Consistency in change: JOCS begin new era in the SFNL

For St John’s Old Collegians Saints, 2026 is not just another season. It is a reset.
After 34 years in the VAFA, the JOCS will enter Southern Football Netball League’s fourth division for the first time, bringing with them a historic club, a new coach, a new competition and a chance to shift trajectory after a difficult 2025. The move places the Dandenong based club into a division where clubs are already pushing to establish themselves. A position from which St John’s will aim to do the same from day one.
The club was formed in 1980 as an amateur football club for St John’s College Old Boys. Now, in its first SFNL season, it enters a different setting.
Head coach Ben McGee, a club veteran, has just been announced as head coach for the JOCS’ first year in the SFNL. More than two decades ago, he coached St John’s to a VAFA Division 3 premiership. His return to the top job gives the club a link between past success and its next phase. If there is one line that fits both McGee and this playing group, it is the one riddled throughout this move: consistency in change.
Change has not arrived alone. St John’s is not only entering a new league, but doing so after a season interrupted by injuries and inconsistency. The focus of the offseason has been to hold onto key talent, as well as bring back players who were limited or unavailable in 2025. For a club entering unfamiliar territory, continuity may be its biggest asset.
Ben “Robbo” Robson, the 2025 best and fairest winner, has recommitted. Vice-captain Nick “Beery” Beer, runner-up in the same count, is back as well. Leading goalkicker Josh “Truck” Mourant also remains in place, giving the JOCS continuity up the guts and in front of goal.
Matt “Hammer” Carnelley has also returned after a year away from the club. A key forward who kicked 19 goals in a game and set a club record in 2024, his presence gives the JOCS a clear focal point. It might just be hammer time for the Saints
With enough nicknames to fill out an episode of The Sopranos, the side is ready to slide seamlessly into the SFNL.
The tide of the Saint’s injury woes of 2025, finally, is coming back in. Dan “Tiger” Abou Karroum is back, after an interrupted year, while Harvey “Banger” Emery who had a disconnected 2025, is looking to carry on his good form from the end of last season into a hardy 2026.
The interleague move itself was driven largely by geography. A club spokesperson said the “epicentre of the SFNL is in Berwick, which is much closer to our heartland and will
help us in retaining players.” League moves aren’t just about ladders. They are about sustainability.
2026 will also mark the club’s first year of netball, with Jade Hancock announced as the inaugural senior netball coach. This new expansion of the club adds to the sense that this is a whole-of-club shift, not just a change in competition.
For league followers, the JOCS arrive as a club with history and continuity. For St John’s supporters, Division 4 presents a new challenge against sides that already understand the demands of the competition. It may take time, but there is enough in place to suggest they can compete.
Round 1 offers the first look at what this new era might be. St John’s opens its season against Narre South Saints on Saturday, April 11 at Thomas Carroll Reserve.

New league. Same club.

Now it starts.

Written by Alex Scott