Ringwood Mazda 2026 Season Review | Warrandyte

By Josh Ward.

The Bloods had one of its most successful seasons in the past decade, bringing home plenty of silverware to Warrandyte Recreation Reserve.

Senior Men’s

Ladder Position: 1st (14-1-1, 222.29%)

Leading Goalkicker: Gabriel Stumpf (94 goals in 18 games)

Summary

It was a near flawless season for the Bloods who entered 2026 under new leadership in the form of dual Doncaster East premiership player Jake Whitling

Starting the season off with a big loss at the hands of Chirnside Park, which would be their only defeat of the season, they built form and remained undefeated throughout the season to finish on top of the Division 4 table.

After defeating the Panthers in the opening week of finals they then meet Bulleen Templestowe in the big dance, surging late to win their first flag since 2015 and securing a return to Division 3.

The win capped off a historic weekend for the Bloods whose top netball side won the Friday night while their Reserves and 19s won premierships earlier that day.

Best Win: Grand Final - Warrandyte 14.9 (93) def. Bulleen Templestowe 10.18 (78) @ East Ringwood Reserve

The Bloods had to fight hard to complete the trifecta of premierships on the day as well as their eighth senior men’s premiership.

In a game filled with momentum shifts, the Bloods led for the majority of the contest, including at all three breaks.

Conceding the lead midway through the last term, a clutch purple patch from Koby Gilmour helped seal a famous Bloods victory at East Ringwood Reserve with a 15-point victory.

Gilmour finished with those two goals while Josh Beasley kicked three from 11 touches to win the Best on Ground Medal. Hunter Hodgson had 30 disposals and 13 rebound 50s while Harrison Taylor had an excellent game on a wing with 26 disposals.

Key Players

Star forward Gabriel Stumpf put together a stellar first full campaign of senior footy. Finishing the season with a league-high 94 goals, including 89 during the regular season, Stumpf was named at Full Forward in the Division 4 Team of the Year.

Joining him in the forward line of the TOTY was new recruit Darcy Blakeley. Crossing over from NFNL Division 1 club Greensborough, Blakeley averaged 21.9 disposals, 5.7 score involvements and a team-high 7.5 clearances per game.

Young guns Noah Habjan and Will Grybas were also named in the TOTY. While Habjan averaged north of one intercept mark and three rebound 50s per game, Grybas averaged a team-high 7.3 inside 50s per game and 7.1 score involvements.

Harrison Taylor also put together a solid first season in the red and white, named in the best on a team-high 10 occasions and averaging just under 23 disposals per game.

What’s Next?

A return to Division 3 awaits the Bloods. When they last played in the Division they went through the season winless back in 2024.

Plenty has changed since then, but one thing that hasn’t is their depth, which is as strong as ever following a successful few seasons at the Division 4 level.

Re-signings have already begun, with key names such as Blakeley, Hunter and Oscar Hodgson and Stumpf set to pull on the Warrandyte jumper again next year.

They’ve also announced a pair of signings, including the return of Joshua Kennedy after he spent the past three years at Murray Football League club Moama.

Joining him from Moama is goalkicker Khy Stovell who, after a brief period with Northern club Eltham, returned to Moama and kicked 15 goals in seven games.

With the list they’ve got, as well as their inclusions so far, the Bloods could be one to make an instant impact in Division 3 next season.

Senior Women’s

Ladder Position: 1st (11-1, 413.94%)

Leading Goalkicker: Ava Radle (44 goals in 15 games)

Summary

Following a slow build in the past few years, the Bloods made significant improvements in their fourth season as a senior women’s side.

Similar to the men’s side, Warrandyte went through an undefeated run in the opening 13 rounds of the season. Eventually their first loss came against Wantirna South in what was their 50th game as a side under the bright Friday Night lights of Warrandyte Reserve.

They once again went down to the Devils the following weekend in their second semi final encounter before bouncing back with a come from behind win against Boronia Gold to punch their ticket to a first ever Grand Final.

Facing Wantirna South in the decider, the Bloods put up a strong fight but ultimately fell 13 points short in an entertaining Grand Final at H.E. Parker Reserve.

Best Win: Round 7 - Warrandyte 8.3 (51) def. Wantirna South 3.3 (21) @ Walker Reserve

The Bloods first finals win was significant, but this takes the cake given it was against a Devils outfit that had started the season red hot.

Away from home, Lachlan Richardson’s squad started off strongly with a four goal to one opening term before the Devils fought back to reduce the deficit from three goals to five points at the main break.

Warrandyte then dominated the third quarter, kicking four goals and holding the Devils scoreless in that period, before two behinds each in the last saw the Bloods remain undefeated with a five-goal triumph.

Ava Radle was a point of difference with a five-goal outing while Rose Rostron and Natalie MacDonald had excellent performances alongside star recruit Jade McCormack.

Key Players

Radle was a significant figure throughout the course of 2026 in her first year of senior footy. Kicking 44 goals, 43 of which during the regular season. Radle was named in a forward pocket in the Division 4 and 5 Team of the Year.

Ex-Donvale star McCormack, in her first season at the Bloods, was also named in the Team after an excellent season which saw her named in the best on 14 occasions.

Raegan Craggs also put together an excellent season defensively. Named in the best in the last four games of the year, including finals, Craggs was listed in the back pocket of the TOTY.

Meg Callow was also a consistent contributor alongside Chanelle Vitiritti, with both named in the best on at least eight occasions during the year.

What’s Next?

A ton of improvement was shown from the Bloods who are only going to improve with some of the young talent they have on their list.

Keeping that young core will be crucial alongside the likes of McCormack and Callow who both had an exceptional impact on the side this year.

They’ll most likely be bolstered by their Youth Girls side once again, which won a premiership in the YJFL Youth Girls top grade this past season.

If they’re able to keep their list together and add to it, they’re gonna be a very hard side to stop and potentially the new Wantirna South of Division 4 next year.

Netball

Warrandyte Red (Division 6)

Following a promising 2025 in the same division, the Warrandyte Red side were able to build on that and add more silverware to the Bloods significant trophy cabinet.

They started the season with four big victories before hitting a rough patch after their bye when they lost to the top two sides in Rowville Gold and Balwyn.

Finishing the regular season on a six-game winning streak, they then won their three finals against Montrose Thunder, Balwyn and Rowville Gold, the latter of the three in the decider, to bring home the Division 6 premiership.

Zoe Smith was stellar in attack with 353 goals in 11 games, including 47 in the two finals she played. She was named on the bench in the Division 6 Team of the Year while Elise Mueller, who played all 15 games, was named at Goal Defence in the team.

Warrandyte White (Division 9)

A slightly tougher year for the Bloods Division 9 netball side, finishing second last with two wins to their name this past season.

Those two wins came in their opening two games of the season against Rowville Bronze and Park Orchards Green following an opening round bye.

From there it got tougher for the Bloods, losing two of their next four games by three goals or less before facing some tougher opposition in the final few rounds of the season.

A shining light for them was Alannah Parrott who, after scoring 176 goals in 10 games for the Bloods, was named at Goal Attack in the Division 9 Team of the Year.