A massive year for Coldstream with Finals appearances for both senior clubs, two Netball premierships and a Veteran Men’s flag.
By Ryan Long
Coldstream
Ladder Position: 4th (9-6-1, 114.96%)
Best and Fairest winner: Daniel Versteegen
Leading Goalkicker: Darcy Fritsch (36)
Summary:
Coming into the year, there was a lot of intrigue about how the Cougars would fare in Division Three. The year prior, they were promoted from Division Four off the back of some dominant performances, undefeated before interruptions ended the season prematurely.
The club rose to the occasion in 2022, making the finals in an overall successful year. They started off the year with an impressive 16-point win over Warrandyte, another premiership contender. Coldstream proved to be a much tougher side to beat at home, winning six of their nine games on their home deck.
A fourth-place finish saw the Cougars take on Donvale in the first week of the finals, a side they had played just the week before, knowing then that the top four positions on the ladder weren’t changing. In an even first half, Coldstream led by three points with both sides missing plenty of opportunities in front of goal. After Half Time, the likes of Magpies stars such as Zac Haig and Nick Murphy began to get on top of the game and the Cougars could only manage one goal in the second half, losing by eight goals despite strong performances from Darcy Carrigan and Jai Deacon.
Although it was a disappointing end to their finals campaign, Coldstream did a fantastic job to not only consolidate their position in the finals but give themselves a chance in the finals.
Key Players:
Winning the 2022 club best and fairest, Daniel Versteegen was a standout all season. His courage in the contest mixed with his fitness and work rate has made him one of the club’s most important players.
Darcy Carrigan had another phenomenal year, even playing through injury at times. The Coldstream midfielder finished second in the league’s best and fairest even though he played just 13 Home and Away matches. While delivering plenty of the footy inside 50, the midfielder could just as easily hit the scoreboard, kicking 18 goals for the year.
Jai Deacon continued his very consistent career, another seven times featured in the best, closing in on his 100th senior game in 2023.
Best Win: Round 2 – Coldstream 9.15 69 def. Warrandyte 7.11 53 @Coldstream Reserve
The best possible way to start the year off in a new division, knocking off one of the premiership fancies in front of the Coldstream faithful.
In an even first half, the Cougars began to get on top of the game in the third term before breaking away with three goals to one in the final quarter. The 16-point win could have been even bigger if they had kicked a little more accurately, finishing with six more behinds than goals.
Mitch Edmonds was impressive up forward with four majors.
The side also held up well with the likes against a strong Warrandyte forward line, keeping two of their best goal kickers, goalless.
Off-Season Focus:
They did enough to qualify for finals, but they were still a step behind some of their biggest competitors when it came to the pointy end of the season.
One potential focus for their club may be adding some further depth to their forward line. Darcy Fritsch kicked 36 goals from just 12 games while Mitch Edmonds wasn’t far behind him with 34. Looking at the reigning premiers in Division Three, the Waverley Blues added the likes of Josh Williamson and Tonn Steele to an already high-scoring side. If the Cougars could add an extra forward or two to that line-up, it might make a difference come September, easing the pressure off Fritsch.
Coldstream Women’s
Ladder Position: 4th (6-6, 81.66%)
Best and Fairest: Holly Duke
Leading Goalkicker: Casey Bartlett (9)
Summary:
The Senior Women’s side had a year to remember, finishing the season with a win in the finals. The girls won six games for the year and managed to pinch fourth spot on the ladder, one game ahead of Nunawading in fifth.
They faced off against Mitcham in the first week of the finals and pulled off an upset to move through to the Preliminary Final to play Croydon North MLOC. The Cougars were outmatched by a high-scoring KangaRams side but the achievement of making the Preliminary Final was the big talking point considering how much they had improved from the year before.
Key Players:
Holly Duke showed great leadership all season and was rewarded with the club Best and Fairest. Tayla Street wasn’t too far behind her, making the side’s best nine times throughout the year and finishing Runner Up in the club best and fairest. Monique Hewish and Casey Bartlett both came into the side from other clubs and had an immediate impact.
