recent seasons.
Massimo Cappiello (St Paul’s McKinnon) and Joshua Hall (Oakleigh) are the main inclusions to the list this off-season and the experienced mentor is buoyed by his side’s pre-season.
“We’re still a young group and this a very similar group to last year,” Banfield said.
“We’ve had a good prep and we want to see growth in all of our players. Last year, we were really in good parts and then had moments we let ourselves down against the best teams.”
Co-captain Matt Fewings looms as one of the keys to the Nodders’ prospects again this season, entering the year as the reigning Premier C best and fairest.
He’ll share the leadership role with Tom McKenna.
“Both of those boys had really good seasons last year,” Banfield said.
“We all know what Matty is capable of and I’m glad to see him continuing to get the best out of himself.”
Another player to keep an eye on is young forward Hayden Boyce who kicked 41 goals in 13 games last season in what was just his second year of senior footy.
Mazenod opens its season at home to Glen Eira-Old McKinnon.
MARCELLIN
There has been change at Marcellin throughout the off-season but senior coach Bernie Dinneen sees it as an opportunity.
The Eagles have been hit with several departures with some regular senior players from last season moving either interstate or overseas.
Reigning best-and-fairest Oliver Stapleton has departed the club to link up with former VAFA club Old Paradians in the Northern league.
But there has been several new faces arrive at the club including Joshua Daniel, Noah Baggio and Luke Baggio from Heidelberg.
Noah Khan and Jesse McCarthy have made moves from the Eastern league.
“If we can have everyone up and running, I think we’re going to have some good squad depth,” Dinneen said.
“A few young guys have come in and we’ve already seen some improvement from them during the pre-season and hopefully that can continue.
“I think this season is a really critical stepping stone year for the club. We won five games last season and I’m expecting to progress on that.
“I’m hoping we’ll be a better structured team than last season.
“We want to continue getting games into the younger guys and I think that’s a good opportunity for us to keep building what we started last year.”
Dinneen said pre-season had been a step up from his first summer in charge thanks to a conditioning coach.
“They came on board about halfway through last pre-season,” he said.
“The guys are the fittest they’ve been. We’re really healthy at the moment which is a good sign for us heading into the first game.”
Off the field, everything is looking up for Marcellin with the club’s facilities continuing to improve.
Games against AJAX and Mazenod await the Eagles in the opening fortnight of the season before the Easter long weekend.
PARKSIDE
The theme for Parkside is a simple one.
“We really believe in the uncommon,” senior coach Rick Frost said.
The Devils have returned to the VAFA’s Premier grades after three straight promotions and they aren’t putting a ceiling on anything they can achieve this season.
“It’s a really exciting time for the footy club and now it’s about putting it altogether,” Frost said.
“The group is really coachable and we’re trying to give the players a lot of ownership about the direction the club is heading in.
“There were tough times when the club was in Division 4 and now look what we’ve managed to achieve.
“Individual players have reached heights they hadn’t before and we’re looking to continue growing.”
The Devils have gone as high as A-grade in the VAFA, reaching the top flight in 1989 after winning the B Section premiership a year earlier.
They moved to the Diamond Valley league in 2003 before eventually returning to the Ammos for 2015 and from there have been working their way up.
Frost said the connection between the junior and senior parts of the club continued to be critical.
“Our juniors have been training with the senior side for the last five years,” he said. “It probably is uncommon for that to happen, but we want to teach them.
“They’re starting to come through.”
Parkside has managed to retain most of its senior list from last season with ex-junior Josh Moylan returning after a stint with Doncaster.
Consistent senior names from 2024 including Team of the Year midfielder Benedict Douglas, Dominic Douglas and Steven Logazzo moving to Preston Bullants.
PARKDALE VULTURES
After two preliminary final losses in a row, Parkdale Vultures coach Owen Lalor is looking forward to seeing further grow from his side.
The Vultures went down in last season’s prelim by seven points to Hampton Rovers, who have now been promoted to Premier B.
But after another pre-season in charge, Lalor is hopeful of another deep finals run.
“We went right to the wire last season which shows we’re not too far away,” he said.
“There’s been some good signs throughout pre-season and hopefully we can give it another good shake. The competition is an extremely competitive one.”
There has been some changes to the Vultures playing list for the upcoming season with Charlie Dillon returning to the club while Cooper Balic is back after a stint at Keysborough.
Charlie Yee (Queensland), Brodie Findlay (North Adelaide) and Josh Stolp (Chelsea Heights) are among the confirmed exits.
“Charlie (Dillon) was my first captain at the club and it’s great to have him and Cooper back, two guys with a lot of experience,” he said.
