Analysis by Alex
At a glance
Top 5 Scorers
| Player | Games | Average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Green | 22 | 97.5 | 31 |
| Sam Walsh | 14 | 93.1 | 46 |
| Jarrod Witts | 22 | 92.4 | 50 |
| Shaun Mannagh | 20 | 88.1 | 67 |
| Archie Roberts | 23 | 85.9 | 80 |
Season Summary
A year that started in ambiguity, but ended with a clear sense of purpose. This team was in that dreaded mid range of being clearly better than the rebuilding/young teams destined to miss finals, but a step behind the powerhouses competing for the premiership. While efforts were made to stay competitive, once the trade deadline approached there was a clear decision made to not try and steal a premiership, but instead devote a sole focus on how they could win their next one.
10 years of being a powerhouse in the league is more likely than not coming to a close in 2026. 12 wins clear in first on the all time Dangergawn ladder is an amazing effort, however with the results of 2025 as well as the trades that were made in selling the premium players for youth indicates a mindset shift from coach Paul. Finals for the 10th straight year as they achieved in 2025 is what we’ve come to expect from this team, but with the rise of some teams below them, an 11th year will be a fair bit harder to achieve.
Season Grade: C
All-Australians
1: Max Gawn*
DangerGawn Votes
| Rank | Player | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Max Gawn* | 20 |
| 35 | Jack Sinclair | 6 |
| 38 | Nick Vlastuin | 6 |
| 43 | Christian Salem | 5 |
| 45 | Bailey Williams | 5 |
| 48 | Sam Walsh | 4 |
| 55 | Sam Docherty | 4 |
| 68 | Jessie Hogan | 3 |
| 75 | Jarrod Witts | 3 |
| 79 | Josh Kelly | 3 |
| 81 | Shaun Mannagh | 3 |
| 90 | James Peatling | 2 |
| 94 | Tom McCarthy | 2 |
| 123 | Archie Roberts | 1 |
Pre-Season Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | GP | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Josh Smillie | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 18 | Leo Lombard | 3 | 27.33 |
| 3 | 28 | Jarrod Witts | 19 | 93.05 |
| 4 | 38 | Hunter Clark | 9 | 67.22 |
| 5 | 48 | Patrick Dangerfield | 15 | 62.07 |
| 6 | 58 | Bailey Williams | 20 | 78.35 |
| 7 | 68 | Josh Ward | 20 | 77.2 |
| 8 | 78 | Sam Marshall | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 88 | Sam Switkowski | 4 | 68.5 |
| 10 | 98 | Lachie Bramble | 10 | 76.4 |
| 11 | 108 | Jamie Cripps | 4 | 48.75 |
| 12 | 118 | Darcy Fogarty | 16 | 56.81 |
| 13 | 128 | Oscar Allen | 3 | 53.33 |
| 14 | 138 | Tom Mitchell | 3 | 96.67 |
| 15 | 148 | Bailey Williams | 20 | 78.35 |
| 16 | 158 | Jacob Weitering | 5 | 63.2 |
| 17 | 168 | Xavier O’Halloran | 3 | 68 |
| 18 | 178 | Taylor Walker | 10 | 60.6 |
| 19 | 188 | Logan Morris | 9 | 63.22 |
| 20 | 198 | Alix Tauru | 5 | 42 |
Most Inspired Selection
Pick 68 – Josh Ward
As we have all learned over the years, one drawback of building a good team with depth is that you can only keep 20 of them. So it was for Adam in the 24/25 offseason, needing to cut Josh Ward among others, which Paul was able to take great advantage of to bolster his team both for the 2025 season, and most likely for many years into the future. A 7th round pick is usually a depth player that you hope will be able to play 10 games, so to get 20 at an average of better than 75 is a massive steal. With the trades made (see below) by Paul later in the season, we may be looking at a reset (I won’t use the dreaded rebuild word to describe it) of this list, and so having the 22 year old Ward as part of this squad was a great way to get points this year, as well as a key piece moving forward into a new generation of Defenestrators.
