THE FOOTBALLER PREMIER DIVISION GRAND FINALS
Sept. 19, 2026
CONTENTS
8 Premier Division Preview 11 Premier Division Teams
EDITOR & DESIGNER
PARTNERSHIPS
CONTRIBUTORS
PHOTOGRAPHY
Eli Duxson
Luke Mathews
Duncan Seller
All images supplied by Sporting Moments by Shaun
GRAND FINAL PREVIEW
By Luke Mathews
The 2026 EDFL season will draw to a close this Saturday as Strathmore and Keilor meet in another blockbuster grand final at Windy Hill.
In the semi final, it was Strathmore’s handball game combined with a seven-goal third quarter blitz which won the match for the reigning premiers.
Saturday’s contest will be the third time in the last four seasons that these two powerhouses have met in the final game of the season.
Strathmore had an extra 80 handballs for the game and with the breeze in their favour in the third term, were plus five in clearances, plus 31 in disposals, and plus six in tackles which was the difference.
A win on Saturday for Keilor would be Mick McGuane’s fifth premiership in 19 seasons at Joe Brown Oval, as well as a fourth flag for skipper Kane Barbuto. Matthew Horne will be gunning for a third premiership as Strathmore coach, including a premiership in his first season back at Lebanon Reserve. Strathmore won its way through to the decider with a 16-point victory over Keilor in the semi final. Despite the setback, Keilor had no trouble winning its way through to a fourth straight grand final, accounting for Pascoe Vale by 67 points. In their two meetings during the home away season, Strathmore won the annual Good Friday clash by 37 points, while the Blues took down the Mores by 74 points in Round 12.
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Trent Dumont led from the front again with 30 disposals and nine clearances, while Liam Cavanagh was a thorn in Keilor’s attack with 37 touches and five marks. Tom McGuane put in an eye-catching performance with 34 disposals and a goal, while Corey Ellis did everything he could with 28 touches and seven inside 50s. Coach Mick McGuane felt his side didn’t capitalise on their dominance in the first half and couldn’t stop Strathmore’s handball game. It was a similar scenario on Good Friday with Strathmore’s ball use by hand too much for Keilor to handle. The Mores had 34 more handballs and 51 more disposals, while they also managed 10 more tackles in a comprehensive win.
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CBS PREMIER DIVISION GRAND FINAL PREVIEW
Matthew Allison led the way in front of goal with a bag of four, while Cavanagh and Ryan Brodie both collected 34 disposals. McGuane was excellent again with 29 disposals and a goal, while Nathan Colenso took 12 marks and booted two goals. It was Keilor’s pressure and contest work in Round 12 which overwhelmed and undermanned Strathmore and proved to be too much to handle. Despite Strathmore getting their handball game up and running with 95 more handballs, Keilor’s pressure was too much with 25 more tackles to go with 15 more clearances and 12 more contested possessions. Jack Brown starred again with 32 disposals and 11 clearances, while Chris Kosmas did the damage on the scoreboard with seven goals. Brock Egglestone had no trouble finding the footy with 27 disposals, while Lachlan Plant also racked up 25 touches and 11 tackles. The big question for Strathmore on Saturday will be how does it handle Kosmas. The sharpshooter has taken a liking to Strathmore in recent years with 37 goals in nine games across the last three seasons. Crucially, in the grand final last year, the number 22 was kept to just one goal and was
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held goalless on Good Friday with Strathmore coming away with the victory both times. Strathmore will likely turn to Jesse Horton again despite Kosmas' efforts last time out, and will hoping for another shut out. For Keilor, it’ll need to find a way of shutting down Strathmore’s ball movement. The Mores are clearly number one for handball across the competition with an average of 44 more handballs per game than the next best side. Cavanagh leads the way from the backline, while midfielders Dumont, Egglestone, and Plant have no trouble finding the footy in transition. Keilor’s pressure game has been capable of stopping Strathmore in the past and will need to be at its very best if it wants to take back the cup. Unlike last year, Keilor has a mostly fit side heading into the grand final, question marks over Ellis and Kyle O'Connor the key ones to watch. Strathmore will regain youngster Alex Tonelli for the first time since Round 15 after his VFL commitments with Port Melbourne ended so one unlucky player will miss out. Will Strathmore go back to back, or will Keilor reclaim its place as premiers?
