SFNL Div 2 2025

[Big buzz]

Can't say I have the knowledge here that I used to possess, but will try and make a good fist of it.

Biggest contenders for mine are Hampton Park, Doveton, Chelsea Heights and East Malvern.
H.P were a good side last year, and despite losing Stanton and some others to retirement/suspension, Bull and a strong contingent of Noble Park players should reinforce the side nicely and put them in great stead to secure a long awaited D1 berth.
E.M were somewhat of a surprise package, surging through to the grand final on the back of a D1 standard top end and a dogged defence. Morrisby is an absolute superstar and would be one of the top 3 players in D2, who when combined with Brunner and Amendola (both gun midfielders who hit the scoreboard) and some good KPP utilities like Berryman ensure they'll be up around the pointy end again. Worth noting that those blokes haven't been re-announced yet, but in most likelihood will be staying. A wildcard is the new coach as well as the possible return of Nathan Peterson, who is another out and out star.
Dovey played a shocker of a prelim final, but still largely have the same pieces as last season with the exception of Deakyn Smith, who as mentioned above, was their best player for the second half of the season. They have really good depth, but a lot will be on Chapman (who for mine is a top 3 ruckman in the entire SFNL) and Ricky Johnson (league B+F) to finally get over the hump.
Chelsea are an interesting case, had a season ravaged by injury, but were pretty stiff to go down as 9th in D1. Tapscott will be the best player in the div (was top 5 in div 1) and their skipper MacPherson would also be in the best handful of players, remains to be seen if Nathan Wright will play but I'd bet he winds up pulling the red and blue on at some stage. Their top 16 or so players are clearly D1 standard, but it's those bottom 6 or so that'll determine how far they can go this season, though they are easier to shield in the slower D2. Have a crop of U19s coming through too, but not sure on quality. They should be up and amongst it again.

Contending for finals should be Caulfield and Frankston
Caulfield are always pretty similar year on year, and are always a good side albeit a tad workmanlike. Getting a full year out of Dunn should help things, as he's a colossus up forward. Look for Wheaton, Schumann, Chin and the ever reliable Ballard to help propel the Bears towards finals.
Frankston are the biggest wildcard here, and have offset the loss of Chapman (who has retired) by getting back Andy Mathers and Jak Nardino for 2025, who instantly form one of the best 1-2 punches in div 2. Nardino won a Prem B league medal and Mathers finished runner up in MPFNL Div 2 league medal, so both are well above the standard of div 2. Adding them to a very solid spine, who now have the monkey off their back after finally breaking through for a premiership, bodes promisingly for the Dolphins, who are looking to push for div 1 so they can finally be accepted into the MPFNL. Another team with a very promising crop of U19s.


Looking to consolidate in D2 in my opinion are: Keysborough, Mordialloc, Highett and Endeavour Hills.
Keysy outperformed expectations last year. Many expected them to head down to D3 due to losing a boatload of players to the VAFA, but the Burras defied the odds to be a competitive side. No reason for them to regress massively, but you'd be surprised if they made finals.
Endeavour had a solid season, adapting solidly to D2 life but copped some massive beltings from the top sides. They're still quite a young team, and natural development should help them improve. Rafferty is a bull in the middle and ruckman VanVelsen should return this year. Look for Luke Peters and Liam Hasler to continue their ascent to SFNL stars, who should mesh well with the mercurial Josiah Kyle to hopefully continue the Falcons' upward trajectory.
Mordialloc seem to have got the proverbial band back together in the aftermath of their disappointing D1 disaster last season. They've lost Nick Grech, who was probably their best player last season to the MPFNL but sill have Toby Plant, who will be in the upper echelon of midfielders in the division. They've also managed to entice Brodie Woodcock back from Heatherton, who is a very exciting prospect for the future. The bloods are a bit of an unknown but should at least be competitive you'd think.
Finally there's Highett, who have suffered the hammer blow of losing Jacob Duscher to Dingley. Duscher will leave an enormous hole in the Doggies' midfield as he was one of the premier players of the division. Despite that, they still have a solid core and have supplemented it with a slew of D1 reserves players. A full preseason from star big man Macklin Raine will help their cause, but I'd be surprised to see them play finals.