The entire backline was impressive with the team spending a lot of time focusing on their defence.
Best Win: Semi Final – Coldstream 1.6 12 def. Mitcham 0.2 2 @Silvan Recreational Reserve
Coldstream went into their first final as the underdogs after the two sides met just two weeks prior. Mitcham took care of the Cougars comfortably that day, at Walker Park, running away 31-point winners.
It was a much different outcome in the Finals, in wet conditions out at Silvan. The Cougars’ defence held strong, keeping the Tigers goalless after they had kicked seven goals against them twice throughout the year. Coldstream had six scoring shots in the first half but couldn’t register a goal due to tough conditions. A third-quarter goal from Ashleigh Parry turned out to be the match-winner. Monique Hewish was a standout at half-back for the side while Tayla Street continued her good form, pushing into the midfield.
Off-Season Focus:
The last pre-season was all about the improvement and development of the side. That proved to be a big success with a Preliminary Final appearance. Again that will be a key focus over the off-season to achieve back-to-back finals appearances.
Netball Review
Coldstream Grey (Section 2)
Ladder Position: 1st (14-2, 142.30%)
A fantastic result for the club with the section two Coldstream Grey side being one of two teams from the club to win a premiership in 2022. They lost just two games all year and finished on top of the ladder ahead of Vermont who was the only side to beat them throughout the season.
Their road to the premiership got a little tougher after they lost to Vermont by a point in the Semi-Final. It meant the side had to face off against Croydon North MLOC to guarantee themselves a Grand Final birth. Collette and Wandin-Collins combined for 27 and the Cougars won by six points. This set up a blockbuster Grand Final against Vermont. After losing to the Eagles three times in 2022, Coldstream picked the right time to beat them, winning the match 23 to 19. Tarsha Collette led the side’s scoring with 286 goals for the season, closely followed by Lara Wandin-Collins with 215 goals.
Coldstream White (Section 6)
Ladder Position: 1st (15-1, 176.11%)
The Cougars’ second side had just as good of a year, losing just one game for the entire season, a game and a half clear on top. The side scored at least 35 points a game in a total of 13 regular season matches while keeping their opponents quiet on defence.
In the finals series, they took on the Glen Waverley Hawks twice. They defeated the Hawks in the first Semi-Final by 12 points before meeting them again two weeks’ time in the Grand Final. As they had done all season, Coldstream managed to find a way, winning by 7 points with Sarah Billingham scoring 20 goals. Billingham had a fantastic year, winning the goal shooting by a fair margin with 301 goals for the season and another 44 in the finals. Proving how dominant the Cougars had been, Emma-Lee Jakobs finished second in the league behind her teammate with 225 goals.
Coldstream Blue (Section 7)
Ladder Position: 3rd (11-5, 146.53%)
Another Grand Final appearance for Coldstream with their third netball team finishing third on the ladder with eleven wins. The Cougars comfortably took care of the Waverley Blues in the first week of the finals series, winning by 10 points. That set up a date with Montrose in the Preliminary Final. An even contest for the first three quarters until an 11-goal to 2 last quarter saw the Cougars secure a Grand Final birth.
In the Section Seven Grand Final, Coldstream competed against Heathmont who had lost just one game all year. Despite a gallant performance, they lost by eight.
The club also featured heavily in the awards in the section with Laura Atkins the league-leading goal shooter and Rhiannon Mclachlan capping off an impressive season with a league best and fairest.
Coldstream Veterans
Ladder Position: 3rd (7-2, 228.32%)
The club also featured a side in the Veterans competition this year, successfully taking out the Premiership after a great finals’ series. Coldstream finished third on the ladder and were able to knock off the 8-1 Scoresby Vets side by 25 points in a Semi Final. The win set up a Grand Final with the Minor Premiers, North Ringwood. Lindsay Gilbee starred with five goals and a match winning performance as Coldstream walked away premiers with a five-point win.