“They’ve both got strong bodies, much more seasoned. They’ll really help with some experience around the footy.”
Lalor confirmed gun forward Mitch Brown would return for his second season with the club after booting 87 goals in 15 games last season.
The ex-AFL forward has taken on an assistant coaching role to grow his influence on the playing group.
“He’s been a fantastic addition to our group,” Lalor said.
“What he brings on the field is one thing but to pass on his knowledge to his teammates in this role is something we see as extremely beneficial.”
Lalor said he was pleased to see the likes of Ollie Green (Casey Demons) and Jack Cheep (Sandringham) testing themselves at a higher level after earning VFL opportunities.
Nathan Sullivan is still training with a state league club.
BEAUMARIS
Beaumaris coach Josh Bourke is determined to land the right balance between youth and experience this season.
After being relegated back to the VAFA’s third tier, Bourke is determined to see his Sharks bounce back but knows “nothing gets given to you”.
The Sharks dropped back to Premier C on the back of a 5-13 record, less than two per cent behind Caulfield Grammarians who shared the same record.
“It’s a frustration because it’s been 15 years since we were in C-grade,” Bourke said.
“You can’t wish away your reality. The challenge for us now is to reset our standards and do everything we can to put ourselves in a position to go through the grades.
“But this is a high level of competition and you can’t afford to take anything for granted.”
While there was disappointment at the end of last season, Beaumaris also was given a glimpse into future.
With injuries and the absences of experienced players, the Sharks were often fielding “seven or eight 19-year-olds” in the senior side according to Bourke.
“We’re excited to see these kids continue come through the ranks,” he said.
“We had seven or eight do pre-seasons with VFL clubs which is only going to hold them in good stead.”
The Sharks haven’t embarked on a massive recruiting drive in the off-season either but will be bolstered by the returns of two experienced faces this season.
Joel DiNatale and Josh Trew are among the key names Bourke is looking forward to calling upon.
Riely Collins (Redan) and Sam Meredith (St Bede’s Mentone) are the new recruits.
“We’re going to have a different game style to what we have in the past,” he said.
“I’m excited to see how it shapes up. There’s a couple of practice matches in the lead-up to the season so we’ll see what changes we might have to make.
“We’re optimistic it’s going to be exciting.”
Beaumaris will face Springvale Districts (March 22) and Williamstown CYMS (March 29) in practice games.
The Sharks’ season opens on April 5 against St Bede’s-Mentone.
PRAHRAN
Prahran and coach Craige Milward aren’t coming into Premier C to make up the numbers.
The Two Blues are determined to make their presence felt and their recruiting suggests they can surprise their new opponents this season.
After winning the Division 1 premiership in Milward’s first season as coach, Prahran has added to its playing list impressively.
“We’ve recruited well,” Milward declared.
“Last year was tough. When you’re a new coach and you’re stepping into a new competition you need time to settle in. But everything has worked really well this off-season.
“Now I’ve had time to settle in, you have time to reach out to players. When you win a flag, players are keen to have a chat. There’s a real sense of excitement around the place at the moment.”
Arguably the biggest arrival in the off-season has been the arrival of former Mansfield captain Patty Marks from the Goulburn Valley League.
Milward said he had recently moved to the area and will be joined by his former Eagles teammate Josh Stefanutti at Toorak Park.
“He’s a really good friend of our one our leaders,” Milward said of Marks’ arrival.
“He’s one of those players you look at during training sessions and you can’t wait to see him play a game. He’s had a really strong pre-season and we’re looking forward to adding him into the mix.”
Also among the key signings is Ryan Smyth, a three-time premiership winner in the Mornington Peninsula League.
“Really looking forward to having him on board,” Milward said.
“It came through the Dromana connection I have, having been an assistant coach there previously.”
Prahran will return to Toorak Park for the first time in two seasons this year with Milward looking forward to the opportunity to use what he deems as one of the best facilities he has seen at local level.
The Two Blues had been playing out of East Malvern.
Prahran opens its season against PEGS on April 5.
IN: Josh Stefanutti (Mansfield), Patrick Marks (Mansfield), Angus Morschel (Kiama), Ryan Smyth (Langwarrin)
OUT: Luke Kerr (retired), Matt Clifford (retired), Joey Bell (Mt Pleasant)
Harford set for coaching return
Former Carlton AFLW mentor Daniel Harford is returning to the coaching fold for the first time since leaving the Blues, taking on one of the most prestigious roles in community footy.
Live stream: New faces helping Old Geelong to seamless start
Newly promoted Old Geelong has shot out to a 2-0 record – but now a big test against fellow unbeaten VAFA Premier Women’s side Caulfield Grammarians awaits. Watch it LIVE.