Kilsyth is a club on the rise with both senior men and women’s sides qualifying for the Finals in 2022.
By Ryan Long
Kilsyth
Ladder Position: 4th (8-8, 97.13%)
Best and Fairest winner: Travis Browning
Leading Goalkicker: Ryan Goodinson (59)
Summary:
Another big step forward for the Cougars in season 2022, reaching the Finals for the first time since 2015. After a combined six wins from their last two seasons, Kilsyth was a much more consistent side in 2022, winning eight games for the year. The club brought in some quality talent to the side this year including Vermont’s Luke Hoogstra, Sean Currey, Jarrod O’Neill and Mackinley Ayton.
The club managed to win some key games throughout the year including a seven-point victory over the eventual runner up’s, on their way towards the Finals. Defeating Forest Hill for the second time in the season in Round 16 meant the club had all but secured the fourth position on the ladder. They matched up against Chirnside Park in the first Semi-Final where they got within a goal in the last quarter before the Panthers kicked away, winning by 24 points.
Key Players:
The experienced Travis Browning claimed the club’s Best and Fairest honours. Playing just eleven games for the season, Browning finished in the best six times and was one of the side’s most reliable defenders.
Recruit, Luke Hoogstra had an immediate impact on the club, finishing Runner Up in the club’s Best and Fairest, he too found a position on the EFNL Division Four Team of the Year along with small forward, Ryan Goodinson.
Goodinson continued his form from season 2021, kicking 59 goals and being named in the best nine times from his 17 matches. The small forward benefited from a forward line that had been boosted by Sean Currey, moving across from Ferntree Gully.
Best Win: Round 8 – Kilsyth 12.9 81 def. Surrey Park 10.14 74 @Pinks Reserve
A coming-of-age performance from the young side saw the Cougars take a big scalp coming up to the midway point of the season, defeating the Panthers by seven points. It was a timely win for the club who had fallen short against both Chirnside Park and Forest Hill, this was some reward for their early-season effort.
Trailing at Half-Time, the Cougars ran out the game well, kicking five goals to two to win their third game for the season. Cooper Foley was instrumental in the win, kicking five majors while Goodinson and Jackson finished with two each. The back six held strong under pressure as the side pushed their way into fourth position on the ladder for the first time this year.
Off-Season Focus:
The promotion of Silvan sees the competition wide open again in 2023 for Division Four clubs. Now that their Finals drought has been broken, all eyes for the Cougars turn to winning a Final or two and bringing the club back to premiership contention.
The club have already been quick to make some big off-season moves with the signings of Ryan McNay and Brandon Droessler. The two have committed to the club, departing from Division One club, Lilydale. McNay is a former captain of the club and will have a profound impact on the side’s midfield while Droessler is a versatile key position player, adding a bit of height to the side.
Kilsyth will be one of the Division Four clubs to watch come the pointy end of the season next year.
Senior Women’s
Ladder Position: 4th (6-8, 64.32%)
Best and Fairest winner: Felicity Neligan
Leading Goalkicker: Shae Dale (14)
Summary:
A successful year for the Kilsyth women’s side, qualifying for the Finals again after the 2021 season was abandoned. The club have built a strong women’s program over the last two years, it’s a unique side that consists of five sets of sisters.
Division Two was a highly competitive one with Knox and East Ringwood as the two front-runners while the Cougars found themselves in the middle of the table with Surrey Park, a side they had a strong battle with across the season, winning two and losing two.
The girls also defeated Heathmont and Montrose twice, finishing with six wins of the year, earning themselves a top-four finish and a Semi-Final clash with Surrey Park. Like the men’s side, they weren’t able to move through to the second week of the finals, going down by 21 points.
Key Players:
Shae Dale and Felicity Neligan were two of the biggest standouts for the club. Dale polled well in the EFNL league best and fairest for Division Two, finishing fourth with 12 votes. She also led the club’s goal kicking with 14 majors for the season. Neligan backed up last season’s league Best and Fairest with further dominance in the ruck, winning the Cougars B&F. She was key in giving their midfielders such as Whitten and Innes first use of the ball. Emily van Veen made a smooth transition to Kilsyth, coming across from the Montrose Under 18s with some consistently strong football, placing Runner Up in Kilsyth’s B&F while Darci Innes won the club’s Most Valuable Player award.
Best Win: Round 12 – Kilsyth 5.9 39 def. Surrey Park 5.8 38 @Pinks Reserve
The two sides had a great rivalry across the year, but their Round 12 clash was by far the closest of all four matches. Kilsyth led at every change but the margin remained close the entire day with the Cougars earning themselves a well fought out one-point victory over Surrey Park.
With a nine-point lead at three-quarter time, they held on in a thriller after Surrey Park missed an opportunity with a shot at goal in the last few seconds of the match to steal the win. The victory saw the Cougars gain a critical four points, securing a position in the Finals.
Felicity Neligan had a tremendous impact, dominating the clearances in the middle of the ground while also being able to push forward to kick two of the side’s five goals while Kayla Villareal finished with two of her own.
Off-Season Focus:
After two strong seasons in Division Two, Kilsyth will be excited to retain its current list and continue to develop ahead of 2023. They were on track to win a Final in 2021 before the season was interrupted, that might be the goal next season.
Netball Review
Kilsyth Cougars (Section 2)
Ladder Position: 6th (5-12, 76.28%)
Kilsyth Cougars Black (Section 3)
Ladder Position: 8th (6-11, 83.62%)
Kilsyth Cougars Red (Section 6)
Ladder Position: 8th (5-11, 67.54%)
Kilsyth Cougars White (Section 7)
Ladder Position: 7th (4-10-1, 82.47%)
Kilsyth had plenty of representation this year with their Netball teams. The Cougars had four teams spread across the sections with their top side competing in Section Two, a team that had fifteen players feature in at least one game throughout the season. After a run of losses near the end of the year, they finished off on a positive note with a seven-point win over Oakleigh Districts. Alyssa Hawkins starred for the Cougars, scoring 110 goals from 12 games, finishing in the top ten of all goal-shooters of the section in the regular season. Hawkins claimed the Best and Fairest, ahead of Runner-Up Tessa Bourke Finn.
Their second side in Section Three finished the season with six wins, the most of any of the Cougar teams in 2022. The Cougars Black side wasn’t quite able to match it with the finals contenders but was consistently strong against the likes of Glen Waverley, Whitehorse and East Burwood. Courtney Muller had an incredible year as the club’s leading goal shooter, scoring 283 goals across the season, the second most in the section. The Best and Fairest was tied between Tayla Loughan and Shannon Lennie ahead of Runner Up Ella Enright.
The Cougars Red side finished the season with five wins in Section Six. Their best win of the year was a six-point win over Mitcham in the final round of the season. Hayley Campbell won the team’s Best and Fairest in front of runner-up Zara Friend while Maddy Pearce was the highest scorer with 105 goals.
Kilsyth’s fourth team in Section Seven won four games for the year including two of their last three against Nunawading and South Belgrave. Kirra Abrehart claimed the honours of Best and Fairest while Melanie Emery had 106 goals for the season.
Kilsyth Junior Club
It was a great development year for the Kilsyth juniors. The club grew from 7.5 teams in 2021 to 10.5 teams in 2022, including a couple of successfully merged sides with the Bayswater Junior FC.
On the field, the junior club had great success with six out of the eight competitive-level teams playing in finals. The Under 13B side qualified for a Grand Final, falling short against Upper Ferntree Gully. Currently, the club are well situated for the future with development at both junior and senior levels.
