2026 player moves - ins and outs, signings and departures

[CliffMcTainshaw]

I think getting to an AFL club works the other way.......they need to contact you ......

I guess so, but they probably won't contact you if they think you are retired, unless you are someone like Luke Hodge, Tim Watson or Cyril Rioli!

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I believe that Doncaster will have returning player on there 2024 points.
Not sure on new players

Vast majority of the players they’ve announced aren’t ex Doncaster. They’re from other clubs so most will be 3 pointers, at least one will be a 4 pointer (the bloke from Springy Districts).

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I’d say Stephenson has precisely zero chance of returning to the AFL, 27yo, wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire then retired (apparently) voluntarily and spent a year doing who knows what and playing park footy.

I get the AFL lifestyle isn’t for everybody but if he’s wanting to return it probably shows he regrets his decision which is a shame.

He played 122 AFL games which is no small feat and a career to be proud of. Majority of AFL players don’t make it that far. He’s probably cost himself a few years of professional footy with a lack of commitment and a dumb decision but in time that probably won’t seem like much.

My advice would be forget it, find your next career and have a kick with your mates. Not that he’d care what some w***er on the internet thinks!

 

[cromball90]

I think whatever Doncaster have been given to help should be communicated to at a minimum all other Div 4 clubs. It would be impossible for them to stay under the points under the current rules but there could be something like automatic 1 pointers for any former Doncaster players.

Outta curiosity why just Doncaster
What about Nunawading ?

 

[hansie]

And same for Nunawading as well and would EFNL allow Nunawading,Doncaster and even Forest Hill to only field 1 senior side in D4 2026.

You would think if Forest hill and Nunawading couldn’t field 2 sides each the league should be brokering a marriage of sorts. Though looking at the Doncaster signings they also could join the zebs if numbers were an issue! (Observation only not having a dig)
Good luck to the sharkies

 

[adock]

Outta curiosity why just Doncaster
What about Nunawading ?

You'd presume it would be the same deal but i don't think anyone fears Nunawading respectfully. I know some clubs in Div 4 are starting to become a little uneasy with Doncasters signings and their lack of a salary cap.

 

[Glorfindel]

I don't think there's much that can be done. The club returning is more important than the points limit.

22 x 3 pointers is 66 points so perhaps they get given a 70 point or so limit. Sounds very high but as that shows it's not really. You just want them to get a side up without taking the piss.

High points to start with then something like a “step down” plan over 3-4 years to bring them level with everyone else.
Eg year 1 = 150% allowance
Year 2 = 140% etc etc

 

[magpies2013]

Hugh Beasley

Hugh Beasley

Age

30

Ht

191cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.8

2star

K

4.7

2star

HB

5.2

4star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

4star

MG

96.0

2star

No current season stats available

D

10.0

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

5.4

4star

M

2.8

3star

T

2.8

5star

MG

82.0

2star

to Mooroolbark. Played 6 games for the Brisbane Lions. Great get

 

[10571z]

I’d say Stephenson has precisely zero chance of returning to the AFL, 27yo, wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire then retired (apparently) voluntarily and spent a year doing who knows what and playing park footy.

I get the AFL lifestyle isn’t for everybody but if he’s wanting to return it probably shows he regrets his decision which is a shame.

He played 122 AFL games which is no small feat and a career to be proud of. Majority of AFL players don’t make it that far. He’s probably cost himself a few years of professional footy with a lack of commitment and a dumb decision but in time that probably won’t seem like much.

My advice would be forget it, find your next career and have a kick with your mates. Not that he’d care what some w***er on the internet thinks!

Agreed. Too old to make a return now. If GC or GWS were in the infancy years he might have been a chance but zero use for bottom sides now.

 

[cromball90]

You'd presume it would be the same deal but i don't think anyone fears Nunawading respectfully. I know some clubs in Div 4 are starting to become a little uneasy with Doncasters signings and their lack of a salary cap.

i don’t think anyone has a leg to stand on to only kick up a stink because you fear a certain club
If someone was geniunely concerned about pts for a club comin outta recess they should be asking the question about both clubs re-joining the league

 

[cromball90]

Lunny ( played 10 senior games at Balwyn this year ) and cowan are two very good ins at Fairpark

let’s all stop pretending there’s a salary cap in div4 lol

 

[adock]

Lunny ( played 10 senior games at Balwyn this year ) and cowan are two very good ins at Fairpark

let’s all stop pretending there’s a salary cap in div4 lol

They are losing some at Fairpark also, it hasn't been the smoothest drop for them so far, which can happen. They also don't have much depth in their 2s (they finished bottom) so they will need to pick up a fair bit.