In short, the competition lacks a true standout like it has in years past (Murrumbeena and East Brighton). Which should hopefully make for an even season where anyone is capable of beating anyone. Here's my way too early predicted ladder:
Chelsea Heights
East Malvern
Hampton Park
Doveton
Frankston Dolphins
Caulfield
Endeavour Hills
Highett
Mordialloc
Keysborough

really good write up well done m8 it will be a close division this year I think

 

[Pendles1991]

Has anyone heard if Morrisby has signed at East malvern yet?

 

[cromball90]

Has anyone heard if Morrisby has signed at East malvern yet?

Been at training , so can’t see why not.

 

[Big buzz]

Has anyone heard if Morrisby has signed at East malvern yet?

Heard he is playing there They seem to have picked up a few good players and a couple of forwards to help him out think they will be one of the top sides again i know Hampton park being getting close to close to 40 or more on the track every night anyone heard how other clubs are going

 

[Pendles1991]

Heard he is playing there They seem to have picked up a few good players and a couple of forwards to help him out think they will be one of the top sides again i know Hampton park being getting close to close to 40 or more on the track every night anyone heard how other clubs are going

Have heard similar about Hampton Park, great numbers. Bully is doing a great job so far.

East Malvern look to be solid, great recruiting and seem to have retained most players. Will be top 2 I'd imagine.

Caulfield retained whole list and getting mid 30s to training. I believe have taken Murrumbeenas best ruck and a few returning guns coming back.

Doveton I believe there's frustration due to not recruiting well this off season and also have lost 2 or 3 of there best players.

Mordi seem to have great numbers, have recruited a heap of players. Most are returning older players, don't know if it will make a big enough differenxe with how far behind they were.

Haven't heard much about chelsea heights, keysy, frankston or highett though.

 

[Big buzz]

Have heard similar about Hampton Park, great numbers. Bully is doing a great job so far.

East Malvern look to be solid, great recruiting and seem to have retained most players. Will be top 2 I'd imagine.

Caulfield retained whole list and getting mid 30s to training. I believe have taken Murrumbeenas best ruck and a few returning guns coming back.

Doveton I believe there's frustration due to not recruiting well this off season and also have lost 2 or 3 of there best players.

Mordi seem to have great numbers, have recruited a heap of players. Most are returning older players, don't know if it will make a big enough differenxe with how far behind they were.

Haven't heard much about chelsea heights, keysy, frankston or highett though.

Yep iv heard the same on those clubs but did hear Frankston have lost a couple but picked up the c coach again and several others from mpnfl that go more than handy players going to be a pretty tight comp especially top 7 sides

 

[bedford]

Have heard similar about Hampton Park, great numbers. Bully is doing a great job so far.

East Malvern look to be solid, great recruiting and seem to have retained most players. Will be top 2 I'd imagine.

Caulfield retained whole list and getting mid 30s to training. I believe have taken Murrumbeenas best ruck and a few returning guns coming back.

Doveton I believe there's frustration due to not recruiting well this off season and also have lost 2 or 3 of there best players.

Mordi seem to have great numbers, have recruited a heap of players. Most are returning older players, don't know if it will make a big enough differenxe with how far behind they were.

Haven't heard much about chelsea heights, keysy, frankston or highett though.

Bears training on main ground without permission ! absolute bullshit

 

[Marousses]

Bears training on main ground without permission ! absolute bullshit

Bedford the Dibby dobber.

 

[bedford]

Bedford the Dibby dobber.

Yep , it's bullshit the ground was left in a shit state , cricket leaves the ground in good nick

 

[Pendles1991]

Bears training on main ground without permission ! absolute bullshit

How do you know they don't have permission?

 

[bedford]

How do you know they don't have permission?

Because i do , not 1 club in Glen Eira is allowed on the main oval before Xmas sport

 

[Pendles1991]

Because i do , not 1 club in Glen Eira is allowed on the main oval before Xmas sport

So what I'm reading is, you're assuming they don't have permission?

 

[Marousses]

Yep , it's bullshit the ground was left in a shit state , cricket leaves the ground in good nick

Winter sport Bedford , grounds never going to be great entering the cricket season, summer the sun bakes the ovals and with the grass the councils use now and the consistent watering there is always going to be the ovals in a good state ending summer.


for what it’s worth most players train in runners over the summer, no damage made. Councils are too precious with traffic on ovals etc, all ovals should be used by the club tenants all year round if need be.

