Yarra Valley Water InFocus 2026 | South Belgrave

By Christopher Kourtis.

South Belgrave’s senior men’s side face new horizons in the season ahead, as the senior women’s side are out for redemption after coming agonisingly close to conquering Premier Division in 2025.

The Saints are the new kids on the block in the EFNL’s topflight of the Senior Men's competition, having earned promotion to Premier Division.

South Belgrave enter the competition with momentum, having dominated Division One last year. The club went through the season dropping only two games for the year before a thrilling Grand Final victory over Park Orchards, sending them to Premier.

Despite rumours that the side’s heavy hitters would leave following their promotion, senior coach Kristan Height reveals that the club has succeeded in locking down their core.

“We put a lot of time and effort into re-signing our playing squad from one down to forty-five… we’ve only lost one or two guys,” Height said.

“As a club, we didn’t really need or think that we needed to go out and recruit hard, because the players have shown their commitment to us, so we’re showing commitment back to them.”

Height is confident that his side already have what it takes to compete however, noting that he is impressed with how they are facing the challenge – not just for this season, but for years to come.

“We’ve been really pleased with our next generation of leaders over the preseason. We’ve got a really strong group of younger guys coming through in the age group of 21, 22”, Height explained.

“They’ve been organising extra sessions… Saturday morning runs, extra skill sessions.”

“Hopefully for future years, we’ll show the younger guys underneath them that it’s what we’re expecting at South Belgrave.”

South Belgrave will open their season away to Rowville on Good Friday at Seebeck Reserve as one of two Premier Division stand alone games.

Height is confident that his side will be ready for the start of the season but also acknowledges that it’s hard to set a pass mark in a new division.

“We know [the players] are working hard and they’re keen for the challenge… we’re just making sure that the boys are ready for that,” he said.

“You learn a lot as you go… I just don’t know anything about the teams that we’re playing against yet,”

“We want to put ourselves in a position at the back end of the year where we are challenging, hopefully for finals, but also out of contention for relegation.”

They'll be looking to replicate some of South Belgrave Senior Women's sides success at Premier level, the Saints’ side falling just three points short of lifting the premiership cup.  

The team have now turned their attention to getting the job done this time around. Senior coach Shane Mason says that although their goal stays the same, they’ll have to do it with a slightly different list.

“We’ve lost a couple of our seasoned veterans… we’ve had a couple of other movements, you know, interstate and over the other side of town,” Mason said.

It is not all outgoings, however, as coach Mason says that there’s some exciting incomings that are ready to hit the ground running.

“We get some girls that have been involved in the Eastern Rangers list over the last couple of years that have now entered senior footy,” Mason explained.

“We’ve got some key people there within the team… everybody understands that they’ve got a part of their role in the leadership.”

The South Belgrave faithful are confident that they’ve got the winning formula already, after a very strong 2025 season despite missing out on the premiership.

“I think you’ve always got to back your system,” Mason said, whilst noting that the off-field approach will remain the same as well.

“That was our whole strategy last year… don’t focus too far ahead, just focus on what you can control. That was what we did last year, and I don’t think that’s going to change this year.”

The Saints will host Vermont in their season opener. After that, they’ll face the Eastern Devils and Park Orchards in the following two weeks, two more of the competition’s benchmarks.

Whilst South Belgrave have their sights on another Grand Final appearance, they remain wary of their opposition’s credentials as well.

“Other teams will improve… that’s the nature of women’s footy, especially in the Premier Division – it’s getting so close and so competitive,” Mason noted.

“[We] want to be close to the top”.