Who Will Be Our Next Coach?

On Friday, the Demons return to our Casey Fields fortress where they have a 77% win rate. The scent of September is in the air and the struggling Suns are on the horizon. The Cranbourne weather forecast? Ominous, like the match itself: a strong chance of carnage. Let’s be honest, last week’s first half against the West Coast was a training drill but we dropped our guard in the final quarter. While this match is a mismatch on paper — second versus seventeenth — football is won in the wind, the contests, and the moments.

The rugged Sparrow’s career appears to have plateaued in recent years. He makes the side on a week to week basis but he is unable to establish a foothold in the team’s midfield and arguably performs best outside of the contest in a forward position without being a goal kicker. He remains a good honest foot soldier but is not a star.

Fullarton managed a couple of games in the first half of the season but soon found himself back in the VFL. There, he found a niche at centre half back but it was not enough to retain a place on the list at season’s end.

Entering 2025, it looked as if Petty would be secured in a defensive position, but plans shifted and he spent more time forward, averaging just over a goal per game throughout the season. It remains uncertain which area of the ground he will be expected to cover under the new coaching regime.

The dynamic small forward, possessing an innate ability to generate excitement with his explosive play around the goals, successfully transitioned into a role that afforded him more time in the midfield. The club also negotiated a long-term deal with Pickett, thereby eliminating any prospect of a move west by their star young player.

For a few years now, he has been a reliable, hard working pressure forward, but in 2025, Chandler elevated his performance, becoming an integral component of the team with enough versatility to play effectively on a wing from time to time.