The Senior Women’s side capped off a dominant season with the Division Two premiership while the Senior Men managed just the four wins and a draw, avoiding relegation.
By Ryan Long.
Knox
Ladder Position: 9th (4-13-1, 66.45%)
Leading Goalkicker: Kieran Edwards (29)
Summary:
Another frustrating year for the senior men’s side at Knox who notched up just four wins and a draw in the season. They avoided relegation comfortably with Oakleigh District failing to win a match, but the club wouldn’t be too pleased with their ninth place finish on the Division Two ladder.
Struggling to hit the scoreboard against most contenders, the Falcons averaged 57 points per game, kicking ten goals or more just four times in 2022.
They did miss some key players throughout the season such as Mitch Greaves who managed just six games for the year while star recruit Jackson McDonald missed five games of the season.
Knox finished the year on a more positive note, almost knocking Boronia out of the top five in the last home and away match of the season with the two clubs drawing.
Key Players:
Harrison Greaves was a major standout for the Falcons, with ten goals, ten times in the best and a spot in the EFNL Division Two Team of the Year.
In his first season with Knox, joining the club from Rowville, Jackson Anderson brought a great amount of experience. He finished in the best 11 times from 16 games and kicked 11 goals to go with it.
Leading the goal kicking for Knox was Kieran Edwards with 29 goals from 18 games. This included four bags of three goals or more across the year.
Best Win: Round 16 – Knox 6.15 51 def. Mulgrave 6.6 42 @Knox Gardens Reserve
It was season on the line for the Lions who needed every win they could get in the last few rounds to qualify for finals. In their Round 16 clash with Knox, the Falcons caused an upset at home for their fourth win of the year. It was a low-scoring affair with a combined five goals kicked by halftime, Knox taking a three-point lead into the main break.
Knox had all the play in the third term, keeping Mulgrave scoreless. However, unable to make the most of their opportunities, kicking 2.9 for the quarter, the four-goal margin wasn’t safe yet. With the wind, the Lions kicked four straight goals in the final term but the Falcons did enough to hold on for a satisfying win.
Edwards finished with two majors while Obrien, Black, Meagher and Butler all hit the scoreboard as well. Experienced veteran Gavin Pears in his first year at Knox was a clear standout throughout the afternoon.
Off-Season Focus:
With two sides facing relegation in Division Two next year, there’s a lot of pressure on Knox to turn things around after a couple of poor seasons. There are a few key areas of their list that they need to address, they struggled up forward, averaging just 57 points a game while giving up big scores down the other end of the ground as well.
The biggest news for the Falcons this off-season came when the club announced that Steve Buckle would take on the senior coach role in 2023. A fantastic get for the club, Buckle’s resume speaks for itself, three premierships in the league with both Heathmont and Doncaster East. With a young group, he’s got a big task at his hands to turn the Falcons back around but Buckle’s the perfect man for the job.
They have since managed to pick up a couple of important players such as Jack Martin from Doncaster East. Martin has 69 games worth of experience at the Lions, joining the Falcons as a playing assistant coach. He’ll play an important role down back along with Tom Weir from The Basin who has also committed to Knox for the 2023 season.
Knox Women’s
Ladder Position: 1st (13-1, 349.53%)
Leading Goalkicker: Jorja Alexander (24)
Summary:
A dominant year ended in premiership success for the Senior Women’s side, becoming the Deakin University Division Two Premiers in 2022.
The girls won five out of eleven games in 2021 before the season was cut short. But it was a whole different story this year, dominating the division right from the word go.
The girls won the first nine games in a row before they had their first loss of the season at the hands of East Ringwood. It would be the only game of the year that the Falcons would lose, going on to win the remaining four games of the season, locking up the Minor Premiership with a record of 13 and 1.
In the first week of the Finals, the Falcons matched up against East Ringwood. In poor weather conditions out at Quambee Reserve, the Falcons managed to hold on for a two-point win in a tight second half.
Two weeks later at the same venue, the two sides met in the Grand Final. With perfect weather, it was a much more open, free-flowing game with both sides having control at different times of the game. Ultimately, the Falcons were able to get on top in the last quarter to create a fourteen point buffer between the two clubs and claim the Division Two Premiers.
A great result for a team that has come a long way from where they were last season, showing fantastic improvement that resulted in a famous flag.
Key Players:
Continuing her good form from last season, Sarah Plumridge finished in the best ten times from 14 games. Plumridge has proven to be quite a versatile player, playing in both the midfield and key positions at either end of the ground. Holly Gibson was just as important as one of the club’s most prominent forwards, finishing with 13 goals for the season.
Jorja Alexander had a strong enough year up forward to find a spot in the EFNL Team of the Year for Divisions One to Four. In just nine games, the key forward kicked 24 goals including two bags of five against Kilsyth and Montrose.
Some of their other key performers included Alana Aiello, Zali Wagner and Nikki Whitten all finding plenty of footy in the midfield
Best Win: Grand Final – Knox 8.12 60 def. East Ringwood 7.4 46 @Quambee Reserve
A day to remember for the club with the girls topping off an incredible season with a well-deserved premiership. Unlike the Semi Final two weeks prior, the conditions were perfect for two sides that have the capability to hit the scoreboard hard.
The Falcons couldn’t shake the Roos off early as a Nicola Davidson goal right before the half-time siren brought the margin back to three points. Knox soon found themselves on the backfoot with East Ringwood kicking the first three of the third quarter. However, they were able to steady and then wrestle back control, finishing with five of the last six goals of the match to run out 14-point winners.
Holly Gibson was the side’s most dangerous player in front of goals, finishing with three while also earning herself the Blue Ribbon medal for best on field.
Off-Season Focus:
The number one priority over the current off-season is to keep this group together. Despite having quite a few stars of the division within the club, Knox has benefited a lot from the fact that they play a real team brand of football where everyone plays a role.
Next season, Knox will likely be competing in a higher division with new opposition clubs. Having only been beaten by East Ringwood in season 2022, it’ll be a good chance for the Falcons to test themselves against some tough opposition.
Netball Review
Knox Falcons (Section One)
Ladder Position: 5th (9-8, 94.95%)
The Falcons just missed out on a finals position by percentage, finishing fifth with nine wins, tied with fourth-placed Lilydale. The girls competed well throughout the year in the competition’s toughest section. Jacqueline Harfield was dominant in front of goal for the Falcons, with 371 goals for the season from just 14 games. Harfield finished fifth in the section for most goals scored, an incredible achievement.
Knox Black (Section Five)
Ladder Position: 9th (3-13, 68.83%)
Just the three wins for the Falcons’ second side in the competition. Their three wins came against Scoresby twice and Coldstream once. Stephanie Tilley led the scoring for the Falcons with 221 goals, finishing an impressive sixth overall in the league.
Knox Juniors
The Knox junior football club are coming off a highly successful year in 2022. The club fielded 11 teams across the boys’ and girls’ divisions with the highlight being the Under 14 Girls team which made the 2022 Grand Final. Jasmine Whitten and Keira Moroney capped off great seasons for Knox both winning EFNL league best and fairest awards, highlighting the growing strength of the Knox junior girls program.
