Panthers’ plan for prolonged premiership success just getting started

“We spoke about the new generation of our club – the ‘NEW CAREY.’ Our young group really took ownership of their club this year. Boys who are still so connected to the school & the community. It’s a weapon if you can harness it.”

And harness it senior coach Aaron Bailey certainly did as an injection of youth rejuvenated the Panthers and rocketed them to glory in Premier C as they collected the club’s fifth senior flag and its first since the Premier B title in 2010.

They came from an extraordinarily long way back, having won just nine games in their previous four seasons.

“We’d been smashed by St Bernard’s in the 2018 Premier B Grand Final, then went through a really challenging period for our club,” said Bailey, who will become the Panthers’ General Manager of Footy in 2025.

“We spent a couple of years connecting more closely with Carey and our identity. The school itself had been strong for ten years, but we hadn’t been threatening any sustained success.

“Having said that, our initial expectation in 2024 was to play finals.

“We were confident of being competitive given we’d had 47 players go to Europe mid-season across our three teams in 2023, but we were sitting fourth on the ladder before they all headed off. A group of Under 19 players came in and really blossomed, so we knew we had a decent base to work from this year.

“We’ve had a conscious focus of bringing ex-Carey students back to the club and in 2024, we added the likes of Jed Rule, Tom Jepson, Braden Andrews, Lachy Godden, Charlie Connell-Tobin, Bede Waters and Tristan Borghouts. Then added Under 19s such as Tom Horton and Isaac Ellwood, with a couple of seasoned pros – Trent Warren, and Mitch Wooffindin back from injury.

“So, we felt we had a good group but that our premiership window was probably 2025.”

A competitive pre-season (that saw the Panthers within a point of Whittlesea at three-quarter time and then defeat Upwey by 80 points) had the group entering the season proper with some confidence and belief.

“We’ve had the philosophy of developing our Under 19s and ultimately played 14 of them this season, including 7 or 8 in the Grand Final. Let’s play the group together, build together and blossom.”

But their early season confidence was rocked by a 74-point thumping at the hands of Ajax in Round 2.

“We had some conversations around expectations in senior footy after that game, in terms of size and physicality. It was a good learning opportunity,” said Bailey. “We were really poor that day, but we still kicked 10.13, which gave us hope from an offensive perspective.”

The Panthers responded to that belting by immediately handing out one of their own as they destroyed Mazenod by 121 points the following week. Bailey was understandably pleased with the character and resilience of his group.

“We’d shown some of that the year before, where we’d lost poorly then won the next week. After that Ajax loss, we got back to focusing on the contest. We wanted to be the #1 Pressure team in Premier C, which forces turnovers out of the opposition backline.

“We knew we were good with ball in hand & we knew we were quick. Our offensive growth was quite organic, based on the players we had. So that allowed us to focus more on contest and stoppages. We made some adjustments after Ajax and started building momentum and trying to lock down our best line-up.”

Another big win followed (92 points over PEGS) before Aaron began to realise that his team might be capable of challenging at the pointy end of the season. But it wasn’t via a free-flowing high-scoring shootout that the Panthers were more naturally suited to.

“I first felt like we might be in the mix after we beat Hampton at Trevor Barker Oval in Round 5. We trailed 2.5 to 0.1 at quarter-time but we were able to find a way to claw our way back and win in a low-scoring game. That was my first inkling of our real potential.

“Everyone talked about us as a high-scoring team but that day we showed a different side of ourselves and were able to win against a competitive physically big side like Rovers.”

Old Carey strung together a 9-game winning streak which was ultimately and convincingly snapped by Hampton Rovers in their return bout in Round 12.

“We were only three points down at three quarter-time,” Bailey recalls. “But we ended up losing by 47 as we tried some things late to chase the game and conceded a few more goals. But I walked away feeling like if we are at our absolute best with our best team on the park, we could go pretty deep into the season.”

Those suspicions were confirmed when the Panthers comfortably defeated fellow Top 4 contenders Parkdale and Ajax in the final two home & away matches.

“That was a great lead-in to finals, winning both those games by 7 or 8 goals. Ajax was the big one. They were too physically strong for us when they beat us in Round 2, but by Round 18 we’d become physically stronger. Our group of kids had got bigger and stronger in the four months since.”

That final round game was effectively a Qualifying Final and secured Old Carey the minor premiership.

“We had our 2010 premiership team come in and speak to our group pre-finals. We spoke about the new generation of our club – the ‘NEW CAREY.’ Our young group really took ownership of their club this year. Boys who are still so connected to the school & the community. It’s a weapon if you can harness it.

“A big theme for us was ‘Being Carey.’ In the middle of one of our strategic planning meetings, one of our key committee members suggested that instead of us trying to replicate Scotch or SKOB, why don’t we be Carey?

“We identified three key qualities that our group represents – we’re fit, we’re an intelligent group and we’re really connected. So, we focused on those things.

“I never felt we were necessarily the best team in it. I knew we were capable of beating the other three finalists, but I also felt we were capable of being beaten ourselves.”

The Second Semi Final against Hampton Rovers was a one-point game entering time-on in the final term before the Panthers kicked 3 late goals to win by 19 points.

