Stay up to date with all the key recruits, coaching moves and other football news from NFNL clubs.
Click on one of the links below to jump to all the club news from that Division.
Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 Men’s
Heidelberg Golf Club Division 1 Women’s
Cleaning Melbourne Division 2 Women’s
Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 Men’s
*Re-signings and coaching appointments based off club announcements
Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 Men’s
BANYULE
Coaching
Rohan Welsh will continue on in 2027 and Beverley Road Reserve, with Chris Taylor moving to Reserves coach after two years with the Under 19.5s side and current senior player James Kayrooz succeeding him.
Re-signings
Jean-Luc Velissaris, Kye Yodgee, Liam Mackie, Jack Langford, Tim Martin, Ollie Poole, Liam Sier, Ethan Boyd.
BUNDOORA
Coaching
Bundoora is in the market for a new senior men’s coach after announcing Heath Scotland was moving on after three years at the helm. Scotland steered the Bulls back to the finals in 2026, finishing fourth.
Reserves coaches Matt Harris, Scott Buckland and Tim Johnson will be coaching on in 2027.
Re-signings
Liam Kolar, Matt Johnson, Liam Mallia, Jesse King, Joel Lamotte, Max Sarre, Elijah Church, Ryder Jones, Riley Greene, Tyler Irwin, Henry Kerrison, Riley Cameron, Mitch McMaster-Smith, Jack White.
Departures
Peter McEvoy announced his retirement after the Bulls’ elimination final loss, booting 114 goals for Bundoora since joining the club in 2023 following a VFL career with Box Hill and Coburg.
DIAMOND CREEK
Coaching
Ben Shelton has been unveiled as the Creekers’ senior coach for 2027. Shelton succeeds Andrew Tranquilli who took Diamond Creek back to Division 1 after a Division 2 premiership in 2025 and a third-place finish this season.
Shelton played in three premierships with Bundoora in 2011, 2013 and 2017 and most recently coached in Richmond’s VFL program.
Re-signings
Brodie Watson, Darcy Laurie, Matthew Lewis, Jett McLaughan, Nathan Searl and Miller Connell, Ewan Macpherson, Nicholas Barro,
ELTHAM
Coaching
Tim Bongetti has been reappointed as the Panthers’ senior men’s coach for 2027. Jimmy Snell will head up the U19.5s side as coach.
Nathan Storer has moved on to Epping to be the senior men’s coach for the Pingers.
Re-signings
Declan Ayres, Dave Evans, Cooper James, Nate MCurdy, Sam Tyrrell, Lane Sinclair, Kai Turner, Jason McCormick, Liam Doumtsis, Jimmy Snell, Ollie Magnuson, Jack Keenan, Harry Downes, Ren Garth, Luke Smith, Cam Sullivan, Miller Wortley, Ben Crick, Colm Culligan. Mitch Stafford, Seb Molloy, Eamon Magnuson, Jaden Collins, Ryan Gardner, Matt Zrna, Haydn Kofoed, Nathan Jensen, Harvey Furlong, Daniel Annetta and Lachie Swaney.
GREENSBOROUGH
Coaching
Greensborough will be under new leadership next season as Matt Hyde steps down as senior coach. The Boro are yet to announce his replacement but will surely have some highly credentialed candidates in mind after making the Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 Grand Final.
Assistant coach Michael Hooper has been unveiled as Airport West’s new coach in the Essendon District Football League and will also be moving on.
HEIDELBERG
Re-signings
Sam Gilmore, Keenan Posar, Brayden Sier, Matt Signorello, James Nandalin, Jack Andrew, Adam Galgano, Roman Moxon, Matt Cecchin, Max Folloard, Tom Lazzaro, Anthony Carbone, Campbell Barrot, James Nandalin, Luke Galgano, Reeve Fealy, Callum Smith, Sam Papagianis, Jack Papagianis, Tyler Armstrong, Luke Galgano, Stefan Nedelkovski.
