By Matt Fotia
Overview
Once again East Burwood have managed to take another step on the road to restoring their former glory, with the Rams 7-3 season enough to see them finish second and earn promotion to Division Two.
Whilst the Rams weren’t the most fluent side in the competition in 2021, they were defensively sound throughout the season, conceding less points than all sides bar eventual minor premier Warrandyte.
The Rams seem united as a club and will ride this wave of momentum until its very end.
Best Win – East Burwood 14.11(95) def Warrandyte 7.9(51)
If the season had been run to its planned finish, this win would likely have gone down as the moment East Burwood blew the Division Three Premiership Race wide open, as they avenged their earlier loss to the Bloods.
They led by three goals at the main break but came out breathing fire to put the Bloods to the sword with a five goal to none third term, all but finishing the game there and then.
Jason Kennedy and Matthew Mariani appeared in the best once again whilst Lewis Neate, Lachie Gould and Jai Middleton all kicked three majors in a big win for the Rams.
Worst Loss – East Burwood 14.12(96) def by Waverley Blues 18.13(121)
For three quarters East Burwood were probably the better side. The pity is that they were seven goals down at quarter time, as they leaked nine majors to the Blues who were walking the ball out of the centre for the first half an hour.
East Burwood went on to win the remaining three quarters to eventually go down by 25 points, with Kennedy and Mariani doing the business once again whilst Braeden Barlow booted five goals.
Star Player
Matt Mariani and Jason Kennedy got their name in lights week in, week out, but it was impressive defender Ed Rixton that caught the eye for the Rams in 2021.
Often undersized, the East Burwood full-back was a tough man to beat in 2021, finishing the year as the Team of the Year full back after playing all 10 games as the defensive leader for the Rams.
Nimble on the ground and stronger than he appears in the air, Rixton will be a key player for East Burwood in 2022 as they come up against the likes of Trent Farmer, Timothy Smith and Fin Brown in Division Two.
Off-Season
The depth through the club at the moment is strong with their Reserves finishing up as the undefeated Minor Premiers and their Under 19’s claiming second spot in the Premier Division.
They’ve already begun re-signing the majority of their senior playing list and have added Blackburn’s Marcus Young for the 2022 campaign.
They made the step from Division Four to Three look quite easy in the end, but such is the quality of the competition in Division Two you suspect the Rams will have to add a few more to the top-end if they’re to compete to the level they want too.
Leg speed should be high on the list of priorities, especially if they want to keep pace with the speed based sides like The Basin and Heathmont, who had strong campaigns in 2021.