GNFL 2025 season preview: Chapman Valley ‘up for the challenge’ as the hunters become the hunted

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it is the attitude adopted by Chapman Valley this year as they prepare for the 2025 season with defending the flag at the top of their priority list.

Fitness has taken centre stage once more in the off season as the Royals prepare to become the hunted in 2025 under player-coach Jayden Schofield.

“Me as a coach, my whole things last season was, I don’t care where we finish, I just want to build a culture and a team, a team environment,” Schofield said.

After starting last season in impressive style winning 10 from 10 at one stage, the Royals are preparing to blow the competition out of the water early once more.

“Fitness again was a huge focus for us in terms of success, it proved to work last year,” he said.

“We started at Point Blank Fitness in November last year, same time as the last year’s preseason.

“The boys are itching and ready to go.”

Schofield said strong off-season recruitment along with hitting the track early has led to the squad ready to fire out of the blocks as they set their sights on defending the flag.

“We have had some players leave us, unfortunately, with Jay O’Brien going to Towns and Lee Hutchins and Oakley Criddle staying down in Perth,” he said.

“We have picked up a tall from Melbourne, Braden Burgess, who will give us another option in the ruck paired with Daniel Borgogno.”

After an impressive season in 2024, in which the Royals climbed to the top of the GNFL to claim the flag — their first in 32 years — Schofield said the squad now had a target on their back.

“Expectations are pretty high as you can expect,” he said.

“We’ve built a winning culture now and we are super excited to get stuck in.

“We obviously know we’re the hunted now, so we know it isn’t going to be easy.

“But we are up for the challenge, we have the group to do it and I’m pretty confident that we can.”

Glenn Bardon’s ladder prediction: First