Footy is in the air and the buzz can be felt around the ground at Casey Fields as the Casey Demons load up and set their sights on 2026.
The club’s overarching goal is the same as it continues its strong alignment with Melbourne, despite many new faces in various places.
But there’s no identity crisis – Casey is excited and raring to go with lots of opportunities on the horizon.
Rhett McLennan is the new man in to take the reins, coming across from a standout career coaching Gippsland Power in the Talent League and Vic Country at the National Championships.
Alongside him is a vastly new playing group, headlined by a plethora of young and emerging talents.
“New faces, new coach, new ideas,” Casey VFL Footy Operations Manager Garry O’Sullivan described the club.
“A lot of new players have come in the door which is exciting.
“We have been able to retain all of our assistant coaches which is good but having a new leader in the coaching department is also exciting in itself.
“When our position became available, we encouraged Rhett to have a look at it.
“He’s got a terrific reputation in the footy world, especially in the Talent League of course where he’s had an amazing career developing so many AFL players.
“And then in the last few years he’s coached the Vic Country side in the championships, so that’s a real feather in his cap also.
“He’s highly respected, incredibly organised, he’s got that nice balance of old school and modern touch.
“We’re very fortunate to have him in our organisation and hopefully it’s going to be a very fruitful and successful partnership.
“It’s a really good program for the boys, we had a camp a couple of weeks ago that was really good.
“With youth, who knows what the future holds but we’re all excited about it.
“We think we’ve got a good group despite being very young.”
The continued, strong partnership between Casey and Melbourne holds the program in good stead, with players gaining invaluable experience in the build up to the season kicking off.
Players like Nar Nar Goon’s Paddy Cross, who enjoyed a major breakout at VFL level in 2025, have been offered to train with Melbourne’s senior AFL list every Friday throughout the preseason in match sims.
“Every Friday Melbourne has had match sim and we’ve probably been averaging eight to 10 players training with them,” O’Sullivan said.
“That really excites us as a group, it’s terrific for the players, you just can’t buy that experience.
“And it’s something we can offer players, they could be exposed to that which is great.
“The connection we’ve got with Melbourne is great and we certainly love helping them out.
“We’re in the position to be winning games of football, but also we do acknowledge that we have a major partnership and alignment with the Melbourne Footy Club.
“It’s a good alignment, a strong alignment.
“We’ve got a terrific relationship and hopefully our results on and off the field will reflect that.
“We’re still a few weeks out from the season opener but to date, we think we’re in a very good place.”
The Demons will look to build on their 2025 semi-final appearance and once again contend.
Casey had its first hit-out on Friday in a preseason game against North Melbourne, narrowly going down 11.12 (78) to 12.5 (77) in a three period contest.
The Demons kick off their campaign away against reigning premiers Footscray in round one on Saturday 21 March, before having a three-game home stretch beginning in round two when Box Hill comes to town, followed by Brisbane and Richmond visiting Casey Fields.