HURSTBRIDGE
Coaching
Jacob Smith has been announced as Hurstbridge’s new senior men’s coach for 2027. Smith played for the Bridges from 2022-2025 and has gained experience most recently with Old Carey. Smith succeeds Joel Cordwell who spent four seasons in the role including a grand final appearance in 2025.
Damian Cattuso has also been appointed to the role of Head of Strategy and List Management.
Re-signings
Lachlan East, Cameron Wild, Bryce Arthur, Noah Barnes, Ned Nihill, Jake Richards, Liam Karakaltchev, Mitch Hymus, Jake Wild, Ethan Taylor, Jack Stewart, Darcy Stewart, Luke Cassar, Logan Careri, Jack Christian, Joel Perkins, Ryan Baynes.
Departures
Joel Naylor, Cooper Perrin, Caelan Anderson and Liam Middleton have all been announced as signing with Heathcote in the Heathcote District Football League.
Mitch Dale has also announced his retirement after 270 games for the club.
MONTMORENCY
The Magpies are yet to announce any re-signings for 2027.
NORTH HEIDELBERG
Coaching
Nathan Skudutis succeeds Kasey Duncan in the top job for 2027. Skudutis has an extensive coaching background and founded the Boomfit Football Academy. Ahmed Kanjou will join him as a senior assistant.
The Dogs have also announced Gavin Langborne as their new Director of Coaching and North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey as a Player Development and Leadership mentor.
Re-signings
Brody Bell, Parker Heatley, Thomas Rivis, Cooper Budgia, Liam Barber, Zane Souleiman, Alo Tiatia.
OLD PARADIANS
Old Paradians have the toughest jump in NFNL football to make in 2027, moving into Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 after two premierships in the last three years. The club is yet to advise of any re-signings from this year’s premiership squad.
Heidelberg Golf Club Division 1 Women’s
ELTHAM
Coaching
Darren Cardamone will continue as coach of the Division 1 side in 2027, while Jason Keogh will coach Eltham’s second side.
Re-signings
The Panthers have wasted no time in locking in a host of stars, with 2026 co-captains Mary Robinson and Michaela Molenberg who was the leading goal kicker in Division 1 headlining those. Emily Wunderlich, Jemma Laffey, Brianna Crowley, Kate Cardamone and Grace Brankovic are also returning.
HEIDELBERG
Coaching
Jacob Tascone will take the reigns of Heidelberg’s women’s program in 2027 after several years as an assistant coach. Tascone takes over from Craig Hayes.
MONTMORENCY
Coaching
Matt Lemire has been announced as the new coach of Montmorency’s women’s side, taking over from Bronson Hill. Lemire will be aiming to avenge a couple of grand final losses over the last two seasons for the Magpies.
MC Labour Division 2 Men’s
FITZROY STARS
Coaching
The Stars have locked in Neville Jetta to continue as senior coach in 2027, having coached the Stars into finals contention in Division 2 this season.
Re-signings
Kain Proctor, Jai Burns, Neville Jetta, Patrick Farrant Jnr, Ethan Penrith, Tommy Clarke, Max Brown, James Trajkovski, Joharo Harvey-Connellan, Mingara Clark, Clinton Edwards Jnr, Malik Keegan, Keadin Ronnan, Jordan Proctor, Raman Winmar, Nick O’Neill, Yarran Jaffer-Williams, Rob Smith.
IVANHHOE
Coaching
After coaching the Hoers to the Division 3 premiership and Division 2 promotion, Wayne Schultz has decided to step down as coach.
“I’m incredibly grateful for everything the club, the players, coaches, volunteers and families have given me and my family. I’m looking forward to continuing to enjoy what has just unfolded with winning the flag and promotion, focusing on my studies, spending more time with my family and enjoying the outdoors,” Schultz said. Ivanhoe is yet to announce his successor for 2027.
Re-signings
Captain Alex Federico has been unveiled as the Hoers’ first re-signing for 2027 as Ivanhoe prepares to take on Division 2.
LOWER PLENTY
Coaching
Lower Plenty have locked in a co-coaching duo for next year, with Travis Stephens and Chris Daw leading the Bears’ senior side.