 

[Pendles1991]

Winter sport Bedford , grounds never going to be great entering the cricket season, summer the sun bakes the ovals and with the grass the councils use now and the consistent watering there is always going to be the ovals in a good state ending summer.


for what it’s worth most players train in runners over the summer, no damage made. Councils are too precious with traffic on ovals etc, all ovals should be used by the club tenants all year round if need be.

Agreed. I'd love to see a ground that looks better after a winter with a football club with players in boots etc compared to a summer where it gets **** all foot traffic on and good weather too.

 

[Wild Thing]

Yep iv heard the same on those clubs but did hear Frankston have lost a couple but picked up the c coach again and several others from mpnfl that go more than handy players going to be a pretty tight comp especially top 7 sides

Who’s the bottom 3 then that we can rule out?

 

[Pendles1991]

Who’s the bottom 3 then that we can rule out?

My bottom 3 would be keysy, highett and mordi at this stage. Keysy and Highett haven't recruited well in comparison to what they've lost. And I believe Mordi are starting way behind the pack, but there new recruits may surprise us. But that's my bottom 3

 

[bedford]

So what I'm reading is, you're assuming they don't have permission?

Koornang park was in a shocking state and is only now recovering and then there are the dogs off lead on an on lead area

 

[Pendles1991]

Koornang park was in a shocking state and is only now recovering and then there are the dogs off lead on an on lead area

Wow. Ok so now you're blaming the footy club for people from the public for having dogs on the ground without a lead? Did the footy team drop you from the team for finals or did the coach try and chat up your Mrs or something because it sure seems you have a fair agenda against them.

 

[Wild Thing]

My bottom 3 would be keysy, highett and mordi at this stage. Keysy and Highett haven't recruited well in comparison to what they've lost. And I believe Mordi are starting way behind the pack, but there new recruits may surprise us. But that's my bottom 3

Yeah not too bad more than likely those 3 mentioned, what about Endeavour Hills? Do we see them improving on last year or around the same?

 

[bedford]

Wow. Ok so now you're blaming the footy club for people from the public for having dogs on the ground without a lead? Did the footy team drop you from the team for finals or did the coach try and chat up your Mrs or something because it sure seems you have a fair agenda against them.

I feel for you as you have no idea .
I'm saying in general grounds in GE were left in shocking condition , Murrumbeena was worse and unplayable for 2 weeks of the cricket season.

 

[SaintsMagee]

I feel for you as you have no idea .
I'm saying in general grounds in GE were left in shocking condition , Murrumbeena was worse and unplayable for 2 weeks of the cricket season.

You sound like a massive sook. Although, you do love to suck up on facebook and then cry on bigfooty. Murrumbeena had an extra month of footy train due to playing finals which equals less time than most of clubs for the ground to recover. I'm sure after 1 month the ground would be fine to play on.

 

[2s Hack]

I feel for you as you have no idea .
I'm saying in general grounds in GE were left in shocking condition , Murrumbeena was worse and unplayable for 2 weeks of the cricket season.

Victory Park, Mackie & Bailey were atrocious after soccer left them in the state they did running up and down on the same spot all winter.

 

[Big buzz]

Yeah not too bad more than likely those 3 mentioned, what about Endeavour Hills? Do we see them improving on last year or around the same?

I think Mordialloc in that top 7 bottom 3 will be highett e/hils keysy but think those sides could knock of anyone on off if you have a bad day

 

[Pendles1991]

I think Mordialloc in that top 7 bottom 3 will be highett e/hils keysy but think those sides could knock of anyone on off if you have a bad day

Agree with this. I believe Endeavour may yoyo in and out of the bottom 3. They've recruited Josiah Kyle who is a very good player, but he will play 3 or 4 games and take his sign on fee and bail like he does every year. Besides that, I don't believe there line up has changed.

Agree in regards to anyone on there day could beat anyone. Going to be a very tight comp in div 2

 

[Pendles1991]

Also looks like East Malvern are recruiting half of Baroogas team. They've recruited a lot of players for next year.