Eastland 2026 Season Review | Kilsyth
A big year for the Kilsyth FNC in 2026, the club building it's Senior Women's program with a second team introduced and a Division Three premiership in the Netball competition.
SENIOR MEN’S
Summary:
Ladder Position: 5TH (9-1-6, 162.58%)
Best and Fairest: Damian Murray
Leading Goal Kicker: Max Le Fevre (34 Goals)
The Cougars left a late charge for a finals spot, but it was too late, finishing fifth at the end of the Home and Away season with a final record of nine wins, a draw, and six losses.
A 4-4 start had the Cougars needing a lot to go right in the second half of the season to steal one of the top four spots. They had some big results on the run home, including a draw against eventual premiers, Warrandyte, and a 15-point win over the Lions, which just left the door open for Kilsyth.
Ultimately, the last two losses of the season saw Kilsyth finish fifth, missing out on a finals campaign.
Best Win: Round 12 – Kilsyth 11.9 75 def. Fairpark 8.12 60 @ Fairpark Reserve
After a four-point loss to the Lions at home earlier in the season, Kilsyth managed to even the ledger with one of their best wins of the season, defeating Fairpark by 15 points in Round 12.
Holding a four-point lead on the road at the final change, the Cougars booted four goals to two to keep their finals hopes alive.
Jackson Weatherald finished with 43 disposals, 15 clearances and 13 rebound 50s, while senior playing coach Damian Murray had 31 and 8 clearances for the day.
Key Players:
Showing his experience, playing coach Damian Murray had a superb season that saw him finish the year as Runner-Up in the league best and fairest. Averaging an incredible 37 disposals per game, Murray hit the 40-disposal mark in four games and managed to find the ball 54 times against the Lions in Round 15.
Jackson Weatherald wasn’t far behind, from his 11 games, he averaged 34 disposals. A major recruit this season for the side.
The runner-up in the club best and fairest, Jacob Moschetti starred for Kilsyth, one of two players from the side selected in the Division Four Team of the Year.
Key in defence, Liam Walter had a very consistent year with the Cougars and was awarded the senior men’s most valuable player award at the club’s best and fairest awards night.
What’s Next?
A change of coach heading into 2027, Damian Murray is moving on, as Darren Jackson is announced as the next senior coach. It's the internal choice with Jackson, involved the last two seasons as a senior assistant.
A strong choice for the club, Jackson is heavily involved with Kilsyth over the years. Plenty of success, including three flags in a row in the Under 17.5s in 2023 and then back-to-back in the Under 19.5s in 2024 and 2025.
Losing some experienced players, the club has been on the front foot this season in the recruitment front. Bayswater's Thomas Maxwell, Blackburn's Luke Kraisnik and Berwick's Blake Petherick are some of those recruits announced thus far.
SENIOR WOMEN’S (Division Two)
Summary:
Ladder Position: 7th (1-13, 24.62%)
Best and Fairest: Charlee Prescott
Leading Goal Kicker: Maya George (9 Goals)
Kilsyth’s Senior Women’s program grew in 2026, increasing numbers to field two sides in the Senior Women’s competition.
Their top side was led by Shilette Baker, the former Montrose coach who came to the club to lead the Women’s program in 2026.
Starting the season early, Kilsyth played off in a marquee Good Friday fixture against Rowville at Seebeck Oval.
Their first win of the season came in Round Three when the Cougars met the Sharks.
Despite some competitive performances in a very strong division, they unfortunately weren’t able to secure a second victory, with injuries taking their toll.
Best Win: Round Three – Kilsyth 5.12 42 def. Park Orchards Red 1.4 10 @ Pinks Reserve
A strong performance at home saw the Cougars jump out of the gates early, leading 27 to zip at the main break.
They stretched out the margin in the second half to win by 32 points. Holly Oldfield kicked three of the side's five goals, while both Darci Innes and Emily Van Veen were key in the victory.
Key Players:
A very strong season for Charlee Prescott, winning the side’s best and fairest award. Took her game up to another level in 2026, in the best almost every single week, 11 times from 14 games in the Division Two side. Prescott earned herself a spot in the Team of the Year for Division Two.
