The coveted Eastern Football Netball League’s Team of the Year squads have been announced for the 2025 season, highlighting the best players in the competition.
Coaches vote across their division for who they would select as team of the year, and players with the highest number of votes make it to the squad.
From there, the Team of the Year for each division gets announced at the EFNL’s night of nights, the Chandler Medal, which was held on Wednesday 24 September.
Mooroolbark Football Club saw nine senior players across the men’s and women’s teams chosen for the initial squads.
The women well and truly represented Mooroolbark with seven players selected for the Division Two squad. In the end, five players made the team, with Ruby Haberfield and Tayja Maki missing out on the honour.
Sarah Haberfield played 13 games, kicked two goals and had 10 best player appearances throughout the season.
Bella McMaster made the squad after a 14-game season, where she kicked 14 goals and had 12 best player appearances.
Emma Beer was able to play 12 games, scoring one goal and gaining seven best player appearances.
Danielle Carrucan was able to punt 29 goals in 11 games, seeing her have five best player appearances.
Ella Brown played 13 games, scored a total of 17 goals for the season and appeared in the best players 10 times.
Senior women’s coach Keryn Ralph was named as the Division Two coach, rounding out an incredible season for Mooroolbark’s women.
In the Division One men’s competition, Mooroolbark’s Jett Hartman, with 15 games, two goals and eight best player appearances, alongside captain Kane Noonan, with 15 games, eight goals and 13 best player appearances, made the squad and the final team announcement.
Montrose Football Netball Club also had an impressive line-up of players make the initial squads.
In the Division One men’s competition, Brayden Laplanche, with 16 games, 22 goals and 10 best player appearances; Greg Lord, who played 16 games and made the best players seven times; and Beau Tennant had a 15-game season and four best player appearances, all were selected for the team of the year.
The women proved they had an incredible season, with five players being chosen for the initial Division Two squad. Unfortunately, Charli Dobrigh missed out on the team of the year selection on the night but was congratulated for making the shortlist in her first season of football.
But Emily Du Vallon, who played 15 games and had 14 best player appearances; Chloe Jones, who had a 15-game season, scoring 24 goals and 11 best player appearances; Hannah Lawson with a total of 15 games, 16 goals and 14 best player appearances; and Tiana Witnish with 15 games and eight best player appearances, all made the final team list.
From Lilydale Football and Netball Club, Riley Clausen played 18 games, kicked 10 goals and was named best player 16 times. He was selected for the Division Two team of the year for the third time in a row.
Harry Evans also garnered a Division Two team of the year nomination for Lilydale, having made a seamless transition to senior football, but did not gain selection for the final team.
Chirnside Park Football Netball Club also had an incredible nine players from the men’s and women’s sides collect a nomination in the shortlisted squads.
From the Division Three women’s playing group, three players were shortlisted, with Rana Khan being selected for the team of the year, after a 14-game season where she kicked three goals and had nine best player appearances.
Unfortunately, Hayley Heffernan and Laura Robinson didn’t make the final list.
Chirnside’s Division Four men’s side, after a grand final appearance, saw six players nominated. Dermot Reynolds was the only player not to make the final list.
All having played a 17-game season, Jake Cawsey with 70 goals and six best player appearances; Samuel Cannon with three goals and seven best player appearances; Chaz Clavant with 14 goals and 11 best player appearances; Justin Ficorilli with 37 goals and five best player appearances; and Ryan Kamien with 11 goals and five best player appearances, each made team of the year.
From Kilsyth Football Netball Club saw Division Two women’s players Sarah Ivanovic and Maya George nominated, with George making it to the final team.
In the men’s Division Four competition, Kilsyth saw four players make the squad with Mackinley Ayton, Luke Ivanovic, Declan Lamb and Jacob Moschetti.
Lamb, with 17 games and five best player appearances, Ayton, with 17 games, seven goals and 10 best player appearances, and Ivanovic, with 18 games, 26 goals and five best player appearances, were listed in the final team.
Coldstream’s football players also garnered several nominations for the men’s and women’s Division Three competitions, seeing Sophie Stark win the women’s best and fairest, capping off a great season for the women.
The men’s side saw Darcy Carrigan and Daniel Versteegen gain nominations for team of the year. Carrigan went on to be named in the team with an 18-game season, where he booted 35 goals and had 14 best player appearances.
The women had five nominations; unfortunately, Ella Herrmann and Taleesha O’Kane didn’t make the final team.
Abbey Broughan made the team with 17 games under her belt, 31 goals and six best player appearances.
Maddie Stark played 16 games, scored 31 goals and had eight best player appearances, landing her a spot in the team of the year.
And Sophie Stark played 16 games, scored 19 goals and had eight best player appearances.
EFNL chief executive Jy Bond acknowledged that across football and netball, the teams and divisions are thriving.
“In netball, we had 16 divisions and just under two and a half thousand participants. Our junior competition, boys and girls, we had 470 teams in 2025 with 41 grand finals decided across 10 locations,” he said.
“The senior women’s competition had 42 teams across six divisions. Again, we’ve had exponential growth in our women’s competition.
“The strength of the final men’s competition was again on show in 2025, 16 points decided Grand Finals across five divisions, a remarkable final series.”