Re-signings
Ciaran Porter, Jordan Sacco, Joel Leslie, Jordon Smith, Jack Chubb, Mitch Brownhill, Jasper Collins, Jed Wallace, Flynn Davis, Tyler Wallace, Juy Smith, Mac Littlefield, Hudson Young, Seth Hill, Mitch Ferronato, Felix Bell, Daniel James, Riley Alexander, Devon Noons, Ben Smith, Matthew Lewis, Bailey Rigg, Harvey Littlefield, Brixton Timewell, Nathan Raphael, Harry Wenn, Ben Bond.
MACLEOD
Coaching
Macleod will have a new senior coach in 2027, with Owen Blizzard taking over from the departing Nick Lynch. Blizzard joins from Old Paradians and brings with him Ari Sciacca who takes up a role as Head of Development.
“They have a proven track record of player development and a whole-of-club approach to getting the best out of every player,” said Macleod President Mick Lovett.
Re-signings
Zac Hudson, Kobe Brandt, Haydon Manuel, Cooper Windebank, Kurt Manuel, Mackenzie Hogg, Jasper Howell, Jordan Corelli, Will Dunn, Connor Hetherton, Caleb Karavas, Anthony Doherty, Nathan Pyers, Sam Vass, Mitch Rust, Sam Richards, Archie Mansfield, Ace Boag, Archie Gardam, Jack Medley.
Departures
The 2026 Division 2 leading goal kicker Darcy Barden has announced he’s hanging up the boots after 228 NFNL games and 475 goals for Lower Plenty and Macleod. The 2026 Team of the Year full forward leaves a big hole in the Roos’ forward line which will no doubt be a focus area for new coach Owen Blizzard.
NORTHCOTE PARK
Coaching
Senior coach Anthony Palmer has been re-signed for 2027, as have assistants Bronik Davies and George Lattouf after a second-place finish in 2026 before bowing out in the semi final.
Re-signings
Daniel Tallariti, Matt Perry, Leo Amad, Michael Amad, Sam Amad, Lachlan Boscarini, Damon Marcon, James McArdle, Patrick Vanin, Ricky Fandrich, Nathan Perry, Ben Augustus, Alastair Punshon, Bryson Norris, Ennis Muke, Jye Stevens, Zander Phokos, Fynn Hatfield, Will Rohde, Tighe O’Brien, Noah Langborne, Sam Deola.
SOUTH MORANG
Coaching
South Morang has announced Matt Penn has re-signed as senior coach for the 2027 season after steering the Lions to the Division 2 minor premiership this year.
Re-signings
Nathan Stefanile, Bailey Brown, Paul Sidhu, Cayden Failla, Liam Jolly, Josh Renehan, Carter McCall, Jesse John Christidis, Ben Power, Rocco Grillo, Josh Lansfield, Jake Kenovski, Lucas Yacoub, Liam Failla, James Hewson.
THOMASTOWN
Coaching
Thomastown has re-signed its senior coaching group, with co-coaches Paul Harris and Sash Spiroski and assistants Adem Shemshedin and Ryan Fort all staying on.
Re-signings
Anthony Capeci, Lawrence Lo Piccolo, James Lucente, Jake Nikolov, Billy Samie, Zain Yamak, Aaron D’Angelo, Sean Culhane, David Folino, Jack Hayse, Mitch Hayse, Youseph Dib, Jaison Nguyen, Adrian Natoli, Luca Gioskos, Michael Tiligadis, Jordan Nguyen, Michael Montesano, Michael Tobacco, Lachlan Liberatore, Ben Talevski, Karsen Edwards, Milad Almatrah, Jordan Cugnetto, Anthony Padula, Jesse Capeci, Thomas Giokos, Makhoul Zakkour.
WEST PRESTON-LAKESIDE
Coaching
West Preston-Lakeside has re-signed Darren Bewick as senior coach and will be hoping to be in the finals mix straight away in their first season in Division 2.
Re-signings
Matthew Harman, Kristian Lawson, Arben Dani, Aleksander D’Arro, Trent Stavrou.
