Sport
5 August, 2025
Walker to remain Giants’ coach in 2026
With their sights set on building a promising and sustainable future on the football field, the Maryborough Giants have reappointed senior football coach Matt Walker, who will continue in the role into 2026.
The 2025 season has been Walker’s first at the helm, inheriting a team which finished 11th on the MCDFNL ladder in their first year with four wins.
Following last week’s announcement, Walker said while he would’ve liked to have seen a positive change in the win column, this season has been filled with bright spots that are great stepping stones for next year.
“For me, it’s continuing to develop and build the capacity within the group. We are a very young list, but we have shown lots of growth and development,” he said.
“We would have liked to have won a couple more games realistically, but staying positive, seeing the improvement, and having that shared vision around where we are heading and what we are developing towards has been really pleasing.
“Being able to have those positive conversations and reflect and go, it’s not all doom and gloom, we have actually had some really good moments, has allowed us to take some good takeaways.”
The Giants currently sit in 12th following their 120-point loss to Carisbrook last week, which is the start of a frankly brutal end to their season, which includes Natte Bealiba and Trentham.
Despite the tough end to their season, Walker sees their last two games as a fantastic opportunity.
“Coming up against good opposition is what we want to do as competitors,” he said.
“You want to stand next to great talent and go, I want to match it with this person on an individual level and then build it to a team perspective.
“We have had great starts against these teams, we have met teams physically early and forced decision-making errors on their behalf with our pressure, and then we have been able to capitalise on those moments.”
One of the key takeaways for the Giants this season has been the emergence of some of their younger talent.
Elliot Cullinan, Mitch Stork, Keegan Doherty and Sam Thomson have become senior regulars in 2025 and rising stars like Lachlan Condie have made their senior debut.
According to Walker, the Giants’ off-season focus will be supplementing his team’s developing young core with some strong recruiting.
“They are going to be another year older, hopefully another year in the gym developing their bodies and confidence and being able to provide these guys with some fantastic opportunities at senior level,” he said.
“We will work hard to recruit players who will fit what we believe we need.
“A few more backs would be very nice, that’s probably something that we need to seek out, but heading into 2026, it’s continuing to back local talent that we know we have.
“We are in a great position as a local club. Our priority is developing local talent in both football and netball, and that’s what we want to keep doing heading into 2026 and beyond.”
According to club president Kate Balzan, the reappointment of Walker helps secure the building blocks of the Giants, as they look to develop into a consistent powerhouse in the MCDFNL.
“We are still a very new club, so having that continuity of someone who’s been here this year and moving onto next year offers some stability as we try to improve on and off the field,” she said.
“Last year, changing coaches, we had to really start again, so having Matt in that role really allows us to recruit well, look at our structures and get things rolling into next year.
“Developing our juniors has been a real focus and we have got some really good strength through there, so having them play up has been really exciting.
“We are really excited that we are going to finish with the majority of our teams in finals again this season, that’s a really strong indicator that the club is moving in the right direction.”