Allison was also a playing coach so they get his portion back to spend but lose a handy player.

 

[Saltness]

Agreed. Too old to make a return now. If GC or GWS were in the infancy years he might have been a chance but zero use for bottom sides now.

He’s been training at Carlton with a mate who plays there

 

[Harry Cheezels]

He’s been training at Carlton with a mate who plays there

Heard on good authority he will be part of their VFL team next season. Unfortunate for FTG if that's the case

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Doncaster East football operations manager Peter Sowersby said a stroke of luck helped the club to its latest additions, with the stars aligning after securing Tomoya Owens last week.

“When we were signing him, he said him and his two housemates (Gown and Gasparini) were all looking to play together, so they were all going to land at the one club,” Sowersby said.

“It might look like a masterstroke from us, but we were pretty lucky that they all wanted to play together.

“It was a big selling point to them, they still wanted to play at the highest level.

“Will’s also about to start working in the city, so he thought Doncaster East was a bit closer … Josh had been playing at Old Haileybury since school and Eastern footy league always was attractive to him.”

Gown was set to free up Team of the Year centre half-back and ex-AFL man Taylin Duman

44

Taylin Duman

Age

27

Ht

193cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.0

4star

K

10.4

4star

HB

4.7

3star

M

5.2

5star

T

2.5

4star

D

10.0

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

3.0

2star

M

5.0

5star

T

3.0

4star

D

12.6

4star

K

8.0

3star

HB

4.6

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.8

4star

in a significant lift to the back six.

“Having those two off half-back is going to be amazing, and I think Tim O’Brien will sit in at centre half-back, so the backline’s definitely looking strong,” Sowersby said.

Meanwhile, Sowersby said the midfield was set to bat much deeper next season – aided by the return of young gun Darcy Jones-Hughes, who has battled knee and hip injuries in recent years.

“He’s been given the all-clear to start day one of pre-season, so he’s like a recruit as well,” Sowersby said.

“Our midfield’s going to be really strong – we lacked a bit of depth.

“All of them are pretty versatile – Matt (O’Brien) will be pretty handy with his elite kicking skills, and he’s an unbelievable handballer as well. Those skills go unnoticed sometimes.”

Sowersby said his club’s five recruits this off-season addressed a significant gap in the list’s age demographic.

“We’ve got five guys in between 22 and 25, I think that’s where we’ve probably lacked in the past few years after ‘Phez’ (Chris Phelan) and ‘Whitey’ (Simon White

Simon White

Age

37

Ht

190cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.3

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

5.0

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.9

4star

MG

199.9

3star

No current season stats available

D

16.6

4star

K

9.8

4star

HB

6.8

5star

M

8.2

5star

T

1.6

4star

) retired,” he said.

“From afar everyone thinks every year we’re going to push, but I think the last two years (2024 and ’25) … 2024 was a bit of a wake-up call for us, and this year we were definitely building with playing some really good young guys.”

Doncaster East was set to retain most of its list – with dual premiership star Jake Whitling a fresh departure after winning the Warrandyte coaching job.

The Lions missed the finals this year, finishing eighth with a 7-11 record.

Sowersby declared there were “no excuses” next season.

“You look at every club that’s gone into Premier Division, I think every club has ‘yo-yoed’ apart from us,” he said.

“This’ll be our seventh year in Premier Division, it’s a bloody tough comp, so we’ve always got to do what we can to get better.

“Next year, barring injury, there’s definitely no excuses.”




Have you ever read so much bullshit in your life

Yes the recruiting looks like a masterstroke from the outside…. You’ve 100% flushed over $1 million down the toilet in three years for zero flags and only made the finals once.

Doncaster East is close to the city… it’s 50 mins to an hour in after work traffic

We’ve got five guys between 22 and 25. So? What are we just quoting random age groups?

Every club that’s gone into Premier has yo-yoed except us… yes Mitcham yo-yoed. The only other club that has been promoted into Premier is ER who’ve played finals every year they’ve been there

Barring injury there’s no excuses… so we know what 2026’s excuse is… just make up the fact you had injuries like they did last year.

