Ringwood Mazda 2025 Season Review | East Ringwood

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 out to an eight-game winning streak, destroying South Croydon by 103 points in the opening round before decimating fellow undefeated side Blackburn in Round 6.

The Roos were 10-1 after Round 11, having only dropped their Round 9 clash against Rowville. Josh Tovey was racking up an absurd number of touches accompanied in the middle by the Weightman brothers, and after returning from injury, James Belo too. East Ringwood easily boasted the competition’s strongest midfield, and everything seemed to follow.

Despite their early-season dominance, the side lost momentum, losing four of their last seven games, including dropping all four of their final home games.

The Roos were still second going into the finals but their straight sets exit came as no surprise. Balwyn in the Qualifying Final and Rowville in Semi Final 1 spelt the end of the Roos’ campaign.

Best win: Round 6: Blackburn 4.13-37 def. by 17.8-110 East Ringwood @ Morton Park

Over a month into the season and there was nowhere else you wanted to be than at Morton Park to watch these two juggernauts go head-to-head for the first time in 2025.

Both sides came in at a perfect 5-0 start, and the home ground advantage meant that many deemed Blackburn to have the upper hand. It certainly seemed that way early on, as the Burners came out firing in the first quarter. As good as they were though, they could only put 2.7-19 on the board by quarter-time.

East Ringwood retook the lead in the second term and never looked back. They had weathered the storm and threw a hurricane of their own at Blackburn. They shut down all modes of offence that the Red Jackets tried to use, restricting them to just eighteen points after quarter-time.

The Roos kicked 57 points in the fourth quarter to cap off a commanding win. Remy Maclean and Riley Weatherill led an eight-man goal kicking crew, each kicking four goals.

Josh Tovey ran the show, putting up 31 disposals, 24 contested possessions and 15 clearances – it was one of the most dominant midfield displays across the whole EFNL season. Connor Weightman chimed in with 24 disposals and two goals of his own, while James Belo also contributed 22 disposals and ten clearances.

Key players:

For all the quality that this East Ringwood side had, it was one man whose name kept popping up time and time again. Josh Tovey was a man possessed in 2025, as the midfielder went on to be the tied winner of the Chandler Medal. He did it in record time too, as Tovey split his time between the Collingwood VFL side and injury rehab late in the season. The young gun averaged 27 disposals (20 contested) and eleven clearances a game, earning himself a place in the Team of the Year midfield.

Josh Fox was one of many who joined Tovey in the Team of the Year. The full-forward kicked a club-high 58 goals and was a constant spearhead throughout. Also earning themselves Team of the Year berths were Tristan Tweedie and Riley Weatherill. Tweedie acted as air traffic control down back as Weatherill was a key part of scoring chains time and time again.  

Omitted from the Team of the Year squad, presumably due to lack of availability, was James Belo. Belo had his injury struggles throughout the season but still managed an impressive eleven times in best throughout his fifteen games. Belo was named club Best and Fairest for the sixth time of his career.

What’s next?

Despite their second half of the season, not much needs to change heading into 2026. A form slump like that won’t happen again, as long as the Roos can retain the key members of their list as well as keeping all their stars out on the field, they will be back and contending for a premiership in no time.

Belo, Tovey, Fox and the Weightmans are amongst many who have already committed to another season at East Ringwood Reserve. Blake Pearson is a key name who will be coming to the club in 2026 – the dual Chandler Medallist will create a more dynamic forward line that both him and his teammates will reap the rewards of.

Paul Griffiths will take over the head coaching role in 2026 and 2027. Griffiths comes in with one of the most impressive resume’s in the league, ranging from various roles in the AFL Talent Pathway to his time with VFL, VFLW, AFL and AFLW sides.

SENIOR WOMEN’S

Summary:

Ladder position: 5^th, 6-8

Leading goal kicker: Katia Giannetti (21 goals)

Best and Fairest: Lanii Warren

East Ringwood’s senior women’s side also experienced a key change in form halfway through the season.

The Roos only managed to win one of their first six games – a Round 2 triumph over Donvale by 46 points.

The side turned their form around, winning five of their last eight games.

They beat teams around them on multiple occasions and even managed to beat first-placed rivals North Ringwood in the last game of the season. The win showed that this side have the potential to push for finals in upcoming seasons.

Best win: Round 14: East Ringwood 9.9-63 def. 5.7-37 North Ringwood @ East Ringwood Reserve

This Round 14 derby showed that there are plenty of positive signs for East Ringwood going forward. It was their first win against one of the top sides in the division and it showed that the side was moving in the right direction.

The Roos kicked the first two goals of the game yet trailed by a point at quarter-time. They improved in the second term, wrestling back control of the game and building a thirteen-point lead.

North Ringwood held their rivals goalless in the third quarter, yet it was still East Ringwood who held the lead at the final break. They went on to kick the last four goals of the game and win by 26 points, a massive upset on the final day of their season.

Lanii Warren kicked four goals and was voted best on ground.

Key players:

Katia Giannetti led the team’s offense, kicking 21 goals. Her efforts earned her a berth in the Team of the Year as a half-forward. Giannetti was accompanied by Stephanie McNamara, who was listed in the full-back line.

Lanii Warren ended the season with an impressive eighteen goals and eight times in best throughout her fourteen games.

An ever-reliable performer, she was helped by Alana Zappia, who was amongst the best on votes nine times in just eleven games.

What’s next?

Whilst they are taking steps in the right direction, East Ringwood need to make sure they can recruit well over the off-season to ensure that they build on their list.

The side missed some key players throughout the season, and it'll be a great bonus to have them back available in 2026.

NETBALL

Team-by-Team:

East Ringwood Black (Premier Division):

East Ringwood’s top netball side finished with ten wins, putting them in second place. Boasting the best offence in the league, the Roos were the ‘best of the rest’ as an undefeated Croydon side left everybody in their wake.

The Black side lost Semi Final 2 by 27 goals to Croydon, before beating Vermont by 10 goals to set up a Grand Final berth. Croydon were too good though, winning by fifteen goals.

Rory Barr was the league’s leading goal scorer, finishing with 459 goals in sixteen games. Emily Salmon also led the side, winning the league Best and Fairest award.

East Ringwood Blue (Division One):

The Blue team finished seventh with a record of 3-1-10. They showed that they could contend with the top teams, beating Glen Waverley in Round 2 and challenging Bayswater and Norwood late in the season. Inconsistency was their downfall in the end, as the side remained adrift from the finals picture.

East Ringwood Teal (Division Three):

The Division Three side finished fourth but had the second-best defence in the league. They couldn’t make much of an impact in the finals however, losing the first Semi Final to Park Orchards by four goals. Jamila Buchanan was the equal league Best and Fairest winner, leading the line for her side week-in and week-out.

East Ringwood White (Division Eight):

East Ringwood White had the equal best offence in the league. They built off this attacking prowess to finish fourth on the season with a record of 8-2-4. They suffered a blowout loss to Vermont in Semi Final 1 though, and their season ended there.

East Ringwood Aqua (Division Thirteen):

The Aqua side finished third in the regular season. They held themselves above fourth through percentage, as their league-leading defence contributed massively. They beat East Burwood by six goals in Semi Final 1 before winning the Preliminary Final over Ringwood. In the end, they lost in the Grand Final, falling short to Coldstream by thirteen goals. Naomi Turton led the division with 251 goals in fifteen games.