By Josh Ward. After yet another excellent season across the board, the Panthers of Surrey Park will be looking to go one better in season 2026.   In their second new division in as many years last season, Surrey Park’s senior men’s side was once again one of the benchmarks.    Unlike previous seasons though, they fell just one game short of making a fourth consecutive Grand Final, going down to Templestowe and Wantirna South in the Division 2 second-semi final and preliminary

By Christopher Kourtis.   Noble Park are not patting themselves on the back after an impressive season – they’re coming back stronger and are ready to break down the doors to finals footy.   The Bulls were five wins closer to a finals campaign than they were in 2024, missing out on percentage alone after a win-and-you’re-in Round 18 loss to South Croydon.    Senior coach Steve Hughes knows that his side still has work to do despite their improvement in 2025.   “We were good e

By Blake Tennant.   After a successful 2025 season, last year’s minor premiers, Chirnside Park, are eager to put their Grand Final loss behind them and contend once again.   Returning as the club’s senior coach, Justin Ficorilli, has labelled this year as ‘unfinished business’ heading into the 2026 season.   “We need to bring back that level we had last year but also lift due to the division being even with sides coming after us,” Ficorilli said.   Chirnside Park had a domina

By Christopher Kourtis.   Balwyn’s senior men’s program enter 2026 with aims of a three-peat in Premier Division, while their senior women’s side will look for similar finals success in just their second year of existence.   The Tigers sealed back-to-back Premier Division premierships in 2025, coming from behind to beat Blackburn in a brilliant Grand Final.   If they want to make it three-straight, they’ll have to do so without some of their greatest clubmen of recent history

By Josh Ward. After putting together their strongest season to date in the EFNL, the KangaRams are eager to make further history in the highly-competitive Division 4 this coming season.   Ben Oakes’ side claimed seven wins last season, defeating sides such as Kilsyth, Warrandyte and eventual premiers Whitehorse Pioneers along the way.   However they fell just match ratio (and percentage) short of playing a historic first senior men’s finals series for the club, with a final r

By Josh Ward. After a promising 2025, the Hawks senior men’s and women’s look set to contend once again this coming season.   Boronia’s return to the second tier of the EFNL men’s competition was fruitful, finishing in fourth place with nine wins. However they bowed out in the first weekend of finals to eventual preliminary finalist North Ringwood by 55 points.   Three-time Hawks premiership coach Matt Clark has re-signed for a ninth season at the helm, saying that the group

By Christopher Kourtis.   South Belgrave’s senior men’s side face new horizons in the season ahead, as the senior women’s side are out for redemption after coming agonisingly close to conquering Premier Division in 2025.   The Saints are the new kids on the block in the EFNL’s topflight of the Senior Men's competition, having earned promotion to Premier Division.   South Belgrave enter the competition with momentum, having dominated Division One last year. The club went throu

By Ryan Long. An exciting opportunity awaits former Eastern Football Netball League Goal Umpire, James Rizio, as he prepares for his umpiring debut at AFL level. Last November, James Rizio was promoted from the VFL to the AFL Goal Umpires List for the 2026 season. It’s marked over a decade of hard work and persistence, including eight years of umpiring at the VFL level, to achieve the AFL promotion. After receiving the call from the Head AFL Goal Umpiring Coach, Rizzio descri

A dynasty in the making, the Tigers completed back-to-back premierships in Premier Division, while debuting their Senior Women's side in the competition. Senior Men’s Ladder Position: 3rd (12-6, 119.03%) Leading Goalkicker: Jack Tillig (43 Goals) Summary: Back-to-back premiers! Balwyn’s spectacular finals form continued in 2025 with three crucial finals wins to secure their second senior premiership in two years. The Tigers were big on the recruitment front ahead of the seaso

By Christopher Kourtis.   Vermont Football Netball Club had a terrific season. Whilst their top football sides struggled at times, their development side and multiple netball teams had premiership glory in 2025.    SENIOR MEN’S Summary: Ladder position: 7 th , 8-10 Leading goal kicker: Sam Weideman (29 goals) Best and Fairest: Lachie Johns   An injury-interrupted season saw Vermont cut adrift from finals contention.    The side struggled to field a consistent line-up. A top-

