Football
8 April, 2026
HDFNL 2026 preview: Panthers prepared to pounce
Rupanyup senior football coach Cam Weston would be the first to acknowledge that the 2025 season was challenging. Dealing with player turnover, injuries, and challenges as a first-time seniors coach alongside Daniel Schaper, the Panthers finished ninth in 2025 with four wins after making finals in 2024.
Taking on the role solely in 2026, Weston admits he has plenty to improve on, something he has been proactive about during the offseason.
“Like anything you do the first time, you learn from your mistakes and realise what you could have done better,” he said.
“For me, I’ve done a lot of reflecting over the offseason on ways I can improve as a coach and improve the team.
“A lot of the game plan stuff I’ll be looking to improve. I did a couple of coaching clinics and spoke to experienced coaches to help develop the game plan for this year.
“I also think setting standards at training has been easier the second time around, and I think that’s shown with the numbers on the track and the work done in the preseason.”
Most of the 2025 team is set to return, with the side also picking up numerous recruits, including former-Rupanyup junior Sam Chapman and George Wilks from the Wanderers in the Northern Territory Football League.
The club focused on recruiting local players, signing Sam Kamstra, Xavier Pumpa, and Jed Dickerson for 2026.
“In the offseason, we identified that we needed some more numbers on the track, so we've tried as much as possible to recruit locally, and that’s been really successful,” Weston said.
“We've picked up Xavier Pumpa, Jed Dickerson and Sam Kamstra, who are all Horsham locals.
“We were a bit young and small last year, so we’ve tried to pick up some bigger-bodied players, and that includes going back to the well and picking up Jack Kreuzberger, who was one of our premiership onballers.
“A bit of fresh blood is always a positive, and those guys have helped drive the standards of training as well.”
Weston was impressed by youngsters Jimmy Finnigan, Will Noble, and forward Blake Turner during the preseason.
He expects Turner, who kicked 48 goals in 2025, to excel further.
“Blake Turner had a great season and even this offseason, he’s shown some wonderful leadership and taken on more responsibility around the team,” Weston said.
“He’s already one of our best players and could be anything if he puts his mind to it.
"He did have a lot of responsibility up forward last year, so we've tried to put some quality players around him to help him."
In terms of the side’s aspirations, Weston believes that if the side sticks to their improved game plan, they can be in the finals mix late in the season.
“Our goal this year is to be competitive, stick to our structures and our game plans, and I think if we do that, the win-loss ratio will look after itself,” he said.
“If that happens, hopefully we'll be playing finals come season's end.
“A lot of that will also depend on being switched on for the 120 minutes.”