By Ryan Long
Overview:
Forest Hill came into the 2021 season a little underrated, flying under the radar in the pre-season, but jumped out of the blocks winning seven games in a row after falling short to the Silvan Cats in the season opener.
Their ability to score was one of their greatest strengths, having five players to kick at least ten goals across the season. Recruit Mitchell Hanegraaf was a clear standout, finishing with 33 goals for the year.
There were certainly some genuine concerns for the Zebras heading into the finals series that was eventually cancelled. They were heavily beaten by Surrey Park and Silvan in two of their last three games of the season. It shows that the side still has plenty to improve on going into the 2022 season if they want to stand out as a true contender to replace Coldstream as the dominant Division Four team.
Best Win: Round 4: Forest Hill 15.13 103 def. Surrey Park 8.15 63 @Forest Hill Reserve
At the time, it may not have been as significant of a win as it is now but the Zebras 40-point win over Surrey Park was arguably their best four-quarter team performance of the year.
After a close low-scoring first quarter, Forest Hill set up the makings of the win with a six-goal to three quarter. The Zebras kicked another four goals in both the third and fourth quarter to put the game beyond doubt.
The Zebras Joel Pearce Schmidt also impressed, playing his best game for the year, earning three votes from the umpires.
The two sides met later in the year where Surrey Park turned things around, dominating the Zebras all across the ground and most importantly, on the scoreboard.
Worst Loss: Round 15: Forest Hill 7.7 49 lost to. Silvan 15.12 102 @Forest Hill Reserve
If the Zebras have a bogey side then it may be the Cats, they’ve lost the last five head to head matches against them including two times this season. Just two rounds after a disappointing result to Surrey Park, Forest Hill didn’t give the sort of response they were looking for. The game was virtually all but over by halftime when the Cats kicked six goals to two in the second term to set up the win.
The backline struggled to control Kimpton which kicked a bag of five goals for the Cats while veteran Trent Georgiou continued his incredible form, earning three votes.
At the other end of the ground, Hanegraaf couldn’t replicate a similar performance. The Zebras leading goal scorer was held goalless for the first and only time all season. Gavin Willoughby stood up in the second half to put some respectability back on the scoreboard, he finished with three goals.
It was a really poor loss that didn’t do justice to Forest Hill’s consistent season.
Standout player: Michael Casey
The Zebras’ Vice Captain had another fantastic year, finishing in second place of the EFNL Division Four best and fairest award. Casey’s foot skills are some of the best in the division, his ability to break through packs and give the Zebras first use has been a highlight of his game. Casey was also able to hit the scoreboard at important stages of the game, whether it would be by his own boot or by assisting through a target up forward.
Casey was judged best on the field in three games this season, twice against Nunawading and once against Chirnside Park.
He’ll be back in green and white once more next season, already committing to the club for 2022.
Off-season focus:
Forest Hill has been busy already over the off-season, having the majority of their list already re-signed and ready to go for another season campaign.
Their forward line has enough firepower to keep them in premiership contention next season. They scored over 100 a total of seven times this year, including a massive 244 in their Round Nine win over Nunawading.
To take the team to the next step, Forest Hill may need to look at increasing their stocks in the middle of the ground and defensively as well. In some of their late-season losses such as the Surrey Park loss, the Zebras were well beaten around the ball and in the clearance area.
They’ve already started recruiting some youth, Josh Chivers from Donvale has made the move to join the Zebras in 2022. Still at a very young age, Chivers has had some experience playing in senior footy in Division Three. As an attacking defender, the Zebras will be looking to see what he can bring to the team, coming off the half-back line.
Overall, they play the sort of brand of football that should see them get a crack at playing finals footy next September.