A new-look younger Bulls outfit impressed many in season 2025, only just missing out on a finals appearance. Senior Men’s Ladder Position: 6 th   (9-9, 83.30%) Leading Goalkicker: Josh Stern (32 Goals) Best and Fairest:  Lachie McDonnell   Summary: One of the surprise teams this season, bouncing back well after losing a series of key players at the end of the off-season.   The Bulls were predicted by many to regress this season, with a lot of pressure mounting on an overall y

Overcoming a slow start, South Croydon's Senior Men's side came home strong for a finals spot, while both Senior Women's sides featured in the finals. Senior Men’s Ladder Position: 5th (9-9, 89.10%) Leading Goalkicker: Tom Sheridan (48 Goals) Summary: A big turnaround mid-season saw the Dogs reverse an 0-5 start to make the 2025 finals series. After making a semi-final last season, the side were slow out of the blocks, a 103-point loss to East Ringwood in Round One was the st

By Josh Ward. It was a brief return to Premier Division for the Tigers while its senior women came so close to yet another finals appearance.   Senior Men’s Ladder Position: 10th (1-17, 65.98%) Leading Goalkicker: Lucas Marro (26 goals in 18 games) Best and Fairest: Jesse Uren Summary A tough return to the top flight for the Tigers, with injuries, departures and unavailabilities seeing them finish at the foot of the Premier Division table.   Their first win evaded them in the

By Christopher Kourtis.   Blackburn’s football department flexed its muscles in 2025, with the senior men’s team coming agonisingly close to Premier Division glory.    SENIOR MEN’S Summary: Ladder position: 1 st , 16-2 Leading goal kicker: Toby Wooller (61 goals) Best and Fairest: Ryley Stoddart   Blackburn was the EFNL’s surprise package, unexpectedly rising up the ranks in Premier Division.    The Burners took the competition by storm, picking up consecutive wins against Ba

Back-to-back strong finals saw Rowville reach the Preliminary Final for the fourth consecutive year, while the Netball program bring home a premiership Senior Men’s Ladder Position: 4th (10-8, 123.79%) Leading Goalkicker: Maverick Taylor Summary: An up-and-down Home and Away season for the Hawks finished with a strong performance in the finals, securing a fourth consecutive Preliminary Final. Four wins in four rounds to start the year against strong opposition saw Rowville bu

Injuries and consistency once again marred a Doncaster East season that promised so much in the offseason   Senior Men’s Ladder: 8th (7-11, 91.47%) Leading Goalkicker: Josh Schache (67 goals in 18 games) Best and Fairest: Lachlan Waddell Summary - Despite missing out on finals for a second consecutive season there were some improvements for the Lions, this time finishing with seven wins and two games outside of the top five.   They started off in solid fashion, sitting with f

Plenty of promise shown by the young Wickers in the senior men’s and women’s sides in season 2025.   Senior Men’s Ladder: 9th (5-13, 82.16%) Leading Goalkicker: Jai Neal (44 goals in 18 games) Best and Fairest: Ashton Williamson Summary While they may’ve finished second last on the Premier Division table for a second consecutive season, it was still one of the Wickers best seasons since joining the EFNL.   Signs of improvement were there in the opening half of the season. Des

By Christopher Kourtis.   East Ringwood’s football department had a rollercoaster ride in 2025, while their netball sides established themselves as contenders once again.     Senior Men’s Summary: Ladder position: 2 nd , 13-5 Leading goal kicker: Josh Fox (58 goals) Best and Fairest: James Belo   East Ringwood’s senior men’s side had a Jekyll and Hyde season.   They came into the year with vengeance on their mind after Grand Final failure the season prior. They quickly got ou

The Hawks Senior Men's entered Division One footy, making the 2025 finals series, while the Senior Women's side took a big step forward with a new-look side. Senior Men’s Ladder Position: 4th (9-7, 115.37%) Leading Goalkicker: Ben Robertson (38 Goals) Season Summary:   The Hawks hit Division One at full steam after back-to-back Division Two premierships. The club added to their list prior to the opening round with key recruits such as Ferntree Gully’s Jordan Church, 2018 Boro

Plenty of success for North Ringwood across the men’s and women’s programs, with more premiership cups added to the Quambee Reserve trophy cabinet.   Senior Men’s Ladder: 5th (9-7, 108.59%) Leading Goalkicker: Taylor Davidson (31 goals in 18 games) Best and Fairest: Kieran Rice Summary An excellent season under a new coach for the Saints, playing finals for the second time in the past three seasons.   Things started off inconsistently for North Ringwood, winning two of their