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AGA UNDER 18.5 MEN’S PREMIER A DIVISION GRAND FINAL
ABERFELDIE
KEILOR
1 Lachlan Gustincich
2 Harrison Ansell
2 Koby Micklethwait
3 Bailey Farrington
3 Hamish Bird
5 Charlie Callahan
4 Arden Stevens
6 Zane Gentner
5 Robert Asllanaj
8 Lawrence Cassar
6 Samuel Lyons
10 Jake Howell
7 Campbell Stone
11 Riley Fletcher
9 Jamieson Fleming
14 Cruz Travis
10 Max Hoffman
16 Slayde Law
President: Darren Brown Coach: Luke Kinniburgh
President: Shaun Morris Coach: Ricky Waters
11 Archer Legudi
18 Cain Davis
12 Archer Bastow
19 Billy Thomas
13 Ryan Kinniburgh
20 Ben Howell
14 Jacques Mirenda
22 Joshua Farrugia
15 Zac Paoly
23 Charlie Mackenzie-George
16 Mitch Mason
25 Sam Fox
17 Jack Parker
27 Strummer Lee
19 Marcus Smith
29 Jacob Farrugia
20 Rex Papal
30 Ryder Lewis
21 Cody Kotoski
35 Aydan Boyce
22 Nathan Romios
38 Harry Blyth
25 Tanner Trounson
60 Bailey Kennedy
26 Hunter A Holland
61 Liam Sutton
27 Kale Bajinskis 31 Noah Pizzinga 36 Benjamin Rumoro
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RESERVES PREMIER DIVISION GRAND FINAL
KEILOR
President: Shaun Morris Coach: Stephen Pace
ABERFELDIE
President: Darren Brown Coach: Will Wright
2 James Veal
10 Clay Mullins
4 Harry Withoos
13 Thomas Pound
5 Nathan Ellis
17 Harry Moore
6 Mitchell Ellis
24 Konrad Karner
9 Oskar Haintz
25 Ben Williamson
10 Miller Harvey
28 Lachlan Brown
12 Billy Johnson
30 Ryan James
20 Darcy Weeks
33 Darby Scott
21 Riley Ham
34 Zac Truccolo
23 Emmanuel Parissis
36 Tom Newman
28 Samuel Koulouris
45 Cooper Anderson
33 Mason Thomas
46 Nic Walsh
35 Ryan Hargreaves
47 Callum Symons
36 Taj Robinson
48 Riley Grant
38 Michael Teal
49 Ryan Gustincich
40 William Teal
51 Chris Simpson
41 Jayden Teal
54 Ryan Koenig
43 Joseph Ciranna
55 Jake Daglis
44 Nathan Ellis
57 Samuel Beckinsale
45 Riley Ciacic
58 Daniel Ruscigno
47 Blair Marsden
59 Shaye Caddy
48 Calan Nicholls
61 Spencer Hutchinson
53 Fredrick Frew
63 Daniel Lombardo
58 Diesel Grech
65 Christopher Low
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COMMUNITY BANK STRATHMORE PREMIER DIVISION GRAND FINAL
STRATHMORE
KEILOR
President: Ben Mihailovic Coach: Matthew Horne
President: Shaun Morris Coach: Mick McGuane
1 Trent Dumont
1 Kyle O’Connor
2 Nicholas O’Brien
2 Corey Ellis
4 Liam Cavanagh
3 Matthew Bartlett
5 Brock Egglestone
4 Kane Barbuto
6 Benjamin Holian
5 Cody Brand
7 Tristan Borghouts
7 Thomas McGuane
8 Lachlan Plant
9 Bradley Xavier
9 Kade Mueller
10 Josh Honey
10 Hugh Allison
11 Nicholas O'Kearney
11 Andrew Gallucci
14 Jamie Papalia
12 Matthew Allison
15 Jay White
13 Kyle Weightman
16 Jack Brown
14 Jack Ryan
18 Stefan Radovanovic
17 Hudson Radecki
19 Blair Wyllie
19 Jack Sammartino
20 Darcy Weeks
21 Corey Grindlay
21 Riley Ham
22 Ryan Brodie
22 Christos Kosmas
23 Alex Tonelli
24 William Burke
25 Sam Hayes
26 Christian Olivieri
28 Lucas Cavallaro
28 Harvey Wilkes
29 Daniel Mammoliti
33 Mason Thomas
30 Cooper Keogh
34 Harrison Kennedy
32 Athan Tsialtas
43 Joseph Ciranna
34 Ryan Maddox
44 Nathan Ellis
35 Cooper West
51 Liam Hude
40 Jesse Corigliano
68 Andrew Vavra
41 Jesse Horton
81 Kade Long
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