A tough year for the Norsemen senior men’s side sees them return to Division 1 whilst its netball program added another trophy to the Mullum Mullum Reserve cabinet.
Senior Men’s
Ladder Position: 10th (1-17, 39.46%)
Leading Goalkicker: Joseph Fisscher (14 goals in 13 matches)
Best and Fairest: Josh Tovey
Summary:
2024 was one of, if not the, toughest in recent history for the Norsemen, picking up just one win to see them relegated for the first time in 30 years.
A mass exodus of key names in years gone by saw them field one of the youngest sides in recent history in the top flight.
Whilst there was some promise shown, particularly in their only win of the season, unfortunately they were unable to perform consistently enough and ended up finishing at the foot of the Premier Division table.
Key Players:
The departure of key names saw some young guns rise to the fore, particularly ex-Eastern Ranges captain Josh Tovey.
Coming across from Park Orchards, Tovey took home Norwood’s B&F and was named in the Team of the Year after averaging 26.3 disposals, 17.9 contested possessions and 7.1 clearances per game.
Ex-Wandin midfielder Connor Smith also starred, averaging 28.7 disposals and 12.9 contested possessions per game.
Josiah Landy also had a strong first full season of senior football while Blair Hudson’s stepped up as a leader this past season
Best Win: Round 6 - Norwood 11.8.74 defeated Noble Park 10.12.72 @ Mullum Mullum Reserve
The Norsemen’s only win of the year, defeating the Bulls in one of the biggest surprise wins of the Premier Division season.
After a fast start in the opening half Norwood were able to hold off a second half charge from Noble Park who had brought back Kyle Martin for the first time since 2022 that game.
Ex-St Kilda defender Tom Highmore had a major impact in his first game with Norwood, collecting 23 disposals and five intercept marks.
Connor Smith and Josh Tovey had 22 disposals each while James Menzies and Joseph Fisscher kicked six goals between them.
Off-Season Focus:
It looks set to be another year of developing youth for Norwood as they prepare for their first season in the second tier since 2006.
Brett Moyle has re-signed while some depth has been added, with players such as Cooper Winter and Matt Hutchinson signing from Nunawading on top of ex-Trinity Grammar players.
They’ll be without Connor Smith and Josh Tovey though, with Smith signing at South Croydon and Tovey joining next door neighbour East Ringwood.
Netball
Norwood (Division 3) - 2nd (10-2, 133.81%)
Norwood Gold (Division 5) - 8th (1-11, 49.29%)
Norwood Purple (Division 7) - 7th (3-9, 59.13%)
Norwood Black (Division 10) - 9th (1-11, 37.68%)
Norwood had a total of four sides take to the court in the winter netball season along with an additional three sides in the inaugural summer netball competition.
Of those sides, just the one would go all the way and win the premiership, defeating The Basin in the Division 3 decider by two goals to claim the premiership.
Before that Norwood Gold would also play finals in the summer netball competition in Division 3, with this side going down in the first week of finals.
Another three sides have taken to the cour in the current Summer Netball season, with the highest side moving up into Division 1.
Juniors
A total of 15 sides took to the park this season for Norwood in the junior competition.
Of the 10 teams from Under 11s up, five would go on and play finals this year whilst an additional four sides would play in Grand Finals.
Norwood’s U12B, U12 Girls and U13B teams would go on and win the premiership, defeating Vermont and two East Burwood sides respectively on Grand Final day.