WEDDERBURN finished third in coach Tom Metherell’s impressive debut season at the helm, but some key departures will test the Redbacks’ resilience in 2025.
Star ruckman Jordan Hargreaves has departed for the Heathcote league, leaving a huge hole to fill.
Winner of the Feeny Medal for the league’s best-and-fairest in 2021 and a member of the North Central team of the year last season, Hargreaves at only 29 is reaching the prime years of his career and will be sorely missed.
Taking on the first ruck role will be veteran Adam Postle, assisted by rugby union convert Mark Robinson, who is 193cm tall and strongly built, but very raw and still learning the nuances of the game.
Robinson’s tap skills are excellent, but he will need to do more around the ground if he is to have a significant impact this season.
Wedderburn has also lost key forward Tom Campbell, who kicked 126 goals in the past three seasons, to Bendigo league’s Sandhurst.
Both Campbell and Hargreaves were named in the league team of the year, illustrating the task ahead of the Redbacks to replace them.
To try to balance the ledger, the Redbacks have not gone for like-for-like in their recruiting, instead targeting tough and talented midfielders as well as some solid defenders.
Ben Bacon is a massive unit off half back, while Jye Mortlock is a two-time senior flag winner with Natte Bealiba in the Maryborough Castlemaine league who captained his team to the premiership last year. The Redbacks are especially keen on the prospects of the Pallpratt brothers Jake and Zach, both of whom played in premierships last season in the Bendigo and Heathcote leagues.
Wedderburn also has welcomed back Dane Keuken, who finished second in the club’s best-and-fairest award after playing just seven matches in 2023.

It’s hard to single out one name from the many good signings for Wedderburn