Growth From Within – Wardman

As well as some strategic recruiting over the off season with the additions of Jack Cooley (mid), Jedd Edwards (ruck) and Archie May (forward), League coach Beau Wardman is confident that there will be plenty of improvement from some tried and tested names within the squad which will have the Lions pushing back up the ladder into 2025.

“The club obviously lost some significant experience at the end of 2024 and didn’t get the number of wins that we wanted, so we are looking at across the board improvement in a number of areas and expecting a number of players to improve from 2024.” Wardman said.

Below is an update on some of the Club’s prime movers: –

Stef Giro – after playing no footy in 2024, Stef has been extremely professional in his rehab and should be ready to hit the ground running early in the season providing some speed to break the lines and strength inside the contest.

Greg Clark – tried to push through some groin issues in the middle of the season but is back into full training now and will again showcase the explosive side of his game in 2025. His leadership continues to grow and been a significant catalyst in the professional approach of the group over summer.

Taj Schofield – Had some injury concerns in the first half of 2024 and looks to be training hard and well placed for his best year of WAFL footy so far. He has completed a lot of work away from the club to get his body ready and is confident heading into 2025.

Michael Braut – Returns after a tough couple of years on-field with his body. He has completed more training across this pre-season than the preceding 3 years and we are confident of a big 2025 for Michael across half back.

Luke Foley – Luke has been hitting the training track hard and looks set to improve sharply in his second year back in the WAFL system. He has improved speed and cut significant time off his endurance testing benchmarks.

Jack Mayo – Jack continues to gain confidence in his body following some serious injury and should improve again on his 2024 season. He had a breakout start to 2024 and will look to replicate this in 2025.

The contingent of returning players and availability is going to be pivotal to our success in 2025. Dan Hiscock and Stu Chesher have done a great job with the individual programming for each player and preparation across pre-season.

We look forward to the internal growth from these players and the experience gained by a number of debutants and young players across 2024 in the upcoming season.

The first Men’s scratch matches will be on 15 March vs South Fremantle.