WHITTLESEA
Coaching
Whittlesea announced its senior coaching succession plan earlier in the season, with Andrew Fairchild taking the reins from Garry Ramsay for 2027.
Sean McAuliffe has coached the Eagles’ Reserves side to back-to-back flags and will also be coaching on next year.
Re-signings
Deakin Tennant, Taidhg Bland, Tom Falls, Khaled El-Leissy, Bailey Robinson, Mitchell Andrews, Zane Anderson, Paul Higgins, Angus Smith, Riley Gaylard, Riley Powell, Harley Fraumano, Jack Morley, Clancy Bland, Steven Dempsey, Liam Tyrrell, Will Plain, Thomas Crowley.
Cleaning Melbourne Division 2 Women’s
HURSTBRIDGE
Coaching
Damian Careri has been announced as the new coach of the Bridges’ women’s team and will call on 15 years of coaching experience with Yarrambat juniors.
NORTH HEIDELBERG
Coaching
Shannon Bevis has been announced as North Heidelberg’s women’s coach for 2027. After leading the Dogs to a flag in 2025 and taking a year off coaching in 2026, Bevis is well acquainted with the role.
WEST PRESTON-LAKESIDE
Re-signings
Isabel Young, Maddi Richards, Natasha Stoikos, Abbey Mills
Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3
EPPING
Coaching
Nathan Storer has been appointed the new senior men’s coach at Epping, after cutting his teeth as an assistant coach at Eltham as they transitioned from Division 2 to Division 1 in recent years.
Zac Gillard has also been announced as the Pingers’ Reserves coach, after coaching the U19.5s side this season.
Re-signings
Leigh Judd, Corey Middleton, Kieren Jaksic, Josh Bawden, Jake Folan, Eddie Saikaly, Adam Rose, Seth Hudson-Joseph.
New signings
Lucas Chesswas (Kilmore)
HEIDELBERG WEST
Coaching
Michael Missen has been reappointed after guiding the Hawks to a top five finish and back to the Division 3 finals for the first time in 32 years. Tyler Ramsay joins as a senior assistant after two seasons with Whittlesea as backline coach.
Jason Butera has also been reappointed as Reserves coach.
Re-signings
Connor Dunne, Mitch Antonello, Nicholas Paton, Blake Charles, Mitch Thompson, Michael Italia, Brad Moore, Hayden Bolzon, Baxter Sparks, Hunter Garraway, Daniel Clifford, Ryan Offer, Connor Tolley, Ronald Fejo Jnr, Jack Fullgrabe, Ricky Barra, Lachlan Davies, Lachlan Reinke, Quinn Doherty, Thomas Norman, Daniel Verdi.
KINGLAKE
Coaching
Gary Cutler will lead Kinglake’s senior side next year after coaching the Reserves in 2026. Cutler is no stranger to the NFNL, with previous stints at Heidelberg West and Lalor among his previous positions.
Morgan Cutler will be the Lakers’ Reserves coach with Matthew McAllister assisting, while Darren McCumber (head coach) and Dan Payne (assistant) will look after the U19.5s.
Re-signings
Will Graf, Dylan Hoystead, Lochlan Kelly, Sam Charles, Connor Caldow, Tom McErlain, Angus Forde, Rye Johnson, Liam Styles, Damian Pyewell, Ryder Gresham, Willem Morrison, Owen Davidson, Tom McCumber, Riley Greenhorn, Koebe Pfeiffer.
New signings
Sam Rexhepi has signed with the Lakers after three seasons at Lalor where he booted 114 goals. Anthony Bolton has also been unveiled as a new signing.
KILMORE
Coaching
The Blues have welcomed Leigh Irons to the club as midfield line coach. Bryce Hall and Adam Goudge have also been re-signed as senior assistant coaches.
