With Round 1 fast approaching, Scoop has caught up with all ten senior footy coaches as they prepare for season 2026!
With some familiar faces departing Eastern Oval, it will take some next gen Roos to lead the way this year.
Scoop: Interesting off season for you Joe - how has the club processed the departures of four integral Premiership players?
Joe Carmody: All four were great servants of the club but we moved on pretty quickly to be honest. We have a new leadership group led by captain Liam Canny and a playing group who are invested in improving individually and collectively to take the club forward. Great opportunity for this group to take the club into a new era.
S: The next tier of seemingly bottomless talent at the Kangas will get their chance - who are you most excited about impacting games in 2026?
JC: We are very fortunate that when we lose players that we can bring in and develop players from our junior system. We think Kep Jones will be ready to make an impact straight away in the midfield. Jarrod Joyce showed last year that he has untapped potential. Alex Molan, Brodie Willems, Liam Howard, Jesse Cairns, Jack Jeffrey and Geordie Slater have now played three or four years of senior footy and are ready to go to the next level. Fraser Molan, Joe McGuane, Cooper Glenwright-McGuane, Sam McDonald, Dylan Hiscock and Zane Lubeek will all get their chance as well.
S: Does the loss of Bryson McDougall and the Johnston brothers in particular make it more difficult to send Jacob Brown behind the ball - is he your likely Bona fide forward alongside Jarrod Joyce?
JC: We will most likely settle with Brown and Joyce up forward. Jacob Brown kicked 50 goals last season and Jarrod Joyce was a standout in his first year in senior footy. We want to be more dynamic forward of the ball and having some of the youngsters at the fall of the ball will allow us to keep the ball inside 50 or provide greater pressure on the opposition when they try to exit our forward 50.
S: Tell us about the newbie from Cobden and his role/player type…
JC: Sam Lucas was a priority recruiting target for us last year. Key back that can defend and come off and intercept. He will provide plenty of rebound off half back. Strengthens our back six alongside Merrett, Cue, Howard, Geue, Lubeek, Fraser, Lual, etc. A high-quality person off field and has fit in seamlessly at the club.
S: Any chance we’ll see young gun Lachie Charleston make a return to his home club after a stint on Port Adelaide’s list or is it likely Werribee VFL will have the final say?
JC: Lachie is very keen to play at East Point when he can. He’s a real talent and a great young man with an infectious personality. We hope he has a great year at Werribee and that he can play at East Point when available.
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
JC: We lost to 3 clubs last year -Darley, Sunbury, and Melton. Our midfield got smashed in each of those losses both structurally and spread from the contest. We will look to have a more even contribution through the midfield to support Mickitja and Doddy. Greater defensive spread from the midfield and forward half are major areas of improvement that will allow us to create more scoring opportunities off turnover.
INS & OUTS
In: L. Charleston (Port Adelaide AFL), T. Brown (Hepburn), J. Hogan (Hepburn), S. Lucas (Cobden), J. Marshall (Buninyong)
Out: S. Romerill (Modewarre), J. Van Meel (Dunnstown), B. McDougall (Springbank), J. Johnston (Nyah), M. Johnston (Darwin/Skipton)
VFL AFFILIATED PLAYERS
Lachie Charleston (Werribee).
PRACTICE MATCH SCHEDULE
March 7 - North Ballarat v East Point (next gen match sim)
March 21 - Strathfieldsaye v East Point
CLUB IMPROVERS TIP
JC: North Ballarat if they can stay healthy. Will be right up there with the additions of Lockett, Glover, and Brinker-Ritchie.
FLAG TIP
Darley – they still have a great mix of talented experience and youth.
SCOOP SAYS
Given the Kangas top end departures, some externally are expecting them to fall off the cliff, but I’m not so sure.
Expecting a development year to a large degree from Carmody’s group but they will be mighty hard to beat at home.
A finals berth would be a par with their outs - tipping there’s enough scope in their next gen talent to improve enough under the guidance of some experienced heads to sneak into finals. Anything thereafter a bonus in my book.
Projected finish: 5th-7th
