Yarra Valley Water InFocus 2025 | Oakleigh District
- rlong69
- Feb 25
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 3
By Christopher Kourtis.
Oakleigh District will strive for more consistency as they look to return to finals footy in 2025.
Oakleigh District finished season 2024 in limbo – eight points clear of sixth and sixteen points below fourth. Starting off strongly, inconsistency saw the side fall away at the business end of the season, bowing out in the Elimination Final.
Blake Pearson will continue in his role as player/head coach for another season. He is already looking to the season ahead and mapping out a plan to take his side further into the finals.
“One of our biggest focuses is playing the teams in the Top 4,” said Pearson. “We’ve been very good against the teams that haven’t made finals… we haven’t been able to get the job done against the Top 4 consistently enough”.
The side have retained their core group of players, topping up with new signings where needed. Pearson, a 2024 Division Three Team of the Year player, is happy with where his squad lies ahead of the upcoming season.
“We’ve certainly strengthened our list,” said Pearson. “We’ve brought in four of five players… who we think will be seriously good footballers in Division Three.”
One of these players is Josh Cochrane. A former captain in the Southern Football Netball League Division One competition, the defender has made the move east. Many at Princes Highway Reserve are hoping that he will bring some stability to the Raiders’ defence, which ranked eighth in the league last season.
“[Cochrane] is a hard-nosed defender, but he’s also someone who’s got really good leadership,” said senior head coach Pearson. “His voice and direction in the backline this preseason has been awesome.
“From a team defence perspective, we’re going to be better.”
Oakleigh District will look to use this defensive solidity to make it to the last game of the season, says Pearson.
"Our main focus is to go deep into finals and hopefully be lifting that cup at the end of the year."
Oakleigh District will travel to Silvan Recreation Reserve to take on Silvan in Round 1. The Raiders won both meetings convincingly last season.”
One of these players is Josh Cochrane. A former captain in the Southern Football Netball League Division One competition, the defender has made the move east.
Many at Princes Highway Reserve are hoping that he will bring some stability to Oakleigh’s defence, which ranked eighth in the division last season.
“[Cochrane] is a hard-nosed defender, but he’s also someone who’s got really good leadership,” said senior head coach Pearson. “His voice and direction in the backline this preseason has been awesome.
“From a team defence perspective, we’re going to be better.”
The group will look to use this defensive solidity to make it to the last game of the season, says Pearson.
“Our main focus is to go deep into finals and hopefully be lifting that cup at the end of the year."
The club will travel up to Silvan Recreation Reserve to take on the Cats in Round One on April 5th, after winning both meetings convincingly last season.