By Matt Fotia
Expect Ferntree Gully to come bursting out of the blocks this Division Three season, with the Eagles ready to right the wrongs of an incomplete – and inconsistent – 2021 campaign.
The Eagles had high hopes heading into last season and started strongly before fading late in the truncated season with a poor loss to Warrandyte and a couple of tight defeats against the Waverley Blues and Donvale.
Despite this poor finish to the season, Eagles coach Brent Kiker says the feeling around Wally Tew has been positive across the summer as they prepare to sink their teeth into Division Three once again.
“We were confident with the list that we had from last year could improve,” said Kiker of his sides 2021.
“There is a lot of guys that took big steps last year, which is why it was so disappointing not finishing off the season, because we thought we would have come home strong,
“This year our numbers have been really good, and I’ve been really impressed with the application and there’s a really good feeling around the club.”
The good vibes have been partly due to the arrival of a couple of key signings for the Eagles, who have seen the return of talented junior Luke McComb from Premier Division powerhouse Vermont and young key forward Jack Flannery from Outer East side Narre Warren.
“Yeah, it’s pretty exciting (McComb returning),
“He’s a cracking guy and he’s had an impact straight away, with his presence,
“The rigours of playing Premier Division may have been catching up to him a little bit, whilst Jack was looking for more opportunity,
“Narre Warren are quite strong, and they’re blessed with a lot of key forward types who he was behind, so he was looking for a fresh start which we were able to provide,
“He knows he’s still got to work, and he is working really hard and what I’m seeing from him on the track is really exciting.”
Flannery and McComb have addressed what Kiker feels were the two major holes in the Ferntree Gully list, and he feels their arrival, accompanied by the natural progression of the retained list and a deeper understanding of the way he wants to play will see the Eagles surge up the ladder.
“In the midfield we were quite young, so I think adding Luke into that area will strengthen us a lot and I feel we were lacking a key forward as well, so with Jack and a couple of other younger fellas coming through there, we will be in a better spot than last year,
“Last year was basically my first year and I always thought it would take the first half of the year to really implement the way we wanted to play and was confident that we would come home strong, so, I think we’ll start the season better in 2022, just with structures and how we want to play.”
Kiker is also bullish about the long-term prospects of the Gully, not afraid to share his and the club’s ambition for the future.
“Jackson Gardiner took over as president the same year that I came in and we’ve got lots of plans, but we just haven’t been able to get them off the ground with all that’s been happening,
“It’s very frustrating because we’re ready to explode as a club on and off the field,
“We want success, and we want it long term.”
Whilst their Men’s outfit had an up and down 2021, the Ferntree Gully Women were almost faultless, taking home the Division One minor premiership ahead of a highly fancied The Basin outfit.
Coach Tim Cavanagh is confident that this early success won’t go to the heads of his chargers, who are preparing themselves to step it up a gear in 2022.
“It definitely hasn’t gone to their heads,
“We’ve lost a few players from last year and we’ve also recruited a few as well, so we’ll have a slightly different mix coming into this season,
“It feels like we’re starting again a little bit, but the work rate has been great, so I think it’s motivated us a bit, knowing that we’re going to have to lift again and go up another level.”
The Gully will get a good taste of what the next level is like in 2022, with the Eagles taking part in the EFNL’s Premier B Division.
All sides in Premier B will play a handful of crossover games against those sides in the Premier Division to avoid byes and a repetitive fixture.
“I think some of the girls are a little bit nervous (about the crossover games), but there’s nothing to lose, it’s a great growth opportunity to see how we go and learn from playing those better sides,
“Last year in our practice matches we played Vermont and Mount Evelyn and we lost both comfortably, but it was on the best things we did for our season, to learn from them, and see the level that we want to get to.”
Cavanagh, like his counterpart Kiker, is also looking towards the future, hellbent on making sure Ferntree Gully has a strong female pathway for years to come.
“Seeing these young women get the same things out of footy that I got as a young bloke – the comradery, the confidence that you build – seeing them getting that and how it’s helping them grow as people is something I love,
“So, our main aim is to grow through the junior program and create some long-term sustainability,
“Because we’ve got some great juniors and we want them to have a clear pathway through to the seniors in the long term.”
