By Josh Ward.
It’s set to be a fresh start for both Kilsyth’s senior men’s and women’s sides in 2025 following a finals appearance and a sixth-placed finish respectively last year.
After a Grand Final in 2023, the Cougars senior men’s side fell in the elimination final to eventual runners up Whitehorse last season.
There’s been some change for the senior men’s side, with Simon Caldwell moving from coach to president and being replaced at the hel;m by Damian Murray.
Murray comes across having spent the past couple of seasons at Bayswater and East Burwood, gaining experience as a playing assistant coach at both clubs
The Cougars new playing coach says he’s enjoyed moving into the new role and has gained help in the form of Caldwell.
“Without him there I’d probably have to find my feet a bit more,” Murray said.
“The fact that Simon’s stayed involved and done a handover it’s been much easier on me getting the intel on not only the boys, but the actual club.”
It’s been a positive start to the preseason so far for the Cougars, with Murray saying the group is looking to improve following their early finals exit last year.
“Like most groups they all say they want to do better, they want a premiership and stuff like that. They just have to do the work though, that’s the difference between it at the end of the year.”
Majority of last year’s team has re-signed whilst there’s been a couple of additions to the side along with Murray himself.
Among those inclusions is AFL Outer East duo Max Le Fevre and Trent Elliott, with Le Fevre joining from Wandin and Elliott from Warburton Millgrove.
The Basin duo Liam Walter and Jackson Drake have also joined the club, with Drake looking to return to the footy field having not played since 2023 due to a leg injury.
“They’ve all ticked the boxes and done what they’ve needed to do.
“Some of them are coming from that higher standard of footy so from my end my expectation is that they perform, they lead at that level they’ve come from and they help these boys (improve) from day one.”
Kilsyth’s recruits have helped lift the standard of its current crop, with players such as Jacob Moschetti putting in the hard yards and impressing Murray.
“There’s (also) Daniel Ivanovic, Cooper Foley, Mackinley Ayton, Mitchell Jacobs, those boys have been putting in the work as well.”
And with the side already putting in the hard yards, Murray says they’ll need to continue doing so throughout this season.
“(Division Four) is a genuinely tough division now where every win matters, every game matters. This year is going to be a harder year to win (the premiership) than any other.”
“You can talk all you want but at the end of the day the actions have got to line up with what your goal is and what you want to achieve.”
Meanwhile Kilsyth’s women’s side will also be looking to improve this season following a four win season in their return to Division 2 last season.
They too will have a fresh face at the helm, with former Seville coach Daniel Ismail replacing Quinten Van Veen.
Ismail says that it’s been a “breath of fresh air” joining the Cougars and is excited about a new challenge.
“Everyone’s been friendly and welcoming, I’ve got a really good bunch of girls that are coming to training at the moment,” Ismail said.
Being a welcoming and inclusive group has been a major theme for Ismail throughout the preseason so far.
“It’s about making sure every time we finish a drill everyone gets a high five or if someone’s last doing a couple of laps you’re all waiting, not just having your drink and chatting amongst yourselves.
“That’s one big thing I’ve learnt out of coaching is if you’ve got an inclusive side and a very welcoming side success usually isn’t far around the corner.
There’s also been a focus on improving the group's skills and its fitness this preseason according to Ismail.
“When I first saw them just before Christmas, there were girls who couldn’t run a full lap. And now they’re running full laps and they’ve got a bit of pace behind them.”
Players such as Emily Van Veen, Abbey Bentley and Chloe Manelopoulos have been announced as re-signings, with Shae Dale the only major out from last year’s side.
“We’ve (also) had a few players that have never played before and we’ve had a few that’ve come down from other clubs.”
Overall the main expectation for Ismail in his first year as Kilsyth’s coach is for each player to enjoy pulling on the red and black guernsey.
“You’re always going to have a successful year, whether you’re winning or losing, as long as the girls have a good mindset.”