Our season's been over for a week now and there are already updates for 2027 to share. So let's get the preseason thread going early.
Firstly, the football department has been dealt a major blow early with Trent Mynott stepping away from VFL football. This one hasn't been much of a shock - there were rumours about him going to Mornington circulating for a while - and it's hard to say a bad word about the guy after he's stuck with us for so long and helped get us back into finals, but he'd be a massive loss on his own and when you add him to the number of players who've departed over the past year - Murphy, Johnson, Smith, Blamires, Campbell-Farrell, and Coe - it's a bit staggering to see how much talent we've lost from 2025.
We do have a couple of good omens to balance it, thankfully. Jackson Kornberg is signed up as coach until at least the end of 2029 I believe, and Corey Ellison has committed for another season with us. Off the field, the club has signed a new sponsorship deal with Markscon which will see them becoming our naming rights sponsor and invest a million dollars into the club over the next few years.
RETAINED:
- Corey Ellison - Will Hamill - Kade Foster - Pat Dozzi - Bailey Lloyd - Jacob Noble - Henry Berenger - Deng Andrew - Will Derrington - Kobe Askew
IN:
-
OUT:
- Trent Mynott - Taine Barlow - Tyson Milne - Noah Gown - Angus Grant - Tomoya Owens - Bailey Lambert - Jackson Voss
What areas do Frankston need to focus on for 2027?
* It's time to restore the VFA name.
Another key forward for one thing. Gown will have a breakout game every now and then but he doesn't really get off the chain the way Ellison can. And I've noticed we had a tendency to rely on Ellison too much this season, even kicking to him when he had two or three defenders on him.
I'm still wary of the ruck situation. I'm not all that sure on Hofert yet, and Coe looked like the answer to our prayers until Collingwood picked him up. We haven't really had a great dedicated ruckman since Liam Reidy got drafted, and it showed in certain games this year after Coe was drafted.
Beyond the on-field personnel, I think the biggest need is a mentality shift. There was a cloud over the place before the season even started, thanks to that Herald Sun article in February. On top of that you have the beer throwing incident from Round 1, the Lance Collard saga, recurring incidents of youths starting fights during games. I've felt a pervasive weariness around the club this year, and I think it's affected everything from the on field results to the supporters. Crowds weren't as big or vocal, players didn't seem to have the same enjoyment as the past two years.
Hopefully this summer will give everyone a chance to recharge and go into next year refreshed.
Paul Amy reporting today that Taine Barlow has departed.
Looks like a mass exodus is in progress.
In addition to Mynott and Barlow, the club has just announced the departures of Tomo Owens, Tyson Milne, Jackson Voss, Noah Gown, Angus Grant, and Bailey Lambert.
There are going to be big questions asked at the AGM next year. Three weeks on from our season ending and our player retention is already a disaster. Finals in 2027 is out of the question unless a recruiting miracle happens.