Yarra Valley Water Feature | Chirnside Park off to a flyer

By Christopher Kourtis.

Chirnside Park are off to a hot start in 2025, four wins from their first five games.

The Panthers sit at the top of the Division Four ladder, boasting the league’s best offense. With four wins in their first five games, percentage holds the side above the rest of the competition.

The Panthers have been one of the league’s most exciting watches. The side kicked an incredible 127 points on average across their first three games. Jake Cawsey (22 goals in 5 games) and Justin Ficorilli (14 goals in 5 games) have gotten plenty of reward for effort, leading the league’s goal kicking standings.  

Chirnside Park came crashing down to reality in Round 4, however. The Whitehorse Pioneers held Chirnside to a score of just 8.9-57, taking home a six-point victory.

Ficorilli saw the loss as an opportunity for his team to learn about their weaknesses and adjust accordingly.

“[Losing to Whitehorse] was a good thing for us – I think it was a bit of a wake-up call,” the player/head coach said. “Things that get swept under the table when you’re winning sort of stand out when you lose”. 

Chirnside Park produced a much-needed response, walking out of Warrandyte Recreation Reserve with a seventeen-point victory over Warrandyte. The Panthers were challenged at multiple times throughout the match, yet stood tall and took home the four points.

“We always thought [playing Warrandyte] was going to be a tough challenge,” Ficorilli said.

“We focused on starting well… we gave up some goals in the second quarter but credit to the boys, they fought back.

“It was pretty slingshot footy… we dug deep, it was a really gritty win”.

The Panthers will have their first bye of the season this week, before facing a strong Kilsyth side in Round 7.

Ficorilli’s side will need to maintain their form for the rest of the season, with Whitehorse and Kilsyth in hot pursuit of top spot. The player/coach is one of many who see that Division Four is shaping up to be one of the EFNL’s tightest competitions this season. 

“[Division Four] has definitely tightened up… anyone can win”.