Re-signings
Josh Coe, Lachlan Chesher, Josh Vilinskis, Max Locorica, Mason Locorica, Marcus Locorica, Liam Monaghan, Kye Maher, Ben Doyle, Ryan Knight, Katlan Cook, Grant Paxton, Caleb Newport, Tristan Lilburn, Emmett Clark, Jake Beattie, Jarvis Sleep, Maddox McManus, Chase Dennis, Darcy Baldwin-Potton, David Shaw,
New signings
Jaxson Kinnear (Romsey) returns to his junior club after four seasons in the Ridell District FNL. Will Crawford and Damon O’Shea (Hampton Rovers) have signed on after crossing from the VAFA. Crawford’s 2026 season was eye-catching with 36 goals from 17 senior games for the Rovers.
Departures
Lucas Chesswas (Epping)
LALOR
Coaching
With Lance Whitnall’s departure from the senior coaching job, the Bloods wasted no time in appointing JJ Cristaudo as their new senior men’s coach for 2027. Cristaudo joins from Glenroy where he coached the Kangaroos Reserves side for the last two seasons.
Cristaudo’s brother Eric and Dwayne Bulmer have also been appointed as an assistant coaches after crossing from Glenroy.
New signings
Ali Khairbak (Glenroy), Mahmoud Youssef (Parkside), Ashton Studwick (Whittlesea), Neeson Cook (Avenel), Josh Martin.
Departures
Mark Roumanos has called time on his local football career and Sam Rexhepi has signed with Kinglake.
LAURIMAR
Re-signings
Patrick Fitzgerald, Stephen McCallum, Hayden Trim, Kaiden Arthur, Janus Waldron, Liam Waldron, Zac McMahon, Hayden Smith.
New signings
Tom Indian (Lancefield) joins the Power as a ruck/defender after crossing from the Ridell District FNL.
MERNDA
Coaching
No changes to the coaching hierarchy at Mernda, with Brent Marshall locked in as senior coach for another two seasons.
Re-signings
Dayne Kellett, James Sekulovksi, Josh Mazzarella, Billy Evans, Justin Spadorcia, Jett Philips, Declan Felle, Jesse Guelfo, Nathan Baccega, Josh Caputo, Lachlan Potter.
OLD ELTHAM COLLEGIANS
Re-signings
Bailey Dillon, Connor Pilatti, Blake McCallum Eden Simpson, Jack Fitzgerald, Jack Snow, Mitch Rodda, Jake Tyson, Daniel Hallett, Ben Cox, Reuben Thomson, Lenny Thomson, Logan Martin.
PANTON HILL
Re-signings
Riley Livingstone, Austin Dillon, Jason Pannam, Sam Parks, Nicholas Parks, Max Brook, Paul Vavlitis, Bailey Sobol, Stefan Klepp, Todd Johnston, Jesse Callaway, Jesse Owens-Draper, Ethan Farquhar, Ben Donehue, Tom Blake, Luke Oakley, Jordan Baker, Jacob Ekersall, Oliver Smith, Ben Graham, Fletcher Berryman.
New signings
Brendan Egberts (Roxburgh Park), Madison Bell (South Morang), Ned McKeown (Tungamah), Beau McDonald, Emile Gill-Haimowich (Mernda).
RESERVOIR
Re-signings
Jack Sandric, Justin Taylor, Josh Grabowski, Mark Ferraro, Dean Jefferey, Jack Berry, Nicholas Miliaresis, Ash Reid, Salvatore Mamone, Kieran Robertson, Marcus Cantwell, Joey Palazzolo.
WATSONIA
Coaching
Anthony McGregor has been re-appointed as the Saints’ senior coach after an impressive campaign, leading Watsonia to a fourth-place finish and a preliminary final appearance in 2026.
Re-signings
Nathan Hallyburton, Cameron Cloke, Toby Herbert, Dean Talarico, Luke Stone, Austin Sinclair, Jack Miller, Sam Cozens, Cody Tulloch, Lachie Bawden, Khy Strappazon.
Division 3 Women’s
WALLAN
Wallan’s women’s team will be aligning with the Ridell District Football League in 2027 and won’t be playing in the NFNL.
WHITTLESEA
Coaching
Brad Lang is moving up to the role of senior coach after being a senior assistant to the Eagles’ women’s side in 2026.
