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Back to Zebbies (1948 Club) Past Players Day 21st June 2026

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:49:18 GMT

Past Players and Supporters Day - 21st June 2026

Since forming in 1948, the East Sandringham Junior Football Club has developed a long successful history. We'd now love to celebrate a great 78 years by uniting past and present Zebbies for a dazzling day of celebration. Over the decades there has been many changes at the ESJFC, lots of memories made, friendships formed, premierships earned, and stories of amazing players. Throughout the day we'd love for former players to come along, bring their old teammates, and reminisce of old footy stories.

On offer will be plenty of food, drinks for sale over the bar, and various entertainment. The kick off time coincides with the start time of our U13 boys match who will be putting on a show outside, and inside the Saints v Bulldogs will be on the big screen.

When: 21st June 2026 @3pm to 8pm

Where: RG Chisholm Reserve (Duncan Street) Sandringham

Who: All Zebbies past and present

No tickets or RSVP required. Just turn up on the day and have some fun.

Way to Crow Hugo

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 09:23:28 GMT

Hugo Hall-Kahan to the Crows with Pick 10

There was a lot of e xcitement in Sandringham during the mid-season draft, when former Zebbie Hugo Hall-Kahan was selected by the Adelaide Crows with Pick 10. The excitement levels then went through the roof with the announcement he would debut just days later against Geelong at the Adelaide Oval. Then there was the debut itself, where Hugo's class shown through and his composure with ball in hand seemed like he'd been at the level for years. If making an AFL Debut dream was not a big enough dream, how about fighting out a 1 point win against a top team, in front of a packed home crowd, and having the ball in hand at the final siren.

As for Hugo's journey to the debut, it really is a story of grit, hard work and determination. Hugo was always a very talented junior for the Zebbies and Haileybury where he earned representation at the Sandringham Dragons and VIC Metro sides. Despite missing selection in the 2020 AFL National Draft, Hugo was selected by the Sydney Swans in the 2021 AFL Mid-season Draft. Touted as a promising forward, he would spend the next 18 months on the Swans list as a rookie. Despite going close, he never broke into a talented Swans forward line. He is now only the second player to be selected twice in the mid-season draft.

After being delisted by the Swans, Hugo returned to Sandringham to play with the Zebras VFL side in 2024. However, it was a move to Williamston VFL in 2025 that would ultimately re-shape his footy future. At the Seagulls, the coach recommended a move to the half-back to better utilise his running power and foot skills. The impact of the switch was immediate, Hugo took to the role like a seagull to hot chips, and would earn 11 best on grounds in 27 matches before being drafted.

Now the AFL future looks bright, so hopefully the retail and graphic design career can be placed on hold for a good ten years. Well done Hugo and good luck!

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

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

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.