By Ryan Long.
Yet another strong season in Premier Division for the Tigers, but they come up short in September, eliminated in the second week of the finals.
Senior Men’s
Ladder Position: 3rd (14-4
Leading Goalkicker: Jordan Lisle (35 Goals)
Summary:
A promising Home and Away season for the Tigers meant little come September as they missed the double chance and bowed out in a Semi-Final.
There were high expectations for the club to be one of the premiership favourites of the Premier Division as Ex-AFL coach Brenton Sanderson took over as senior coach of the playing group.
The club also welcomed a couple of highly prized key recruits in Ex-AFL stars, Josh Walker and Levi Greenwood.
While Greenwood played just four games, Walker was a big standout for the Tigers in his 13 matches this year. He starred in his debut game against Blackburn, kicking six goals in a best-on-ground performance, but also spent plenty of time in defence.
With the top-six system, Balwyn was in a battle with Vermont, Rowville and East Ringwood for the all-important top-two finish and the double chance that went with it. Despite on equal points with the Hawks, Balwyn missed the double chance due to percentage.
That forced the Tigers into an Elimination Final against Blackburn which they put away the Burners for the third time this season with a 64-point thumping.
However, their year came to an end a week later when they were outplayed by Doncaster East at Jubilee Park in the Semi-Final.
Still a strong season as one of the main premiership contenders in the top division of the league, but they’ll still be a little flat to be exiting the race in just the second week of the finals.
Key Players:
Alex Urban was one of the league’s best midfielders in 2023, making the Premier Division Team of the Year. Urban averaged 27 disposals per game in 2023, one of the best averages in the competition.
Jordan Lisle was another Tiger Team of the Year representative, leading Balwyn’s goal-kicking with 35 majors.
The Tigers were without Bowen Smith for six games this year. When he was fit, Smith added plenty to the side, in the best ten times from 14 games, also finishing with 12 goals. Shaun Cross was just as important to their midfield as well, finishing as the runner-up in the club best and fairest behind Alex Urban.
Listed at VFL with Sydney this year, exciting small forward Charlie Haley played just ten games for the season with Balwyn. But he showed just how important he was when playing, kicking 26 goals, including a six-goal haul in the Tigers win over Norwood.
Best Win: Round Two – Balwyn 12.9 81 def. Rowville 11.10 76 @Seebeck Oval
An honourable mention to the Tigers’ 56-point win over East Ringwood later in the season, their most complete four-quarter performance against another contender. But the Round Two five-point win over the Hawks sticks out for a couple of key reasons.
Firstly, it’s against the eventual premiers on their home deck. Secondly, they had to come from the clouds to get there, 33 points down at Three Quarter Time.
For the second week running, Rowville was overrun. The Tigers piled on six goals to one in the last quarter to pinch a spectacular win. With just seconds to go, Jordan Lisle got a boot to ball from a stoppage for a famous victory.
Off-Season Focus:
Always going to be in contention with this current list, but still a bit of work to do heading into 2024.
They’ve already announced one of the biggest signings of the off-season thus far. Ex-North Melbourne star Kayne Turner joins the ranks at Balwyn. Bit of flexibility with where they would like to predominately use him.
One player that they will be without in 2024 is an all-time Balwyn great. Kris Pendlebury has moved on, taking a coaching role in another league. The star defender will be a big loss, the difference when he wasn’t playing was even evident this year in the games he missed.
Still one of the best attacking sides with one of the most dangerous forward lines in the league. A top-three finish and the double chance will be the ultimate key to a crack at a flag in 2024.
Balwyn Netball
Balwyn entered the 2023 Bendigo Bank Netball season with one side competing in Division Five.
The Balwyn Tigers were a big threat right throughout the 2023 season, always one of the top three sides on the ladder. Winning 12 games of a possible 16, Balwyn played off against Park Orchards in the first week of the finals. Unfortunately, they were down by 15 points to the Sharks, at the end of their season.
Alysia Oakes and Chandler Nichols were both prominent in front of the goals, shooting 187 and 184 goals throughout the year respectively.
