Sixty-five of the Warriors family packed the rooms on Thursday night to close out season 2026 – players, partners, life members and friends of the club, dressed to impress.

Guests were greeted by the ultimate Warrior, life member Lou donning the gear and looking fierce as our doorman. That was a complete contrast to the immaculately dressed Dusty, together manning the entrance as an odd couple. Does anything symbolise the eclectic Warriors more?

The entertainment bar was lifted this year. Thorney took on the MC role and NOBODY was safe. The jokes flew faster than opposition goals and Thorney did not miss, keeping the crowd entertained all night.

The evening kicked off with the new club anthem, One Club, One Family, an absolute belter of a tune put together by Lou which you can watch here (like you haven’t seen it already!)

The best and fairest counts played out live on the big screen, round by round, vote by vote, with the lead changing hands more than once and the room groaning and cheering. 

Our guests of honour

We were privileged to have two very special guests.

Ted Payne, whose Masters career started in 1984 and whose name is on the shield awarded each year to the Over 35s Best & Fairest, was there to present it in person — this year to Jules Valla, a worthy winner of a trophy that carries a lot of history.

And Ina Griffiths, widow of the late Jason “Rowdy” Griffiths, presented the award that bears his name. Having Ina with us, and hearing Rowdy’s name called out in a room full of people who loved him, was the moment of the night for many. Congrats to Brenden ‘Bomber’ Blakeman, a deserving and emotional winner of the Warrior of the Year award.

Two new life members

The club recognised two new life members: Matt Devenish and Tony Thorne. Between them they have given the Warriors more years, more games, more early starts and more thankless jobs than anyone could reasonably ask for. Both were presented with their honour by club president Gerard De Filippis. Congratulations to you both — richly deserved.

The Warriors Integrity Unit also announced it will be reopening its investigation into the world’s most dubious footy tipping competition after the same three households shared all the spoils again in 2026 after a scandalous 2025 comp.

The 2026 winners

Click here to view all the winners.

Congratulations to every winner, and to everyone who pulled on the jumper this year.

Thank you

To our coaches — Sue Emery (Womens Footy Rush), Lou Saunders and Chris Riley (Over 55s), Kaine Johnston (Over 50s), and Michael Pogzreba and Peter Byrne (Over 35s) — thank you. You do the selections, the phone calls, the laundry and the early mornings, and it is greatly appreciated.

Thanks to DJ Butts — Fiona Butler — who kept the music going and the room up all night.

A night like this doesn’t happen by itself. Thanks to the organising committee, Grant Arnott, Fi Butler, Matt Devenish, Gez and Thorney; to Marko for the prep work; to Junior and Bomber on the bar; to Claudia for helping Gez; to Dusty and Lou on the door, with Lou in full Warriors regalia; and to Kaine and Kenny on the AV. Big thanks also to the many members who turned up Wednesday night to help prep.

And a big thank you to the businesses and people who donated prizes: Hawthorn Football Club, KJ Solutions, Bruiser and Total Tools Mt Waverley, Fitzy, Johnny Huang, Col, and Kenny and Ren.

That’s season 2026 done. Rest up, and we’ll see you all back soon for pre-season 2027.

Gallery from the night below.

Eastern Warriors. One club, one family.