They never fail to deliver these blokes. Going to contact Leader and demand a weekly interview, it’s great stuff.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

And I would never in my life have guessed that he’s a real estate agent

 

[MortlockWatcher]

My friends at Doncaster East were on 44-46 points this year.

They’ll drop 10-12 points as players lose a point.

But so far they’ve brought in three VFL players which is 15 points. With “more recruiting to come”.

Some must be leaving?

And if the AFL Vic's so-called "loyalty" bonus applied only after a player had been at the same club for three seasons instead of one, they would regain very few of those 10-12 points.

The whole point of equalisation is to balance out the competition, but when the big-spenders can drop 10-12 points each year and use them to get a few high-point value players every summer, equalisation is unlikely to occur and the whole exercise is a fraud.

 

[good thing]

Doncaster East football operations manager Peter Sowersby said a stroke of luck helped the club to its latest additions, with the stars aligning after securing Tomoya Owens last week.

“When we were signing him, he said him and his two housemates (Gown and Gasparini) were all looking to play together, so they were all going to land at the one club,” Sowersby said.

“It might look like a masterstroke from us, but we were pretty lucky that they all wanted to play together.

“It was a big selling point to them, they still wanted to play at the highest level.

“Will’s also about to start working in the city, so he thought Doncaster East was a bit closer … Josh had been playing at Old Haileybury since school and Eastern footy league always was attractive to him.”

Gown was set to free up Team of the Year centre half-back and ex-AFL man Taylin Duman in a significant lift to the back six.

“Having those two off half-back is going to be amazing, and I think Tim O’Brien will sit in at centre half-back, so the backline’s definitely looking strong,” Sowersby said.

Meanwhile, Sowersby said the midfield was set to bat much deeper next season – aided by the return of young gun Darcy Jones-Hughes, who has battled knee and hip injuries in recent years.

“He’s been given the all-clear to start day one of pre-season, so he’s like a recruit as well,” Sowersby said.

“Our midfield’s going to be really strong – we lacked a bit of depth.

“All of them are pretty versatile – Matt (O’Brien) will be pretty handy with his elite kicking skills, and he’s an unbelievable handballer as well. Those skills go unnoticed sometimes.”

Sowersby said his club’s five recruits this off-season addressed a significant gap in the list’s age demographic.

“We’ve got five guys in between 22 and 25, I think that’s where we’ve probably lacked in the past few years after ‘Phez’ (Chris Phelan) and ‘Whitey’ (Simon White) retired,” he said.

“From afar everyone thinks every year we’re going to push, but I think the last two years (2024 and ’25) … 2024 was a bit of a wake-up call for us, and this year we were definitely building with playing some really good young guys.”

Doncaster East was set to retain most of its list – with dual premiership star Jake Whitling a fresh departure after winning the Warrandyte coaching job.

The Lions missed the finals this year, finishing eighth with a 7-11 record.

Sowersby declared there were “no excuses” next season.

“You look at every club that’s gone into Premier Division, I think every club has ‘yo-yoed’ apart from us,” he said.

“This’ll be our seventh year in Premier Division, it’s a bloody tough comp, so we’ve always got to do what we can to get better.

“Next year, barring injury, there’s definitely no excuses.”




Have you ever read so much bullshit in your life

Yes the recruiting looks like a masterstroke from the outside…. You’ve 100% flushed over $1 million down the toilet in three years for zero flags and only made the finals once.

Doncaster East is close to the city… it’s 50 mins to an hour in after work traffic

We’ve got five guys between 22 and 25. So? What are we just quoting random age groups?

Every club that’s gone into Premier has yo-yoed except us… yes Mitcham yo-yoed. The only other club that has been promoted into Premier is ER who’ve played finals every year they’ve been there

Barring injury there’s no excuses… so we know what 2026’s excuse is… just make up the fact you had injuries like they did last year.

They never fail to deliver these blokes. Going to contact Leader and demand a weekly interview, it’s great stuff.

Barring injury there’s no excuses next year
Surely he didn’t say that

 

[pjxm]

Doncaster East football operations manager Peter Sowersby said a stroke of luck helped the club to its latest additions, with the stars aligning after securing Tomoya Owens last week.

“When we were signing him, he said him and his two housemates (Gown and Gasparini) were all looking to play together, so they were all going to land at the one club,” Sowersby said.

“It might look like a masterstroke from us, but we were pretty lucky that they all wanted to play together.

“It was a big selling point to them, they still wanted to play at the highest level.

