Riddled with injuries, Heathmont was unable to get up and running in season 2022, missing out on a position in the finals while the club’s Section Seven Netball team took home a premiership.
By Ryan Long
Heathmont
Ladder Position: 7th (8-10, 110.30%)
Leading Goalkicker: Fin Brown (23)
Summary:
After a promising season campaign in 2021, nothing went to plan for the Jets in season 2022 who finished seventh at the end of the Home and Away season.
Heathmont was expected by many to make the Finals this year but a poor start to the season put the Jets behind the eight ball. They were one of the clubs most affected by injuries, including key players such as key forward Ayhan Bajramov who managed just three games.
Although it was a season they’d overall prefer to forget, the Jets did manage to pull off a couple of very impressive victories across the season. They had the The Basin’s number, defeating the Bears twice while also knocking off Mulgrave and Templestowe at home.
Heathmont found themselves in mathematical contention for a fifth spot finish late in the year but losses to East Burwood and Templestowe sealed their fate.
Key Players:
Wade Van Leeuwen was the Jets’ most consistent player in season 2022, in the best ten times. He was just one of three Heathmont players to play all 18 games this season. Ryan and Joel Burleigh once again stood out for the jets with Joel managing to find a spot at Half Back on the EFNL Division Two Team of the Year.
The leading goal kicker for Heathmont was Fin Brown with 23 majors. Brown was impressive, stepping up in the forward half with Bajramov missing most of the year.
Heathmont would have loved to have seen more of Bailey Stevens in 2022. Only playing the six games for the year, Stevens impressed, in the best five out of six games and managed 12 goals.
Best Win: Round 11 – Heathmont 8.11 59 def. The Basin 6.10 46 @Batterham Reserve
One side that the Jets consistently played well against in 2022 was the Bears. The two matched up earlier in the year at HE Parker Reserve where the Jets won in a low-scoring game.
Out at Batterham in Round 11, the match played out similarly with just 14 goals kicked for the match. Despite the Bears leading early, the Jets kicked four goals to one in the second quarter to set up a 14-point lead which remained the difference between the two clubs all afternoon.
Bailey Stevens was key for the club, finishing with three out of the side’s eight goals. Wade Van Leeuwen continued his impressive form while some of the other usual suspects such as the Burleigh brothers, Ryan Young and Rob Savory all had a great impact on the win.
Off-Season Focus:
At the end of the season, Nick Rutley advised the club that he wouldn’t continue his role in 2023. Since then, Heathmont has signed Scott Hamill as the new Senior Coach. With Hamill taking over the reins, the Jets have also announced that Michael Pearson will join the club as a playing assistant coach. A great pick-up with 90 games of experience at the Premier Division level.
It might also be worth looking at adding some extra depth to their forward half, having only kicked 10 goals or more in a game just six times throughout the season.
Heathmont
Ladder Position: 6th (2-11, 32.46%)
Leading Goalkicker: Tahlia Limburg (7)
Summary:
Heathmont’s Senior Women’s side competed in Division Two of the Deakin University Senior Women’s competition. They won just two games for the season but showed plenty of improvement across the year. Their two wins came against both Montrose and Kilsyth.
The Jets also had a couple of close losses including a competitive performance against future Premiers, Knox in Round 12 of the 14-round season.
Key Players:
Tahlia Limburg led the goalscoring for Heathmont with seven majors while Jenna Edwards had the second most with five.
Over the off-season, the club picked up some talented players from other clubs and leagues. Alice Hanson joined the Jets from Vermont, and Tiarna Preer from the Geelong league, both having an impact on the club.
Best Win: Round 8 – Heathmont 5.3 33 def. Kilsyth 3.12 30 @HE Parker Reserve
The Jets’ second win of the year was an impressive one, knocking off eventual finalists, Kilsyth. Heathmont got off to the best start possible kicking three goals to none in the first term to set up a healthy lead. With the wind in the second term, the Cougars held the Jets scoreless while bringing the margin back to just two points.
Just a goal up at three-quarter time, the Jets had to hold off Kilsyth who had five scoring shots in the last quarter, only capitalising on one of those. In the end, the Jets held on for an impressive three-point win.
Off-Season Focus:
The Jets would love to add a few more experienced players to their list. It would certainly help some of the younger players to have those types of players to learn from. Heathmont will likely be in an alternate division so they’ll be hoping that they can have a few extra wins on the board at the end of the 2023 season.
Netball Review
Heathmont Jets (Section One)
Ladder Position: 7th (4-13, 83.86%)
Heathmont’s first side competed in the top section of the league, winning four games for the year. Their four wins came against Lilydale, East Burwood and Ferntree Gully twice. Despite not having the desired success in the division that they were after, they remained competitive all season.
Rory Barr was fantastic for the Jets, scoring 299 goals ahead of Taylah Barr with 277. Also having a great season was Morgan Wyatt, finding a spot on the Netball Section One Team of the Year at Wing Defence.
Heathmont White (Section Four)
Ladder Position: 4th (10-7, 111.52%)
Heathmont’s second Netball side did enough in Section Four to qualify for the Finals with ten wins, finishing in fourth place. They faced off against Montrose in the Semi Final at Waverley. It was a tight first half with the two sides going into the main break tied on 17 each. In the second half, Heathmont built up a lead that they managed to hold onto, winning the game by seven points. A week later in the Preliminary Final, Heathmont took on Park Orchards. The game was relatively even all night apart from the second quarter where the Sharks built a lead that the Jets couldn’t get back.
Jessica Hall led the goal-scoring for the team with a total of 237 goals for the season.
Heathmont Blue (Section Six)
Ladder Position: 10th (3-12-1, 62.23%)
The third Heathmont side in the division won three games and a draw in section six in season 2022. Madisen Werkmuller top-scored for the Jets with 79 goals from eleven matches.
Heathmont Yellow (Section Seven)
Ladder Position: 1st (14-1-1, 179.26%)
A great season for Heathmont saw the club win the Section Seven premiership after losing just one game for the season. After finishing clear on top of the ladder, Heathmont met Montrose in the first week of the Finals. The girls controlled the game right from the opening, never looking in danger as they took out a comfortable ten-point win. Two weeks later they played Coldstream in the Grand Final. On a wonderful night for the club, Heathmont won the Section Seven premiership by eight points.
Skylar Browne finished high up in Section Seven leading goal shooters with 189 for the season.
Heathmont Juniors
The Junior club had a great season in 2022. The Heathmont girls program went from strength to strength, with the powerful Under 16 girls rounding out the minor premiership and Under 16B grade premiership.
The Under 14 girls also made the finals this season and the club will look to build on this further in 2023. The Under 12 boys side also made the Grand Final in 2022, and the club had strong representation in the lower ages with two Under 10’s side.