East Ringwood will return to Premier Division after an 83-point Grand Final win while the club had the two Netball premierships and another Grand Final appearance for the Senior Women’s.
By Ryan Long.
East Ringwood
Ladder Position: 1st (17-1, 218.70%)
Best and Fairest: James Belo
Leading Goalkicker: Trent Farmer (63)
Summary:
An almost flawless year for East Ringwood as they win their eleventh EFNL premiership and make their return to the top division. It was exactly twenty years in the making since their last premiership win back in 2002.
The makings of a premiership year started early when the club brought in some top-end talent over the off-season. Farmer brothers, Trent and Mitch made the move East of Jubilee Park for the 2022 season while experienced pair Jason Couglan and Stephen Dinnell also joined the roos, leaving South Croydon.
East Ringwood lost just one game for the entire year, an early loss to Mooroolbark which they eventually returned the favour later in the season on their home deck. The Roos had the number one attack and defence in the division, averaging 99 points per game while only giving up an average of 45 points per game.
As Minor Premiers, the Roos played just two games in the space of five weeks come Finals time. They defeated Mitcham comfortably by 61 points in the second Semi-Final before they met Mooroolbark in the Grand Final decider. Despite having a great and close rivalry with the club across the year, East Ringwood controlled every aspect of the match from the first bounce, winning by 83 points.
A fantastic achievement for everyone involved.
Key Players:
James Belo was enormous for the Roos in season 2022, the club’s best and fairest winner also polled very well in the league best and fairest, finishing as the Runner Up, one vote behind Wantirna South’s Lincoln Wong. He also finished in the Division One Team of the Year alongside Chris Cerni, Trent Farmer and Connor Weightman.
As one of the league’s best key forwards, Trent Farmer thrived in Division One, kicking 63 goals for the year.
Finishing in the top three of the Best and Fairest was Hannin Mundy who had a fantastic season in the ruck, also hitting the scoreboard with 20 goals.
Best Win: Grand Final – East Ringwood 15.12 102 def. Mooroolbark 2.7 19 @Tormore Reserve
A dominant season for the Roos finished in a blowout on the biggest stage of the year. The two best sides went head-to-head on Grand Final Day, the Mustangs had been the only side able to defeat East Ringwood during the year.
However, East Ringwood never looked like losing in the ultimate decider, locking down the Mustangs defensively while having plenty of opportunities themselves. A 32-point margin at Half Time would stretch out to 83 points by the end of the afternoon, keeping Mooroolbark to just 19 points.
Trent Farmer stepped up on the big stage with a five-goal best-on-ground performance while Sam Lowson finished with five of his own.
Off-Season Focus:
As great of a year 2022 was for the club with the Under 19’s also winning a premiership, 2023 presents a massive challenge for the Roos. Coming up to the Premier Division, the club are likely to say farewell to a couple of their star veterans through retirement.
They have however brought in 200cm ruckman Adam Swierzboilek from VFL club Coburg who will certainly assist Hannin Mundy who’s coming off a breakout season.
Park Orchards is the most recent Division One side to be promoted to the top division in the league. They’ve slotted in well enough, winning six games this season, there’s no reason why East Ringwood can’t do something similar.
East Ringwood Senior Women’s
Ladder Position: 2nd (10-3-1, 202.74%)
Best and Fairest: Kay Wotherspoon
Leading Goalkicker: Hayley Thompson (28)
Summary:
The East Ringwood Senior Women’s side also had a big season in 2022, reaching the Deakin University Division Two Grand Final.
With ten wins for the season, the Roos were the biggest challenger to Minor Premiers, Knox. They were the only side able to defeat the Falcons. The girls also managed to win eight of their last nine games to lock in the double chance with a second-place finish on the ladder.
East Ringwood took on Knox in the first week of the finals in wet conditions. It led to a low-scoring game which remained tight after the Roos got on top in the third quarter. Just holding on by two points, Knox moved through to the Grand Final meaning the Roos needed to defeat Surrey Park in the Preliminary Final. The result was never in doubt, keeping the Panthers goalless in the first half and running out five goal winners.