“Will’s also about to start working in the city, so he thought Doncaster East was a bit closer … Josh had been playing at Old Haileybury since school and Eastern footy league always was attractive to him.”

Gown was set to free up Team of the Year centre half-back and ex-AFL man Taylin Duman in a significant lift to the back six.

“Having those two off half-back is going to be amazing, and I think Tim O’Brien will sit in at centre half-back, so the backline’s definitely looking strong,” Sowersby said.

Meanwhile, Sowersby said the midfield was set to bat much deeper next season – aided by the return of young gun Darcy Jones-Hughes, who has battled knee and hip injuries in recent years.

“He’s been given the all-clear to start day one of pre-season, so he’s like a recruit as well,” Sowersby said.

“Our midfield’s going to be really strong – we lacked a bit of depth.

“All of them are pretty versatile – Matt (O’Brien) will be pretty handy with his elite kicking skills, and he’s an unbelievable handballer as well. Those skills go unnoticed sometimes.”

Sowersby said his club’s five recruits this off-season addressed a significant gap in the list’s age demographic.

“We’ve got five guys in between 22 and 25, I think that’s where we’ve probably lacked in the past few years after ‘Phez’ (Chris Phelan) and ‘Whitey’ (Simon White) retired,” he said.

“From afar everyone thinks every year we’re going to push, but I think the last two years (2024 and ’25) … 2024 was a bit of a wake-up call for us, and this year we were definitely building with playing some really good young guys.”

Doncaster East was set to retain most of its list – with dual premiership star Jake Whitling a fresh departure after winning the Warrandyte coaching job.

The Lions missed the finals this year, finishing eighth with a 7-11 record.

Sowersby declared there were “no excuses” next season.

“You look at every club that’s gone into Premier Division, I think every club has ‘yo-yoed’ apart from us,” he said.

“This’ll be our seventh year in Premier Division, it’s a bloody tough comp, so we’ve always got to do what we can to get better.

“Next year, barring injury, there’s definitely no excuses.”




Have you ever read so much bullshit in your life

Yes the recruiting looks like a masterstroke from the outside…. You’ve 100% flushed over $1 million down the toilet in three years for zero flags and only made the finals once.

Doncaster East is close to the city… it’s 50 mins to an hour in after work traffic

We’ve got five guys between 22 and 25. So? What are we just quoting random age groups?

Every club that’s gone into Premier has yo-yoed except us… yes Mitcham yo-yoed. The only other club that has been promoted into Premier is ER who’ve played finals every year they’ve been there

Barring injury there’s no excuses… so we know what 2026’s excuse is… just make up the fact you had injuries like they did last year.

They never fail to deliver these blokes. Going to contact Leader and demand a weekly interview, it’s great stuff.

Sounds as if the other nine teams in Premier may as well go and play golf.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Jack McKay from Fitzroy / Upwey to Norwood. Was flogging himself on trainstop for big coin (just as he did 12
months ago when he joined Upwey).

Perhaps some cash had returned to Norwood.

 

[10571z]

Jack McKay from Fitzroy / Upwey to Norwood. Was flogging himself on trainstop for big coin (just as he did 12
months ago when he joined Upwey).

Perhaps some cash had returned to Norwood.

Was thinking the same when he popped up. Trainstop mercenary.

 

[eflreceiver]

Matthew McWilliams, Vermont, to EB.

 

[adock]

Matthew McWilliams, Vermont, to EB.

East Burwood doing very well this off season so far.

 

[adock]

Who said Big Footy has no influence? The EFNL has this morning emailed all Div 4 clubs regarding Doncasters re-entry in 2026

• Doncaster are subject to the same Community Clubs Sustainability Program (CCSP) conditions.
• Their salary cap will also be in line with the cap set for 2026
• This precedent was set when Donvale went into recess and entered Div 4
• The league is working with all clubs to continue their sustainability

Also still no mention of Nunawading in the email.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Who said Big Footy has no influence? The EFNL has this morning emailed all Div 4 clubs regarding Doncasters re-entry in 2026

• Doncaster are subject to the same Community Clubs Sustainability Program (CCSP) conditions.
• Their salary cap will also be in line with the cap set for 2026
• This precedent was set when Donvale went into recess and entered Div 4
• The league is working with all clubs to continue their sustainability

Also still no mention of Nunawading in the email.

Don’t see how they possibly meet the points target - unless they just fudge the individual players points.