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A Power Debut

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 13:31:50 GMT

A Footy Story for the Ages

Congratulations to Josh Lai who continues the run of former Zebbies to make their AFL debut in 2026. Josh played his junior football with the Zebbies alongside his twin brother Sean (now Richmond VFL). Prior to joining the Zebbies, the twins were born in Singapore and raised in Beijing until moving to Melbourne in 2012. Soccer was the initial sport of choice until thankfully joining ESJFC to try footy with their friends. On-field Josh showed a lot of promise spending time with the St.Kilda NGA academy and having some interest from the Dragons. In addition to the Zebbies, Josh also starred for Mentone Grammar in the AGSV.

What makes Josh's footy story really impressive though, is that he was essentially drafted on the back of 14 games of local senior footy; with no Talent League or VFL appearances. By chance, Port Adelaide recruiter Brett Anderson returned home on a weekend off to watch his former club Cheltenham take on Bentleigh in the SFL. In only Josh's second game of senior footy he dominated and in doing so impressed an important onlooker. Over that season Brett returned with fellow Port Adelaide recruiters another five times to secretly watch Josh play. This included the 2024 SFL Grand Final where Josh earned best on ground honours. They were convinced and Port Adelaide would select Josh in the 2025 Pre-season draft. After a successful first season in the SANFL, Port Adelaide liked what they saw and extended Josh's contract through 2026. Yesterday, in Round 3, one of Josh's footy dreams came true with an AFL debut against the West Coast Eagles.

Congratulations from the Zebbies and we look forward to a Powerful future.

From Zebras to Dragons

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 11:54:51 GMT

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Congratulations to our amazing Zebbies that have made the final Sandringham Dragon squads for the 2026 season. We wish you all the best in your Coates Talent League seasons and we look forward to monitoring your progress.

U18 Girls: Isla Mattson (pictured) and Molly Allan
U18 Boys: Jack Surkitt (pictured) and Sunny King
U16 Boys: Sam Barnes, Sam Cowell, Toby Lee and Archie McPherson

We'd also like to congratulate the Hampton Rovers players from the East Sandy Rovers merged team that also made the U16 squad.
See image left to right: Toby Lee (Zebs), Nevon Eshwara, Archer Ballantine, Zac Bevacqua, Sam Cowell (Zebs), Angus Occiuto, Jacob Keech, Archie McPherson (Zebs), Sam Barnes (Zebs)

A Roo Debut to Remember

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:22:30 GMT

Drafted to Debut in Days

Congratulations to Tom Blamires who's the latest former Zebbie to make their AFL debut. Incredibly Tom was only drafted by North Melbourne as a SSP selection at the end of February 2026 and debuted just over two weeks later; talk about making an immediate impact and what a debut it was with 23 touches in a win. Tom played juniors at East Sandringham before progressing to teams including Brighton Grammar, Sandringham Dragons, Sandringham VFL and Frankston VFL where he won last years VFL rising star. The ESJFC wishes Tom all the best as he continues his already impressive career as a shinboner.
Check out his signing video here .

Women and Girls Chartered Club

peter.kotaridis@playhq.com (Kotaridis) — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 03:59:21 GMT

Women & Girls Chartered Club Certification

East Sandringham JFC is proud to announce that we've received AFL Women & Girls Chartered Club certification. This requires ongoing commitment to continue making our Football environment welcoming, safe and inclusive for all Women & Girls. The charter sets out the expectation that the club will champion women and girls guided by four principles; Opportunity , Visibility , Access , and Investment . The Girls football program has long been an integral part of the Zebbies culture and we're excited to see continued growth. In 2026 we'll be fielding a further team and rolling out many initiatives. We are also still looking for additional girls to play across all ages (especially U8 to U11) and more female volunteers.

Archie the Crow

peter.kotaridis@playhq.com (Kotaridis) — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 03:58:59 GMT

Congratulations to our latest AFL draftee

The East Sandringham Junior Football Club is ecstatic to have another Zebbie join the AFL ranks. Last week our very own Archie Ludowyke was selected by the Adelaide Crows with Pick 50; possibly the biggest steal of the draft. Archie has built an impressive junior football CV with a Zebbies premiership before moving up to represent Brighton Grammar, the Sandringham Dragons, and VIC Metro. As an imposing 197cm athletic key forward, Archie had been touted early to be a likely first-round selection. Unfortunately a couple of untimely injuries resulted in Archie missing the 2024 Coates League premiership for the Sandringham Dragons and in 2025 a knee injury sustained in the National Carnival ended his season early. Despite the setbacks, Archie continued to remain positive and ultimately achieved the next step of his AFL dream by making his way onto an AFL list. The hard work starts now!

From all at the ESJFC we wish Archie a successful career moving forward. We are proud to call Archie a Zebbie and will be following the Crows with interest.

Zebbie sightings

peter.kotaridis@playhq.com (Kotaridis) — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 03:58:23 GMT

Pre-season training underway

There's been a flurry of reported Zebra sightings over the summer in Sandringham. There have been reported dazzles roaming many parks, reserves and the foreshore. Experts believe the early migration is in preparation for a successful 2026 season.