Maya George has had recent experience in the senior side, while also playing in the Under 18s competition, but this year she had the full season with Kilsyth’s senior Women's team. George led the goal kicking for the Cougars with nine and was in the best 11 times from 12 games.
Both Hayley Jackson and Tiarna Jackson had strong seasons again with the Cougars, finishing as the two runners-up in the best and fairest.
What’s Next?
Shilette Baker has re-signed as Senior Women’s Coach for 2027, which is great news for the club. The side had to navigate through both injuries and filling numbers for two teams.
Another very key announcement this off-season is the return of Brooke Slaney. With experience at North Melbourne, Vice Captain of the VFLW 2024 premiership side and league best and fairest winner with the EFNL, Slaney is a massive inclusion not only to the side but to help play a role in the development of their younger members of the squad.
This year, the club missed a lot of their key players for extended periods of the year, including Darci Innes, Emily Van Veen, Sarah Ivanovic and Abbey Bentley.
If they can manage to stay injury free, keep building their overall numbers, Kilsyth will be one of the Division Two sides to key an eye on.
Kilsyth Red (Division Five)
Summary:
Ladder Position: 8th (1-11, 20.63%)
Best and Fairest: Naomi Martyszus
Leading Goal Kicker: Jillian Williams
Kilsyth successfully got their second senior team up and running in 2026, competing in Division Five.
The Cougars had one win for the season, coming early in the season against the Bears.
The side was able to introduce some of their Under 18's group into the senior level, including Hayley Stevens who was listed in the best five times from six games.
Best Win: Round Two – Kilsyth 4.4 28 def. The Basin Green 3.5 23 @ Batterham Reserve
A great win in Round Two on the road, Kilsyth held on for a five-point win at Batterham Reserve.
Up against the Bears, an impressive second term was the difference at the end of the game in what was a tight contest. Kilsyth managed to hold off The Basin in the final quarter to win their first game of the season.
All single-goal kickers for the Cougars on the day, with Holly Lowrie listed as best on ground for Kilsyth.
Key Players:
Naomi Matyszus consistency across the season saw her claim best and fairest honours. Matyszus also featured in Division Two in two games late in the season.
Finishing as runner-up in the club and fairest was Jillian Williams, also Kilsyth Red’s leading goal kicker.
Netball
Division Three – Kilsyth Black (1st, 11-2, 138.50%)
Division Five – Kilsyth Red (3rd, 8-4, 106.49%)
Division 10 – Kilsyth Crimson (4th, 5-7, 78.14%)
Division 12 – Kilsyth White (8th, 1-1-12, 66.32%)
Division 14 – Kilsyth Grey (6th, 2-9, 67.05%)
A fantastic year for the Kilsyth Netball program, five teams competing and three of the five going on to qualify for finals.
The Cougars ' highest-graded side was Kilsyth Black, who had a near-perfect season as they went on to finish on top of the ladder with 11 wins and take home the premiership.
Despite finishing on top of the ladder, they had to play all three finals to win the flag after dropping the second semi-final to Vermont by two goals. A seven-goal win in the Preliminary Final over The Basin saw Kilsyth qualify for Grand Final Night, re-meeting Vermont Lavender. After a tight first-half, the Cougars outscored the Eagles 22-14 in the second half to win the Division Three premiership.
Lucy Badrock, who scored 35 on Grand Final Night, finished the season with 461 goals, also runner-up in the club best and fairest. Grace Scott-Thomas and Phoebe Middlemast tied for best and fairest honours for Kilsyth.
Also playing finals was Kilsyth Red, finishing in third place on the ladder with 8 wins for the season. Shannon Lennie finished the year as the club best and fairest winner, while Jessica Ford finished as Runner-up after 219 goals for the season.
The other club best and fairest winners saw Irene Gabell win Kilsyth Crimson’s Best and Fairest, Kayla McLean win Kilsyth White’s B&F, and Bridget De Vries win Kilsyth Grey’s B&F.
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