Trades
| 30 July 2025 | Roughnecks | – Tom Mitchell- Christian Salem- Stephen Coniglio- Bailey Williams- Defenestrators Round 11 pick |
| Defenestrators | – George Wardlaw- Connor O’Sullivan- Roughnecks Round 9 pick |
| 29 July 2025 | MSHB | – Max Gawn- Jack Sinclair- Defenestrators Round 10 pick |
| Defenestrators | – Tom Green- MaherShalalHashBaz Round 5 pick |
| 22 May 2025 | Defenestrators | – Matthew Johnson |
| Midnight | – Dante Visentini |
| 17 February 2025 | Soldiers | – Defenestrators 2026 Round 2 pick- Solomon’s Soldiers 2026 Round 11 pick (returned) |
| Defenestrators | – Sam Docherty- Solomon’s Soldiers 2026 Round 6 pick- Solomon’s Soldiers 2026 Round 7 pick | |
| 16 February 2025 | Soldiers | – Leo Lombard- Darcy Fogarty |
| Defenestrators | – Jacob Hopper- MaherShalalHashBaz 2026 Round 1 pick- Solomon’s Soldiers 2026 Round 11 pick |
A year that went back and forward in direction, but ultimately ended with both eyes clearly looking towards the future, and not at immediate success. Good fortune came in the draft with Leo Lombard falling to Paul’s second pick (18), and the Soldiers wanting him enough to part with a future 1st round pick to bring him in. Hopper at 24 was the extra piece required and agreed to, so the first live draft deal in league history was achieved. A couple of smaller trades happened after this, but the real fun came at the trade deadline.
Jordan’s willingness to pay with young players and picks to bring in established players worked well for Paul and his reset plans, so off went Sinclair and Gawn for the young stallion Tom Green, as well as upgrading his 10th round pick into a 5th. Adam noticed the arms race heating up, and so lightning struck twice for Paul, who was able to capitalise again. Wardlaw and O’Sullivan came in, and some old players left to try and win a premiership for Adam before time ran past them.
List at end of 2025 season
| Player | Age | GP | AVG | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Green | 24 | 22 | 97.5 | 31 |
| Sam Walsh | 25 | 14 | 93.1 | 46 |
| Jarrod Witts | 33 | 22 | 92.4 | 50 |
| Shaun Mannagh | 28 | 20 | 88.1 | 67 |
| Archie Roberts | 19 | 23 | 85.9 | 80 |
| Jacob Hopper | 28 | 23 | 84.3 | 89 |
| Tom McCarthy | 25 | 10 | 83.5 | 93 |
| Matty Roberts | 22 | 18 | 82.7 | 100 |
| Josh Kelly | 30 | 14 | 80.9 | 111 |
| Harry Himmelberg | 29 | 23 | 78.2 | 128 |
| James Peatling | 25 | 21 | 77.7 | 131 |
| Nick Vlastuin | 31 | 22 | 77.3 | 132 |
| Josh Ward | 22 | 22 | 75.9 | 139 |
| Matthew Johnson | 22 | 18 | 70.5 | 174 |
| Adam Treloar | 32 | 4 | 69.8 | 183 |
| George Wardlaw | 21 | 13 | 68 | 197 |
| Elijah Hollands | 23 | 5 | 67.4 | 200 |
| Jason Johannisen | 32 | 16 | 65.6 | 218 |
| Jesse Hogan | 30 | 15 | 65.3 | 222 |
| Campbell Chesser | 22 | 4 | 64.5 | 226 |
| Todd Goldstein | 37 | 16 | 63.7 | 237 |
| Patrick Dangerfield | 35 | 20 | 63.6 | 239 |
| Bayley Fritsch | 28 | 22 | 63.4 | 240 |
| Harry Perryman | 26 | 23 | 63 | 247 |
| Alex Davies | 23 | 6 | 62 | 265 |
| Hunter Clark | 26 | 13 | 61.4 | 272 |
| Jai Culley | 22 | 4 | 59.8 | 290 |
| Connor O’Sullivan | 20 | 22 | 57.5 | 324 |
| Arie Schoenmaker | 20 | 3 | 57 | 332 |
| Neil Erasmus | 21 | 15 | 56.8 | 334 |
| Reuben Ginbey | 21 | 23 | 55.1 | 353 |
| Jack Scrimshaw | 27 | 13 | 53.8 | 378 |
| Heath Chapman | 23 | 22 | 53.6 | 382 |
| Mitch Knevitt | 22 | 7 | 51.9 | 407 |
| Riley Hardeman | 20 | 17 | 48.1 | 449 |
| Brent Daniels | 26 | 6 | 47.7 | 452 |
| Mitch Lewis | 26 | 6 | 45.5 | 486 |
| Deven Robertson | 24 | 4 | 15.5 | 663 |
| Elliot Yeo | 31 | 697 | ||
| Josh Smillie | 19 | 730 |
Player to watch in 2026
Tom McCarthy
Coming into the team after the mid season draft, you would be forgiven for thinking it would take a player some time to find their feet. Not so for Tom, as he came straight into both the Eagles and Defenestrators (admittedly a harder line up to break into than the Eagles) lineups, and proved his worth from the start. 10 games and an average of 83 is a great return from debut. Now with a full preseason at the club under his belt, the sky is the limit on what his ceiling could be.
Honourable mention to Tom Green. While his talent is already proven, how he adjusts to Clayton Oliver coming in, and the ascending nature of Finn Callaghan’s development will show a lot in 2026 of what the next few years could be.