After another long off season, EDFL footy is finally back! With three men's Good Friday games to sink your teeth into, there’s plenty of action to warm you up before Round 1.
It doesn’t get much bigger than a grand final rematch to kick the season off with Keilor hosting Strathmore in Good Friday footy.
The Blues haven’t lost a game in 578 days while the Mores will be hoping some fresh faces can make amends for the final game of 2023.
Both sides have been reasonably quiet in the recruiting space in terms of volume, but have been incredibly effective with four ex-AFL players set to grace Joe Brown Oval on Friday.
Keilor junior Josh Honey returns to the club on a full-time basis and will join utility Cody Brand in the blue, red, and white
Meanwhile, Shaun McKernan returns to the EDFL with Strathmore alongside former Roo and Port player Trent Dumont.
Despite the quality additions, both sides have lost a reasonable amount of talent and experience.
Matty Clark and Jono Marsh are premiership players Mick McGuane will need to replace but the side that was so dominant in 2023 also entered the season losing 2019 premiership players Dean Galea, David Gourdis, David Isbister, Jamie Papalia, and Todd Stevenson.
McGuane will still have options but it’ll be interesting to see what the four-time premiership coach serves up.
As for Strathmore, there was a coaching change with Nick Ash stepping into the head coaching seat with Xavier Allison, Lachlan Johnson, and league leading goalkicker Tom Condon among the key departures.
The Mores will be playing with the highest amount of points they would have for a while with the inclusions of McKernan and Dumont while Williamstown VFL ball magnet Harry Jones will also well and truly fill the void.
It’s set to be a bumper clash and you can catch all the action on NXP EDFL Match of the Day!
The Battle of the Bridge between Roxburgh Park and Craigieburn will kick the Strathmore Community Bank Division One season off at Lakeside Oval on Good Friday.
These are two sides who have been just on the outside looking in to finals action over the last couple of seasons and will want to kick their campaigns off strong.
Roxburgh Park have entered the ‘Terra Era’ with Ross Terranova again coaching in Division One and will provide a fresh voice after a wonderful stint by Michael Farrelly.
The Magpies added some depth to their overall squad but didn’t land a big fish in the off season, losing Cooper McPharlane and Nathan Carroll in the process who combined for 77 goals in 2023.
Craigieburn will enter the season optimistic about their chances of moving into the top five with another preseason under Shane Jacobs and some handy inclusions.
This fixture was a close contest last year with Craigieburn winning by 11 points.
Rounding out Good Friday in a twilight fixture is Keilor Park taking on Hillside at Keilor Park Reserve.
Both sides experienced a change in the head coaching seats with Devils club legend Leigh Coles replacing premiership coach Paul Guicas, while Chris Daley replaced Charlie Denaro after serving as assistant coach in 2023.
Robbie Castello was the biggest loss for the Devils in the offseason as he lines up against his former side for the Sharks, joining Fort and Nat Caruso as marquee recruits with Hillside enjoying a fruitful return in the recruiting space.
The Sharks will likely go in as favourites but Keilor Park will be keen to show what they’re capable of under a new coach with fresh faces out on the field.
THIS WEEKEND’S FIXTURES
KEILOR v STRATHMORE
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📻 98.9 North West FM
Friday 2:15pm at Joe Brown Oval
ROXBURGH PARK v CRAIGIEBURN
Friday 2:15pm at Lakeside Oval
KEILOR PARK v HILLSIDE
Friday 5:15pm at Keilor Park Reserve
