The Pakenham Football Club has been getting busy over the offseason as the Lions have bolstered their premiership hopes with a plethora of new signatures.
Aden Quirk has come across from Drouin to assume a playing assistant coach role.
Quirk is a brave and contested midfielder known for his ability to hunt ground balls and clear stoppages.
“He’s a terrific young man and he’s coming on board as a playing assistant coach,” Pakenham senior coach Justin Stanton said of Quirk.
“He’ll be a terrific addition to an already strong midfield.
“He’s a really talented midfielder, wins a lot of football and clearances and was keen for a change.
“He was keen to develop his coaching skills as well so he’s been a really great addition.”
The Lions also poached star Cora Lynn half forward Matt Ryan (brother of Pakenham midfielder Luke) to bolster their presence forward of centre.
Ryan booted 19 goals this season for the Cobras, five of which came in the finals series.
To add to its forward stocks, Pakenham also added goalsneak Kyle Nunn from Belgrave and the skillful Sam Kors from Kooweerup.
Nunn booted 35 goals as a small forward for the Magpies in 2025 while Kors returns to Pakenham after a season away at the Demons.
The Lions also put pen to paper with Corey Fritze, a big-bodied defender from Belgrave, Sam Wellwood (Cora Lynn), Cooper Sheppard (Keysborough), Mitch Dowling (Neerim South) and Luke Molino.
Sheppard is another returning face after three seasons at Keysborough where he has developed into a highly-respected and versatile player capable of playing in multiple positions.
“The exciting bit is going to be getting these news players connected with our current playing list,” Stanton said.
“I’m excited to see the growth that we expect to see with our current list.
“In a good way, it’s going to give us our entire list a lot more competition for spots.
“With that, it assists you in developing the players, there’s three or four aspects that we’re excited about.
“Going into the 2025 season, there was uncertainty in how our young list was going to hold up against some of the more experienced teams.
“We had a lot of new players, a young list, a new committee, a new coaching staff so we didn’t set too high expectations and then as the year evolved we kept changing our goals.
“Now in the offseason, talking to our current list and the recruits that we’ve brought in, it’s more about how the expectation and the goals that we’re setting ourselves are a lot higher going into 2026.
“We want to give ourselves the best chance possible to contend and ultimately win it next year, that’s what we’re setting out to achieve.”