Matching up against Knox on Grand Final Day, the Roos took control in the third quarter, giving themselves a small lead going into the last term. Unfortunately for the Roos, Knox went on to kick four goals to one to win by 14 points.
Still a great season for the club and a lot to look forward to next year.
Key Players:
A fantastic year for Meg Thompson who won the league best and fairest for Division Two, also making an appearance in the Team of the Year for Divisions One to Four. She finished in the side’s best a total of eight times along with Teagan Hudson and Kay Wotherspoon who won the club’s best and fairest.
A big strength for the club in 2022 was their forward line, Hayley Thompson led the scoring with 28 majors with Nicola Davidson not far behind with 25. At the end of the two led the division goal-kicking leaders while Stephanie Mcnamara finished fourth with 17 goals from 12 games.
Best Win: Round 10 – East Ringwood 5.8 38 def. Knox 3.3 21 @East Ringwood Reserve
To prove that they were a genuine premiership contender, East Ringwood gave Knox their first loss of the season in their Round 10 match-up. On their home deck, they controlled the early stages of the game, having seven more scoring shots than the Falcons in the first half. Knox however fought back, getting within a goal as the Roos were held goalless in the third. East Ringwood steadied the ship late in the game, kicking the last two goals to give themselves a 17-point lead.
Off-Season Focus:
The club are well set up to make another run at a flag. They have an incredibly strong forward half with three of the top four goal-kickers of the division. They’ve done well so far announcing the re-signings of multiple key players and look set for the future.
Netball Review
East Ringwood Black (Section One)
Ladder Position: 3rd
Adding to the club’s success in the football season this year, East Ringwood was just as dominant in the Bendigo Bank Netball season.
Competing in Section One of the comp, East Ringwood Black would go on to win the premiership. They won ten games throughout the Home and Away season, finishing in third place. Their first final was against fourth-place Lilydale which they won comfortably by six points. That set up a meeting with Croydon in the Preliminary Final. The Roos got out to a strong 13-point lead at Half Time before Croydon cut the margin back to just three. In the last quarter, East Ringwood scored 16 points to 13 to successfully advance through to the Grand Final decider against East Burwood. In a very tight game, East Ringwood hung on for an impressive two-point win, winning the premiership.
Emily Salmon had a fantastic year, winning the Section One Best and Fairest while also tying for the club b&f with teammate Molly Heymason. Salmon made the EFNL Section One Team of the Year along with Pyper Ross, staring at Centre.
East Ringwood Blue (Section Three)
Ladder Position: 3rd (12-5, 125.06%)
Another premiership for the club with the Section Three East Ringwood side winning the Grand Final after another third-place finish. They won twelve games for the season and took on fourth-placed Vermont in the first week of the finals, defeating them by eight points. A week later in the Preliminary Final, the Roos met Lilydale. They led at every change in what was a very close encounter, eventually winning by two points. East Ringwood qualified for the Grand Final, playing The Basin. Despite losing to them twice during the season, the Roos turned things around on Grand Final night winning by six goals.
Nikki Anderson topped off a great season, winning the club’s best and fairest in the premiership year, 263 goals for the year. While Madison Hume went on to win the league best and fairest for Section Three.
East Ringwood White (Section Six)
Ladder Position: 7th (5-11, 86.68%)
The third Netball side of the club had won five games in Section Six, finishing seventh on the ladder. Their wins came against Montrose, Ringwood, Heathmont and South Croydon twice. Lisa Baker had a great year, finishing with 221 goals for the season while also winning the club’s best and fairest.
East Ringwood Juniors
The East Ringwood juniors continued to go from strength to strength in 2022, with the club fielding 15 teams across both the boys’ and girls divisions.
The highlights of the season were having three sides make Grand Finals. The Under 14s and Under 15s on the boys’ side and not to be outdone the Under 16 Girls who also made the Grand Final went down in a nail-biter to Heathmont.
With strong numbers across the entire junior club, the Roos looks set to reap the rewards for many years to come.