Four teams, four Grand Finals, the Blues featured heavily in September in 2024.
Senior Men’s
Ladder Position: 4th (11-7, 125.71%)
Best and Fairest: Andrew Carter
Leading Goalkicker: Rhett Jordon (38 Goals)
Summary:
Moving to Division Two in 2024, Croydon had an immediate impact, making a Grand Final, having a great finals run.
Rhett Jordon returned home to his junior club, appointed as the new senior coach of the Blues. As a playing coach, the experience that Jordon brought to the club helped lead Croydon back to a finals’ series and the eventual Grand Final.
During the Home and Away season, the Blues were the only side to knock off the Hawks, an eight-point win over the eventual premiers at Croydon Oval. In what was the match of the round, Fraser Smith led the boys in a comeback victory to cement themselves as a contender in 2024.
A drop off form tied in with some key injuries in the second half saw Croydon finish fourth and enter an Elimination Final in the first week of the finals. They were able to take care of Templestowe by 40 points at Walker Park, setting up a date with the Waverley Blues in a semi-final.
In one of the great comebacks, the Blues turned a five goal deficit late in the game to pinch a thrilling three-point win. The belief carried into a Preliminary Final where a fast start saw Croydon end Mulgrave’s year and set a Grand Final date with Boronia.
The Division Two decider was made extra difficult with Jordon suffering an ACL injury in the Prelim Final. The side struggled to match it with the Hawks, going down by 63 points on Grand Final Day.
Plenty of positives to take out of the season, especially considering they had all three sides make the Grand Final, with the Under 19.5’s defeating Waverley for the flag.
Key Players:
Midfield star Andrew Carter made it back-to-back best and fairest at Croydon, winning the McGivern O’Brien medal. Carter averaged over 20 disposals, five tackles and five clearances per game.
The two McKenzie boys both polled well in the club best and fairest too, Matt McKenzie the Runner Up and Corey McKenzie the second runner-up. Corey McKenzie also made the honours of an EFNL Team of the Year selection.
Also joining him in the Division Two Team of the Year was Coach Rhett Jordon and Captain Fraser Smith. Coming into the season, the Blues were certainly looking for another key target up forward. Jordon finished the year with 38 goals. At the other end of the ground, Fraser Smith was a rock down back, taking the most amount of intercept marks of any player in the division.
Best Win: Semi-Final – Croydon 10.10 70 def. Waverley Blues 10.7 67 @Walker Park
As great as the Blues win was over the Hawks in the Home and away season, their finals win over the Waverley Blues stands out because of the incredible last quarter fightback.
The first two Waverley goals of the last quarter stretched the margin out to 26 points. Following this, at the seventeen-minute mark of the final term, the margin remained at 22 points with the game looking over.
In the space of seven minutes, the Blues pulled off a miracle with four unanswered goals majors.
Ten players all kicked one goal each for the Blues, while Fraser Smith’s outstanding year continued with an inspiring performance down back.
Off-Season Focus:
The Blues premiership window is well and truly open.
Having all three sides make a Grand Final in the same year was a big achievement for the club and something that is quite rare within the league. It’s a testament to both the club’s depth and up-and-coming future talent.
Croydon had the second ranked defence within the division last season, conceding just 52 points per game. If they’re looking to add to their current list, an extra key forward would be ideal while Rhett Jordon is out on the sidelines.
Netball
Premier Division: (1st, 11-1)
Making it four Grand Finals from four senior sides, the Croydon Netball Premier Division side made it back-to-back Grand Final appearances.
In what was an incredibly tight Grand Final, the Blues fell short by just one goal, with the scores tied at the last break. Despite the loss, Ellarnah Hanlen was outstanding on the night in front of the ring, finishing with 39 goals.
Hanlen had an all-time great season with the Blues, also winning the league best and fairest in Premier Division as well as the leading goal shooter of the entire competition with 412 goals in the regular season. Hanlen made the Team of the Year for Premier Division, alongside Hayley O’Neil in Wing Defence.
