Challenging season on the field for the senior Men’s, while the senior Women hold their position at Premier Division level.
Senior Men’s
Ladder Position: 10th (0-18, 47.21%)
Best and Fairest: Hayden Smith
Leading Goalkicker: Joel Perry (32 Goals)
Summary:
A disappointing year on the field for the Bears saw the senior men fail to register a win for the season.
Having a young list, the club opted for adding in some experience over the off-season with the likes of Joel Perry, Billy Schilling and Michael Cardamone.
Four weeks into the Home and Away season, the club announced that it was parting ways with Senior Coach Justin Wade. Taking over as interim coach was Joel Perry.
Unfortunately, the Bears weren’t able to have any success on the field but taking some positives out of the year, the club was able to debut many young players from the Under 17’s and Under 19s, due to the injuries suffered by key members of the side.
46 players played at least one game for the senior side, which included four Under 17’s players and seven from the Under 19’s
The drop to Division Three will certainly be better for the long term future of the Bears.
Key Players:
What a season it was for Hayden Smith, the side’s best and fairest winner for 2024 and a member of the EFNL Team of the Year Squad. Smith averaged 26 disposals for the season, along with 111 Ranking Points on PremierData.
Taking over as interim coach, Joel Perry led the side’s goalkicking with 32 majors for the season.
Continuing his great work from 2023, Ethan Power remained one of the side’s most consistent players. Eleven times in the best from his 15 Home and Away games. Power averaged 28 hit outs per game, going up against some of the best players in the league.
Off-Season Focus:
A new division, a chance to re-set after a year where everything went wrong.
Joel Perry has signed on as Senior Coach for the 2025 season. One thing he’ll be hoping for is a clean bill of health, particularly as we get into the second half of the season.
Defensively at times across the season, they held up quite well but they struggled in the front half of the ground and turning those Inside 50’s into scores. Perry was a lone hand up forward.
Cooper Applegate and former bear Michael Thompson have signed ahead of the 2025 season. Both with height and a bit of versatility, potential options up forward.
Senior Women’s
The Basin Red (Premier)
Ladder Position: 7th (3-11, 39.48%)
Leading Goalkicker: Danielle Brotto (23 Goals)
Summary:
The Bears Senior Women’s side challenged themselves at Premier Division level this year and managed to come away with three wins and consolidated their spot within the division.
All three of their wins in 2024 had thrilling finishes, all by less than a goal. Twice against the Hawks and once against Vermont where they held off a fast-finishing Eagles side.
Bears star Julia Baker took over as interim coach in the early part of this season and did a fantastic job with the development of the group.
Key Players:
Reliable as ever in front of the big sticks, Danielle Brotto finished the season as the sixth in the leading goalkickers of Premier Division. Brotto kicked 23 goals from 14 games, having played less games than the five above her.
Another Team of the Year member, Brotto joined Julia Baker in this years Premier Division TOTY.
One of the side’s off-season recruits from Ringwood, Nicole Swan, also had a terrific year, frequently listed in the side’s best players most weeks.
Best Win: Round Four – The Basin 5.9 39 def. Vermont 5.7 37 @ Vermont Recreation Reserve
With three impressive wins across the season, this one stood out, particularly considering what Vermont were able to achieve in the second half of the season.
On the road, the Bears had a massive first half which saw them jump to a 16-point lead at the main break. With the home side coming home strongly, the Bears managed to hold off the Eagles and win by two points in a thriller.
Brotto starred with four of the side’s five goals on the day, while Caitlin Grimmett continued her impressive start to the season, listed as The Basin’s best for the day.
Off-Season Focus:
Locked in for 2025, Julia Baker has been appointed as the senior playing coach which is a massive boost for the side. Incredibly valuable as a player and as a leader of the club, will be key to their success going forward.
The Bears have already been quite busy locking in their playing list for 2025. Having seen what Whitehorse were able to achieve in their second season in Premier, making a finals series, there’s no reason why The Basin can’t follow their footsteps.
Senior Women’s
The Basin Green (Division Four)
Ladder Position: 7th (4-8, 82.58%)
Leading Goalkicker: Tara Dickson (10 Goals)
Summary:
One of the biggest strengths of The Basin’s women’s program has been the ability to field two sides on a year-to-year basis.
Once again in 2024, The Basin fielded a second side, this year competing in a ten-team Division Four division. A solid season saw the Bears win four games for the year, while remaining competitive against some of the best sides in the comp.
Key Players:
Cassandra Stringer was a clear standout in 2024, in the best 10 times from 12 games. Having played almost all of 2023 in the Division One side, Stringer brought plenty of experience to the group this year.
The same can be said for Hayley Samargis who also spent time in the Premier Division side this year. Samargis was listed in the best eight times from her twelve games.
Tara Dickson led the goal kicking with ten majors for the season, her best tally coming in Round Nine when she kicked four against Upper Gully.
Best Win: Round 14 – The Basin 7.8 50 def. Warrandyte 4.4 28 @Batterham Reserve
The final round of the season, Warrandyte entered the clash needing to win to make the finals.
They were denied the opportunity as the Bears put together of their best performances for the season. Trailing by two goals at the first break, The Basin went on to kick six goals to one after Quarter Time to run out 22-point winners.
Five players hit the scoreboard with Dickson and Stringer both finishing with two goals each.
Chloe Goring was listed as the side’s best player on the ground.
Off-Season Focus:
Key priority for the club is to keep their numbers to continue having two senior women’s sides playing in 2025.
Netball
The Basin Cubs (Division Three): 1st (11-2)
The Basin Kodiaks (Division Four): 5th (6-6)
The Basin Pandas (Division Six): 7th (2-10)
The Basin Grizzlies (Division Ten): 5th (6-6-1)
Four teams represented The Basin in the 2024 New Balance Netball season.
The club’s top side competed in Division Three, finishing on top of the ladder, winning eleven games for the season. Across the finals series, they faced Norwood twice and unfortunately for The Basin, they fell just two-points short of the premiership in a tight Grand Final.
Two of their most important players had fantastic seasons, Jaymee Tough and Jessica Rousch, both making the Team of the Year. Tough was crowned the league best and fairest winner for an outstanding season. Also featuring in the top-three was Bree Kruger, also having a fantastic year.
The Division Four Kodiaks side finished fifth, just missing out on a spot in the finals series. However, Kristy Dahan’s great year was recognised in the league best and fairest, finishing second with 17 votes.
