Yarra Valley Water InFocus 2026 | Bayswater

By Christopher Kourtis.

Bayswater’s new look Men’s side are ready to compete in Division One, while the Women’s program aim to replicate their regular season dominance in 2026.

The men’s side finished 2025 with three wins and are now looking forward to the fresh start of a new season.

Senior coach Luke Harris has given his side a boost over the off-season, bringing in eighteen new players to the club.

Despite the number of new faces, Harris says that the side is already off to a good start.

“The new boys are training the house down… [they’ve] fitted in really well. We were very targeted with who we recruited – we went after specific players to fill certain roles.

“We’re a fair bit in front of this time last year with understanding how we want to play and our method of moving the ball… we’re super excited.”

Headlining the arrivals are ex-AFL and current Box Hill VFL-listed players Trent Bianco and Tyler Brown.

Bianco (25) and Brown (26) bring valuable, high-level experience to what is already a young list.

“It’s fantastic to have those boys coming on board… [it’ll] be huge for our young list,” Harris said.

Bayswater have their sights set on putting wins on the board early in a highly competitive Division One competition. Facing Montrose and Mitcham in the opening two rounds, Harris is confident that his players will be ready to compete with the heavy hitters of the division.

“We can’t wait for the season to start,” Harris said.

“Noah Iliadis and [Logan] Hiscock, they’ve really impressed with their speed and agility.

“Matthew Higgins has been very impressive… he’ll spend a lot more time through the midfield.

“Our young blokes, they’ve all taken the natural progression.

“We’re there to win games of footy… it’s not just a development year”.

Bayswater’s Senior Women's are one team that are also in win-now mode.

Crowned minor premiers of the Division Four Deakin University Senior Women's comp last season, the team were hit badly with injuries at finals time, which sealed a straight sets exit in the finals.

Despite facing a bit of list turnover, head coach Matt Chapman believes the team are already taking lessons from last year’s shortcomings.

“We’ve lost a few players from last year… we’re about even from what we’ve lost to what we’ve gained,” Chapman said.

“We’re trying to work out ways of managing game time a lot better so [the players] can get through [the season], rather than overloading them”.

The club have announced that they have also promoted two of their own from their junior club. Shaylee Gauci-Fraser and Matilda Hindson make the jump to senior football, both bringing with them experience from the Eastern Ranges.

Bayswater finished the 2025 Home and Away season at 11-1. As impressive as it was, Chapman understands that it doesn’t guarantee wins in the upcoming campaign.

“You’ve definitely got to evolve, got to keep changing things,” Chapman said.

“You can’t just sort of stand flat-footed because anyone will start climbing all over you.”

The side have their sights set on finals once more and, injury-permitting, making a deeper run. Coach Chapman is intent on making sure that the side is well-equipped to reach that landmark.

“I’m not so fussed on where [we] end up on the ladder – as long as all our systems are going.

“Success is definitely finals.”