Out of the wilderness and into the Division’s

After 7 long years in the VAFA Men’s Thirds competition, Chadstone Football Club has returned to the VAFA Men’s Divisional competition in 2024.

Chadstone last played in the Men’s Divisional competition in 2016, where the club went winless through Division 4, which ultimately led to a large loss of players and support staff, resigning the club to the Thirds competition with only enough players for a solitary team in 2017.

The club has had a clear focus to return to Senior football since, and with a strong player recruitment period, new volunteers, new sponsors, new coach and a reinvigorated core of key decision makers the club is looking to capitalise on the momentum and build in 2024 and beyond.

The resurgence into the Divisional competition has been led by a variety of key stakeholders including Club President, Tim Thorburn, who said “the work the committee and new coaching group has put in over the last two years has ensured the club is driving to a good space and the work is no longer on the shoulders of two or three people”.

With a change in direction on and off the field the club is also looking to prioritise it’s off field environment to support the recruitment and retention of players and volunteers, “This has been a long time coming but the culture shift at the club has been huge for driving the return, our goal is to have the best culture in the league” said Thorburn.

A key element of the return to Senior football was the appointment of Luke Nally as Senior Coach. “We had a huge recruitment drive and the new faces around the place are a breath of fresh air and have reinvigorated the group who have stuck fat with the club through the dark times.

Round 1 brought 22 debutants which is unprecedented for this club, we used to struggle to get that many at training” said Nally. Luke is joined by Angus Letzing and Jake Ricardo as part of the Chadstone coaching group, who are prioritising consistency in 2024.

The committee and playing group at Jordan Reserve is now as solid as it has been for a long time and the club has ambitious plans to grow. This includes entering a Men’s thirds side and Women’s team while also ensuring their facilities are up to standard with a new electronic scoreboard high on the priority list. The results on the field have been mixed for Chadstone so far but their off-field success has set them up for a strong future in the VAFA for years to come.

Chadstone come up against Albert Park this Saturday at Jordan Reserve as they look to open their account and get on the Winners list in 2024.