
Champions of Change: Celebrating Women Coaches in the VAFA
This July, the VAFA proudly joins AFL Victoria in celebrating Women’s Coaching Month, now in its fifth year. The 2025 theme, “Champions of Change,” recognises the powerful role women and
The big names keep returning to Therry Penola, with the announcement today from the club that current AFL Umpire and former Carlton and Essendon defender Jordan Bannister will take up a coaching role with the club for 2013.
Bannister returns to the club as a forward coach where he can expect to be giving instructions to his brothers Jarrod and Corey who have both returned to the Lions in the past 12 months.
Jordan will return to the Division 2 club for preseason training next week and will be providing assistance to to the forwards throughout the season at training and on match days when his AFL commitments permit.
The club has completed an overhaul of its coaching panel since new senior coach Dennis Castaldi returned to the club at the end of the 2012 season. Castaldi has assembled a coaching group that have set themselves lofty expectations for 2013.
The below list of coaches at Therry Penola for 2013 shows how many new voices the players will have to adjust to this year.
Seniors
Dennis Castaldi – Senior coach (New)
Stephen Boyle – Assistant coach (New)
Bernie Carter – Assistant coach (New)
Paul McCann – Assistant coach (New)
John Vaina – Assistant coach (New)
Jordan Bannister – Assistant coach (New)
Reserves
Dave Goodwin – Reserves coach (New)
Leigh Quinn – Reserves assistant coach
Thirds
Mark Hudson – Thirds coach (New)
Phil Proy – Assistant
Fourths
Dean Boden – Fourths coach
Steve Serong – Assistant
Paul Dunn – Assistant
Under 19’s
Lee Hollow – Coach
Rod Egglestone Assistant coach (New)
This July, the VAFA proudly joins AFL Victoria in celebrating Women’s Coaching Month, now in its fifth year. The 2025 theme, “Champions of Change,” recognises the powerful role women and
The VAFA congratulates Ryder Mantello from Old Ivanhoe Grammarians Football Club who has been nominated as the Round 11 Anytime Fitness Men’s Rising Star. Ryder is ranked 24th for average
The ladder is heating up more every week, with plenty of teams on equal points vying for spots and some only outside the top four on percentage; with each round