By Christopher Kourtis.
Fairpark will look to leave their stamp on finals footy in 2025 after falling short in 2024.
The Fairpark Senior Men’s team finished last season in seventh place, finding themselves eight points adrift from finals.
Inconsistency in results saw the Lions finish with a 6-12 record. While they were able to compete with some of the teams above them, they also suffered losses to teams below them in the standings.
Leading the club into the 2025 season is Josh Allison. A player/assistant coach in 2024, the 294-gamer has hung up the boots and will now coach exclusively from the sidelines.
The former South Croydon premiership player is looking forward to taking charge for his debut season in the coach’s box.
“I have been building towards this for what feels like my whole life,” Allison told the club.
“As with any football club, there will be grand challenges, and I look forward to facing them head on”.
One of these challenges will be reshaping the side’s forward line. Young spearhead Jay Rankin has departed the club to play in the Premier Division for Doncaster East, leaving Fairpark without the 33 goals that he tallied in 2024.
It’s not all outgoings at Fairpark Reserve, however. The club have announced that Best and Fairest winner and EFNL Division Three Team of the Year player Mitchell Nied has committed to another season.
Joining him are new signings Ryan Smith (eight times in best for Doncaster in Division One), Nathan Rose (son of former Fairpark player James) and Ben Randall (2023 Division One Reserves Best and Fairest winner).
Fairpark will host Coldstream in their season opener. The opening few games of the season will be a great indicator of what to expect from Josh Allison’s side in 2025.
The Fairpark Senior Women’s team ended their season without a finals win for the second time in a row.
In painstaking fashion, the Lions finished third but fell at the first hurdle against Bayswater, despite ranking second for both points for and against.
Head of Football Operations Adele Fox says that, despite the disappointment, there are learnings that have been taken from the team’s shortcomings.
“We were a little disappointed,” Fox said. “It was our second year in a row making finals and getting knocked out in the first round”.
“It’s the fitness and skills that let us down in that final – that’s been the key focus of pre-season so far”.
Boasting a strong list in 2024 with the likes of EFNL Division Three and Four Team of the Year player Sarah Birthisel, the Lions have had no trouble in retaining their core in 2025.
“Numbers have been really good,” Fox said. “We’re quite low on turnover at Fairpark which is something that we’re really proud of”.
For the senior women’s team, the upcoming season is all about grabbing hold of that elusive, first-ever finals win. With the Fairpark faithful behind them, Fox is confident that they can get the job done.
“Fairpark women’s first finals win… we’ve got to get that.
“The women’s team love it when the supporters are there for our games as well as the men’s games”.
All eyes will be on the Lions come September, as spectators and fans across the league will look to see if this is the year that Fairpark get the job done.