Plenty of improvement from a young Falcons side as they claim six wins in their new division, while the Netballers advance through to two Grand Finals.
Senior Men’s
Ladder Position: 9th(6-12)
Best and Fairest: Riley Clausen
Leading Goalkicker: Nicholas Del Biondo (16 Goals)
Summary:
A new division for the Falcons in 2024 saw a young group improve on the field.
Winless in 2023, the senior group managed six wins for the season in Division Two, a much more competitive year for Lilydale.
It took until Round Four to end their drought, an impressive ten-point win at H.E Parker Reserve against last year’s Grand Finalists. The win was followed by a second consecutive win when they knocked off The Basin by 23 points in front of their home ground.
Later in the season, Lilydale took down Croydon with a goal on the siren, knocking off the future Grand Finalists. Two weeks after that, they made it two from two against the Jets, a seven-point win putting a nail in the coffin of Heathmont’s season.
Key Players:
Another huge season for Riley Clausen, claiming a third club best and fairest with Lilydale. The star midfielder averaged an impressive 26.5 disposals per game, an average of 16 contested possessions.
Marc Massarotti wasn’t far behind in the club’s best and fairest count, finishing as this year’s Runner Up. A strong season for the Falcons, playing all 18 games, averaging 17 disposals and 5.6 marks per game.
Despite missing the last five games of the year, Adam Camp finished third in the club's best and fairest.
Nicholas Del Biondo, Josh White and Rowan Tucker were all strong in front of goal across the season.
Best Win: Round Eleven – Lilydale 8.11 59 def. Croydon 8.9 57 @Lilydale Sports Oval
As great as the drought breaker was earlier in the season against Heathmont, there’s not much that can beat a goal on the siren to sink a rival.
The Falcons Round Eleven win over Croydon saw Rowan Tucker become a hero as he kicked the match-winner on the siren to defeat the Blues by two points.
The side trailed by two goals with less than ten minutes to play before having the last five scores of the game, including Tucker’s match-winner.
A very impressive win for the young side.
Off-Season Focus:
The club have announced next year’s Senior Coach as Duncan Jones who will be taking over the role of Luke McCormick who stepped aside at the end of this season. Jones has had plenty of coaching experience through clubs such as Park Orchards, Whitehorse, the Oakleigh Charges and Williamstown in the VFL.
This year, the club managed to consolidate their position within the division and bring back some winning culture. The next step is to advance from this and improve their consistency throughout the season.
Netball
Lilydale Gold (Division Two): 2nd(8-2-2)
Lilydale Yellow (Division Five): 4th (7-4-1)
Lilydale Blue (Division Seven): 3rd(9-4)
Lilydale White (Division Nine): 8th(1-13)
An overall impressive season from Lilydale’s Netball program, with three of their four sides finishing inside the top four and making their respective division’s finals series.
Lilydale Gold finished second in Division Two, progressing through to a Grand Final after defeating the Glen Waverley Hawks in the Preliminary Final. Competitive performance on Grand Final Night at H.E Parker made for a tight contest for the majority of the game before Knox stretched out the lead in the final quarter.
Kayla Tucker and Sophie Faulwetter both finished in the Division Two Team of the Year. Faulwetter also took out the club’s best and fairest after an impressive season.
Lilydale Yellow progressed through to a Preliminary Final after they defeated Park Orchards in the first semi-final by six points. In a high-scoring Preliminary Final, they fell short to Ringwood. Keely Humphris was awarded the Lilydale Yellow Club Best and Fairest award.
Lilydale Blue was the other Netball side to feature in a Grand Final after two big finals wins against Vermont and the Waverley Blues. Facing off against Warrandyte in the Grand Final, the two sides played off in one of the best games of the season. At the conclusion of the fourth quarter, both sides were still tied. In Overtime, Warrandyte managed to bridge a gap on the scoreboard, taking out the flag.
Gemma Ogilvy’s great season was rewarded with the Lilydale Blue Best and Fairest.
In Division Nine, Lily Hall took out the Lilydale White Best and Fairest, with Amy Vukic finishing as Runner Up.