“If we’d lost that Second Semi, we would have lost a few players for the Prelim. They wouldn’t have got up after such a tough game,” Aaron admits.

Rovers bounced back to win the Preliminary Final and set up a rematch with Old Carey on Grand Final Day.

“We’d been working on what we called ‘The Bubble,’ which was like Collingwood’s 2023 ‘Web,’ where you focus on winning the secondary stoppage more than the first. We aimed to be the Number #1 Pressure team between the arcs and our pressure that day was just immense. We gave them no room to move.

“It felt like everything we’d done well in patches throughout the season we did well for four quarters that day. It was clearly our best performance of the year.”

The Panthers booted 17 goals to 6 after quarter-time to career away to an emphatic 89-point win – their eighth straight victory by an incredible average of 69 points.

“Old Carey has only won five flags in 70 years,” says Aaron proudly.

“Historically we’ve been a promoted team who got there by making Grand Finals but finishing second. This was the first time our club has won a Grand Final in such a manner that our fans could get to enjoy it a long way out. The way our community embraced us through Grand Final Day shows what our club is capable of if we continue to push forward.

“When I started at Old Carey, I asked our players how we would be seen by other APS schools. The overwhelming response was that we were ‘nice.’ Now ‘nice’ doesn’t necessarily win games of footy, but it’s ok to be that. So let’s be us. Good people who care for each other.

“We worked on our resilience. We didn’t dwell on skill errors but focused on mindset. As coaches, we didn’t feel sorry for them as footballers when things didn’t go their way. We certainly feel for them in the rest of their daily lives and have sympathy for challenges.

“But when it comes to footy, we wanted them to focus on relentless pressure and defensive effort. Those things aren’t a reflection of character and whether you’re a nice person or not, that’s just effort.

“Prior to the finals our players did an exercise on why they love each other as people and players. We focused on healthy masculinity and have worked to create an open environment around health and mental wellbeing.

“On Grand Final Day, I wrote a letter to every player and committee member – what we loved about them and that we’re grateful for each of them as a person. Forty letters, including to the players who missed out on playing that day.

“I’m big on care, connection and that holistic approach. We want our players to feel welcome and safe at our club. The results then take care of themselves.”

“I came to the club at the start of 2022 and hadn’t been in community footy for ten years. I wanted to be part of building something – the appeal of rebuiliding was the challenge I was looking for.

“So to see where we’ve come over the past three years is really satisfying. It’s a reward for the people that have been around the club for decades and invested their blood, sweat and tears.

“Our players are a great advertisement for their families and their school. They’re a really good group of young men and women and it was wonderful to see how happy and excited everyone was.”

Planning is underway for 2025 with Senior Assistant Coach Luke Giles stepping up to take the senior coaching role with Aaron shifting into a GM of Footy role with an eye on a return to Premier Men’s in the not-too-distant future.

“When I came to the club, I always had the view to eventually become the GM of Footy so I can focus on building the infrastructure we’re going to need to be successful in Premier B and Premier Men’s,” said Aaron.

“I picked a club that I’d want to come to and stay and that’s what I found at Carey. I see myself at the club in whatever role they need me to play for many years to come.

“We made the decision to fast-track the transition to the GM role midway through 2024, so Luke knows the group and has already taken a lot of training sessions. I’m sure he’ll make some tweaks to the game plan and our ball movement as you can’t get away with as much in Premier B, so we’ll need to defend the ground even harder.

“Hopefully we can keep 95% of our list. We’ve picked up Luke Kelvie (ex-Carey student who played at Oakleigh Chargers) and have a few more coming back. There’s a really good school group coming through, including a couple more Oakleigh boys.

“Being in Prem B certainly allows you to get more traction with VFL & ex-AFL players. We’re looking to retain what we’ve got and keep developing our young group. We want them to play 80 games together and maybe get to A-Grade having played 100 games together by age 23 or 24. There’s a big connection between playing together consistently and having success.

“But we’re under no illusions. There’ll be no easy games in 2025. Premier B is full of very strong clubs – it may be the best Second Division in Victoria.

“It’s going to have quite a northern flavour with a lot of local games between us, Old Camberwell, Trinity, Ivanhoe and Fitzroy. That’s also helped in terms of recruiting, given that most of our players live around the Hawthorn, Kew & Richmond areas.

“Our group of 18-22 year olds really want to be in A-Grade. They want to build a team that allows them to play at the best level possible. That group will continue to drive us and it will be tough to get a game in our 22 next year, which pushes people and keeps them hungry. Our players are excited by that.

“Our first focus will be to maintain our spot in Premier B. We want to be competitive and a chance to win every week. We want build into a position to challenge for finals, so get to 6-8 wins and build from there. We’ll learn about the comp along the way next year and what our next steps will need to be as we continue our long-term planning.

“But, like this year, we won’t know our ceiling. Most of our players are 18-25, so this is not a veteran premiership team coming up a division. We’re probably twelve months ahead of schedule, which is part of the reason I’ve transitioned into the GM role now.

“We will continue to develop players, find our best combinations and identify the gaps we need to fill so we can ideally bring more players in from Carey in the future. There are a lot of good Carey players currently in the AFL and VFL, so we want to be ready for their return.”