By Justin Schwarze
With the sour taste of last season still in Pakenham’s mouth, the club is revitalised with the thought of a new challenge and a motivation to return to Premier football.
If there was one word that could describe the Lions’ approach into the season, it would be ‘change’.
A completely new football department was in the order, including newly-appointed president Salv Mileto and Justin Stanton taking the reins as senior coach, coming across from Nar Nar Goon.
As a fresh face, Stanton’s mindset for the club is optimistic and positive after a completely disastrous 2024 that saw Pakenham relegated to Division 1.
“We’re not rebuilding, we’re levelling the existing house and we’ve had the demolition guys in and we’ve got a vacant block of land now,” Stanton said.
“We are resetting the entire football club, both on field and off field.
“What we want to do this year is create some good training habits, we want to be a side that’s well respected but we also want to respect our opposition.
“We’re a team that wants to play exciting football and we want to be an appealing destination.”
With the aforementioned relegation, multiple senior names decided to depart the Lions in search of staying in a higher tier of footy.
Warragul performed an absolute heist on the club, putting pen to paper with four 2024 Pakenham seniors, being Jordan and Zac Stewart, James Harrison and Tom Hillard.
Other outgoing players included Joel Sarlo reaching a deal with Crib Point in the Mornington Peninsula League, Jai Rout moving to Western Australia and Matt Debruin signing with Mordialloc.
To combat this, Pakenham got busy and brought in a plethora of new faces, acquiring the signatures of Jake Kidd, Tanner Stanton, Finn Nicholas, Nash Butler, Luke Ryan, Noah Morrell, James Ahern and Zak De Bono.
Tanner Stanton, coach Justin’s nephew, will provide leadership and guidance to the young squad as he steps into a playing assistant coach role.
De Bono and Morrell are on the quest for more senior football opportunities in 2025, heading over from Officer after playing in the under-19s grand final last season for the Kangaroos.
Through the preseason and practice matches, the additions have made an impression on Justin.
“Their willingness to work hard on the track during preseason has been impressive,” he said.
“Their enthusiasm to want to be regular senior footballers and get better is great.”
In Division 1, there will be lots of travel for the players, including a trip to Yea in the opening round, plus other visits to teams like Alexandra and Seville.
This further motivates the Lions to strive for Premier football in 2026, as the club sets its sights on being an imposing matchup for opponents.
“The biggest guarantee for us is going to be our youthful enthusiasm and our desire to want to compete against our opposition, that’s something we’ve worked a lot on in the preseason,” Stanton said.
“Our two practice matches have indicated that that’s heading in the right direction.
“I’m excited for the new challenges that lie ahead, playing against teams we’re not familiar with and coming up against them with an extremely young list.
“We’re going to be a very young list, but we think that’s going to be exciting, it’s going to be a lot of hard work and there’s going to be times where we don’t get things quite right.
“Having won the 19s premiership last year, a lot of those guys are in senior football this season so our senior list is going to be quite young.
“The guys are still learning but we’re looking forward to the new challenges that this new comp is going to provide us with.”
Despite the young age demographic, expect Pakenham to be extremely competitive with lots to prove.
Mason Hall looks primed to level up after he booted two goals in the under-19s big dance, while also managing eight senior games in 2024.
Ryan Martini was also excellent in the grand final and earned himself 13 ones appearances on the year and is set to break into a regular senior role.
The competition for spots and selection has created a fantastic environment that leaves the coaching team with a great deal of opportunity to experiment.
“The overall vibe of the club is really positive, the training numbers have been exceptional,” Stanton said.
“The guys are working hard, they’re taking feedback really well and they have a desire to get better and I can tell from the time they get to training.
“Regardless of how the games are going, there’s going to be times where we have momentum and we need to capitalise on that.
“When the opposition has momentum, we just need to stay resilient and stay in the contest for as long as possible.”
Star skipper Jake Barclay will lead from the sidelines for the first part of the season while rehabbing a knee injury, but his presence and mentorship will be key for the young Lions looking to develop.
With that in mind, Pakenham arrive to Yea in round 1 as complete strangers, but the club is set to put last year behind it and make sure the mighty Lions roar once again.
ALEXANDRA
President: Kylie Cairns
Senior Coach: Nick Wal
Last Year: 5th (9-7)
Players Used: 39
Best and Fairest: Harry Kelly
Leading Goalkicker: William Stewart 50
First Month: BYE, Seville (A), Pakenham (H), Powelltown (A)
BELGRAVE
President: Harley McDermott
Senior Coach: Darren Hamilton
Last Year: 4th (9-6-1)
Players Used: 44
Best and Fairest: Aaron Green & Chris Westcott
Leading Goalkicker: Nathan Power 43
First Month: Warburton Millgrove (H), Yarra Glen (A), Seville (H), Pakenham (A)
PAKENHAM
President: Salv Mileto
Senior Coach: Justin Stanton
Last Year: 11th (5-13, relegated from Premier)
Players Used: 39
Best and Fairest: Jordan Stewart
Leading Goalkicker: Samuel Kors 22
First Month: Yea (A), Powelltown (H), Alexandra (A), Belgrave (H)
POWELLTOWN
President: Geoff Mooney
Senior Coach: Ryan Handley
Last Year: 9th (2-13)
Players Used: 63
Best and Fairest: Ben Wratten
Leading Goalkicker: Jacob Neale 18
First Month: Yarra Junction (H), Pakenham (A), BYE, Alexandra (H)
SEVILLE
President: Mick Shore
Senior Coach: Shaun Wilson
Last Year: 1st (13-2-1)
Players Used: 37
Best and Fairest: Sonny Saniga
Leading Goalkicker: Domenic Aloi 39
First Month: Yarra Glen (H), Alexandra (H), Belgrave (A), Warburton Milgrove (H)
WARBURTON MILLGROVE
President: David Swankie
Senior Coach: James Iancono
Last Year: 3rd (13-3)
Players Used: 36
Best and Fairest: Tom Baker, Dylan Walker & Nelson Aldridge
Leading Goalkicker: Bailey Humphrey 40
First Month: Belgrave (A), BYE, Yarra Junction (H), Seville (A)
YARRA GLEN
President: Meaghan Carter
Senior Coach: Jason DeGraaf
Last Year: 7th (2-14)
Players Used: 41
Best and Fairest: Sam Wood
Leading Goalkicker: Josh Hawkins 38
First Month: Seville (A), Belgrave (H), Yea (A), Yarra Junction (H)
YARRA JUNCTION
President: Troy Armstrong
Senior Coach: Leigh McCombe
Last Year: 8th (2-14)
Players Used: 53
Best and Fairest: Luke Spaulding
Leading Goalkicker: Leigh McCombe 14
First Month: Powelltown (A), Yea (H), Warburton Millgrove (A), Yarra Glen (A)
YEA
President: Peter Armstrong
Senior Coach: Mitch Skelly
Last Year: 6th (8-8)
Players Used: 41
Best and Fairest: Patrick Evans
Leading Goalkicker: Corbin Sutherland 68
First Month: Pakenham (H), Yarra Junction (A), Yarra Glen (H), BYE
