The 2026 season is just around the corner so EDFL Media will be previewing each club heading into Round One. Next, we chat to Keilor Park coach Marcus Barclay who provides some insights on their 2026 campaign.
2025: 2nd (10W, 4L, 328,97%)
Coach: Marcus Barclay
PRE-SEASON FOCUS
"Through the pre-season we wanted to continue creating a fun and enjoyable vibe at each training session. Encouragement, engagement, and positivity whenever we get together, on or off the field.
"There's plenty to work on for 2026. With so many new players last year, it literally took half a season to really gel the group. We were so banged up when we hit the finals last season, so recovery is something we’ll focus on a lot.
"In 2025, Saturdays were our highlight. The group love playing footy together and it showed on gameday. So this season we want to build upon our off-field culture, more social gatherings, bonding sessions, etc.
"Our pre-season dinner was excellent and a few bonding sessions are planned prior to Round 1."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
"Belle Veluccci, Krystal Lilomaiava, Mia Tournas, and Steph Aleksovski have all had excellent pre-seasons.
"Georgia O’Donovan, Maddi Cooper, and Caitlyn Crameri showed great chemistry in 2025 so we're excited to watch that grow further with a few new additions.
"Youngsters Bella Arvanitis and Kaitlin Bojarowski have been training well and looking forward to both having breakout seasons. Our new additions have already made a great impact so that’s exciting."
2026 OUTLOOK
"Obviously another finals berth would be awesome. But the main goal for Keilor Park will always be creating an environment that retains and attracts players, where the financial benefit isn’t the motivation for success."
ON THE RECORD WITH MARCUS BARCLAY
Biggest pest at the club?
Rhiarn Daley. Special mentions to Alana Vidov and Kaitlin Bojarowski.
Is there a cult hero at the club?
Krystal Lilomaiava brings great energy to the club.
Which AFLW player would you cherry-pick for your side?
Maddi Prespaskis is a star!
Shot after the siren to win, who do you want kicking it?
Caitlyn Crameri.
What are your favourite qualities in players you coach?
Players who really enjoy playing footy.
Should AFLW Origin join the men's showcase and in what format?
Absolutely there should be AFLW Origin, and they should be playing their season alongside the men's competition. There's such a huge gap from season to season which loses momentum.
Any opportunity to showcase women’s footy on the big stage gives the young girls extra motivation to aspire to their heroes!
LODGED TRANSFERS
In: Sophie Shaw (Airport West), Ashleigh Drews (Airport West), Georgia O'Donovan (Airport West), Antonietta Parisi (Airport West), Kaitlin Bojarowski (Airport West), Diana Pukaj (Burnside Heights), Stephanie Aleksovski (Airport West), Krystal Lilomaiava (Airport West), Ella Grant-Campbell (Keilor), Clare Woodruff (Point Cook), Chloe Smith (Diamond Creek Womens).
Out: nil.
EDFL MEDIA SAYS
Keilor Park is coming off a preliminary final feature in 2025 and will be one of the favourites heading into 2026. There were a lot of new faces in 2025 with returning coach Marcus Barclay outlining the extra time it took to gel, so with incredible retention you'd expect the Devils to hit the ground running. With some new recruits and a strong sense of stability in the women's program, it's hard to see Keilor Park outside the top couple of sides in 2026.
