NO cricket on Saturday never stopped me from doing Around the Grounds.
ON TO NEXT WEEK
It is indeed the now traditional round one washout – I don’t remember the last time the season actually started on time with weather always seeming to get in the way.
It was a purely common-sense decision, with plenty of heavy rain in the region on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning, cricket was never going to be played.
Admittedly it did create a rather amusing morning seeing some of the funny images posted on the Diamond Valley page regarding the washout. Cricket never ceases to amaze in the humour stakes.
IN THE MIDDLE OF TRADE WEEK?
One guy who would have been relieved to see a washout – and perhaps another one on Saturday – is Richmond’s List Strategy and Player Acquisition manager Nick Austin, who plays at Riverside.
With free agency and trade week underway, Austin will be a busy man this time of year, with cricket his escape. The Tigers have already been active, signing Kieran Briggs from Greater Western Sydney, and will be hoping to climb the ladder this year.
LEAGUE’S NEW PODCAST
One thing the Diamond Valley Cricket Association is clearly working on is its reach and brand, and the league is now hosting a live show and a podcast throughout the season.
I’ve been lucky enough to get the call up to produce the podcast. Things went swimmingly for episode one last Wednesday night, with Jack Ryan and Jaedyn Kearney hosting the show, and Plenty’s Billy McKeown, Montmorency’s Anthony Licovski and South Morang’s Karl Heckmann the guests for the opening show.
Really looking forward to being able to tell the stories of the league throughout the season.
FOOTY IS A 12 MONTH A YEAR SPORT NOW IT SEEMS
While cricket, rightfully, has the right of way at this time of year, washouts such as Saturday leaves people such as newspaper writers scrambling for room.
Lucky, then, that it seems there’s still a rush of signings going on around the Northern Football Netball League to keep our dear readers informed of what’s going on around the league.
This won’t be a regular thing, but it might as well be pointed out this week that the spreadsheets for club movements have been going crazy. I’ll outline some of the moves below…
MERNDA’S BIGGEST EVER SIGNING
Headlining the activity this week is Mernda announcing what it says is it’s biggest signing ever, and having been around the club myself for two decades, it’s hard to disagree.
Deer Park, East Keilor and Wallan great Chris Stewart is making his way to the Demons, fresh off still performing very well at the Magpies this season, kicking 47 goals.
His signing unlocks plenty for the Demons – it allows the recently re-signed Kyle Green to roam through the midfield, while the club finally has the key forward they sorely lacked last year.
Billy Morrison, Lincoln Coffey and Stewart forms a scary big-man trio.
WHITTLESEA MAKES A STATEMENT
Having probably underachieved a little bit in 2026, falling at the first hurdle in finals, Whittlesea are wasting no time making big moves for 2027.
With a lot of its young, local core signed, the Eagles have made two significant signings in recent days.
The first is claiming Kinglake goalkicker Mason McAllister to the Eagles, where he will play his part across midfield and up forward, highlighted by a seven-goal game against Epping earlier this year.
The second, however, is the signing of gun Bundoora midfielder Luke Lo Valvo, who had finished second in the Bulls’ best and fairest last year. He should be a great pickup for this division.
BEARS MAKING A MOVE
The sleeper in the division 1 pack in season 2027 looms as Banyule.
We saw how much the Bears roared home after such a slow start under Rohan Welsh, but the big names are all staying – Kye Yodgee, Jean-Luc Valissaris, Liam Mackie, Jack Langford, Tim Martin, the Kayrooz brothers just to name a few.
The Bears now have a big fish, signing Patrick Fairlie from Caulfield Grammarians.
The Preston connection goes on.
HEIDELBERG CHANGES
Heidelberg will undoubtedly make key signings as the pre-season goes on but a list of their departures is starting to make things a little interesting.
Dylan Clarke is the first one announced, signed by Wodonga Rovers. The anticipation is that a handful more good players could also be on the move, but with signings such as Keenan Posar, Sam Gilmore, Brayden Sier, Jack Andrew and Kai Dimattina already on board, expect the Tigers to not give up its seat at the head of the table that easily.
LALOR GETTING BUSY
Full credit to Lalor, who have been far and away the busiest in off-season transactions so far – and had to be.
The club has struggled through a lot of the last handful of seasons but have already announced 16 new players walking through the door.
First time senior coach JJ Cristaudo has been tasked with the mammoth job of getting Lalor back up the ladder. While it will very clearly not be an overnight job, the task is one he has taken head-on, making plenty of moves.
