By David Nagel
New coach Justin Stanton is preparing to roll up his premiership-winning sleeves and take on the massive challenge of bringing respect and success back to the Pakenham Football Club.
Stanton, who coached Nar Nar Goon to the 2024 WGFNC premiership, has a huge job ahead after the Lions were relegated from Premier Division in Outer East Football Netball this season.
The challenges associated with the relegation are vast and include player retention and extended travels to towns such as Alexandra, Powelltown and Yea in 2025.
But Stanton is only thinking one way; positive, as he prepares to lead the Lions into the unknown.
“It’s certainly exciting, and I had a number of offers from Eastern League clubs to return to that competition, in high divisions, and at clubs that are very much on the cusp of contending,” he said.
“But my fingerprints, to be fair, would not have been on that club, it would have been as a result of somebody else’s hard work.
“The appealing thing at Pakenham is that somebody is going to work closely with the footy department and, if we’re all on the same page and pulling in the same direction, be able to create a list that will hopefully get this club back to being the powerhouse that it once was.
“I just saw that as such a terrific opportunity.
“134 years of community football; 28 premierships, the results speak for themselves and ideally, I wanted to be that person that is going to put Pakenham back to where it belongs.
“And that includes being feared by clubs in this region and the surrounding suburbs.”
Stanton suggested his sleeves are already rolled up as he prepares to hit the ground running.
“The first thing will be to have face-to-face meetings with the playing group and start building relationships with the playing group,” he said.
“Making sure that the guys are enjoying their off-season, but also having an eye to what pre-season looks like and turning up to pre-season; not to get fit, but turning up to pre-season ready to improve their fitness.
“I also need feedback from the playing group in regards to what deficiencies we have and where we need to grow.
“Also, I need to work closely with the footy department to identify players we would like to target, and just be honest with the players and tell them the vision and direction we would like to head in.
“Yes, there will be some challenges, in regards to travel next year, but that provides an opportunity for us as a playing group, footy department and supporter base, to be able to embrace those challenges and build some really solid foundations for the club to surge again in 2026.”
Stanton said he had been impressed with the Lions level of professionalism in their search for a new coach.
“I was approached by Pakenham last week and it was explained that they had been watching me coach during finals with Nar Nar Goon, and they were impressed with the relationships I had with the players and how we coped with challenges we faced during those games,” Stanton said.
“They had done their homework very well, and it was refreshing to talk to a club that had done its homework over the last month and was acting in a professional manner.
“They had been monitoring the dialogue that was coming out of Nar Nar Goon, and they didn’t want to approach me until that finals campaign was done.
“I think that says a lot about the Pakenham Football Club and I can’t wait to put my stamp on things moving forward.”
Stanton also has an eye to the past, and will encourage input from past legends of the football club.
“You look at a person like Darren Hillard, an absolute champion of the Pakenham football club; I’ll reach out to someone like him and ask him to share with me some of the memories that he has of the halcyon days,” he said.
“They formed the nucleus of their power by developing a side that won the under 18s and then rolled through and won multiple premierships, several years in a row, as senior footballers.
“There are a number of stars, over different generations, that I’m certainly keen to talk to and reconnect them with the footy club.
“We want them families to reconnect, and this list is in a similar situation with the under 19s winning the premiership this year.
“Yes, there are challenges; but I see some exciting times being enjoyed in the near future.”
The new Lions’ coach said recruiting players back to the club would be a key part of the process.
“Talented ball users are something that I’m strong on, and guys that have already got a history of playing with the Pakenham football club; I will certainly be talking to them,” he explained.
“For whatever reason they fell out with the club, or chose not to be there, and I’ll certainly be getting feedback from them and trying to have them reconnect with the club.
“It’s a blank canvas at the moment, but we’ll start working on our portrait during the coming weeks and over the pre-season until we put the finishing touches on it.”
Stanton suggested the ambiguity of Pakenham’s current situation had him excited for what lies ahead.
“Probably the uncertainty of what the future looks like is the most exciting part,” he said.
“Some people look at that as a negative, but I see that as exciting; it’s unclear but it’s exciting where we’re going to be playing in 2026; it’s exciting where we’re going to be playing in 2025, because we’re playing against teams that have their own challenges in the communities that they operate within.
“It’s exciting to work with a playing list that I haven’t worked with before; it’s exciting to get new recruits on board, and it’s exciting to be working with a newly-developed footy department and working with a new president that will be announced in due course.
“Some people see negatives…I see exciting times ahead.”
The former Berwick junior played his senior football at both Beaconsfield and Berwick, before working through the junior and senior coaching ranks at Beaconsfield.
He coached Eastern Division Two club The Basin, for five years; ending with 35 wins from 68 games at the helm, before taking over at Nar Nar Goon in 2023.
Stanton leaves Spencer Street after a one-point preliminary final loss in 2023 and Nar Nar Goon’s first senior premiership since 2010 this year.
He departs after 43 games, with the impressive record of 34 wins, eight losses and one draw.
The Goon played seven finals games under Stanton; with the outstanding record of six wins and one loss; which was by a point to Phillip Island in last year’s preliminary final.
