By Christopher Kourtis.
Doncaster East are looking to bounce back from missing finals for the first time since joining the Premier Division.
2024 was an injury-ridden season for the Lions, the side finishing off the season with an eighth-placed finish.
Head coach Ryan James admits that, despite the injuries, the club were not free from blame.
“[Last season] was nothing but disappointing,” James said. “I think we used 55 players in the seniors.
“We got dealt some cards with adversity, but we didn’t handle any part of it well”.
Despite past struggles, Doncaster East have maintained their core group of players, including their greatest contributors.
Leading goal kickers O’Brien and Sholakis will remain at the club alongside dual Best and Fairest winners Deluca and Duman - the latter of which was named in the Premier Division Team of the Year.
“The major core were really disappointed with what happened last year,” said James. “Everyone wanted to stick around and put our best foot forward and try and move up the ladder again”.
The off-season has been a great success with the players they've managed to add to their list. Former AFL player Josh Schache committed to the club, a huge boost to an already dangerous forward line.
Another familiar name to the EFNL, Tom Maloney, has also been signed by the club. The Lions recruit is a dual Best and Fairest winner at Norwood, also a premiership VFL player with Box Hill.
Senior Coach Ryan James will look to adjust the Lions’ style of play in preparation for the season ahead, hoping to do his part in setting his team up for a successful 2025 campaign.
“We were just too easy to score against last year,” said James. “We are going to focus more on what our defensive game looks like”.
Doncaster East will debut these adjustments in their Round One matchup, hosting Berwick at Zerbes Reserve.