InFocus 2023 | Oakleigh District

A new era for Oakleigh District is here, as they embark on their second season within the Eastern Football Netball League, and the overall feeling is one of difference compared to 12 months ago.

Leading into 2023, the club have made an array of changes and have a lot of new faces & names joining, as dual-reigning Chandler Medallist Blake Pearson will take on his first coaching role of his career at 28, which definitely surprised plenty throughout the EFNL community.

“The lure of coaching my own side was a clear standout. The club really was a blank canvas in regards to systems and structures that I could implement with the playing group. We have some really exciting new players, so the chance for me to assist them with their development is also something I’m quite excited about.”

Princes Highway Reserve looks completely different, as they have had a strong off-season recruitment wise, with two WA-born stars joining their ranks with the likes of Jacob Warne and Zak Bozanich.

“It’s hard to go past Jacob Warne and Zak Bozanich, who both bring a wealth of experience and leadership to the club into an area of the ground we did struggle with last year.”

“Mitch Trait off half-back will be an exciting one to watch, his kicking off the half-back line has been a highlight throughout our practice matches and he’s guaranteed to be a weapon for us.” said Pearson.

Pearson added that there is plenty of excitement and the overall feeling around the club is one that should hopefully help push the playing group towards some positive results.

“First and foremost, we want consistency in the way we play our football. There’s no doubt that we had a tough time last year, but we think we’re in a much better position both on-field and off-field.”

“We think that with our best football, and the way we want to move the ball, we will be hard to beat, but at the end of the day, it comes down to our ability to play our style of football.”