By Josh Ward
Overview:
After a dominant 2019 which saw them get promoted to Division Two with a premiership, it was a solid season for South Belgrave in their first year in Division Two.
The Saints finished fourth with a 7-5 record, they had a good middle part of 2021, winning all games in round six, seven, ten and eleven, but were rather inconsistent at the start and end of the year.
Have already started making moves and had five players in the Division Two Team of the Year, including B&F winner Liam Kidd, and look set to be a challenger to Ringwood’s throne in 2022 yet again.
Best Win: Round 11 vs The Basin (South Belgrave 9.13.67 defeated The Basin 9.8.62)
It was a massive clash up in the Dandenong’s between the Saints and the Bears in what was second vs third in Division Two.
The match was tight for most of it, with South Belgrave just sneaking over the line by five points to move ever so closer to The Basin in second.
Tim Smith picked up the three B&F votes, also kicking one goal, with Leigh Odermatt kicking three and being named in the best alongside Liam Kidd, Ryan Silver, Darcy Walls and Phillip Costa.
Kidd also picked up two B&F votes, with Nic Hallo getting the one vote for The Basin. South Belgrave also had seven individual goalkickers and got revenge for their earlier loss to the Bears back in their night match in round four at Batterham Reserve.
Worst Loss: Round 12 at Ringwood (South Belgrave 3.5.23 defeated by Ringwood 5.8.38)
It was 1st vs 3rd between the two form,and highest scoring, sides of Division Two at Jubilee Park, however no one would’ve thought that it’d be a low-scoring game despite the Antarctic-like temperatures on the day.
The usually super-attacking Saints had no avenue to goal, only kicking 3.5 on the day, with South Belgrave outclassed yet again by the Redbacks by 15 points
Michael Smith picked up the one B&F vote, also being named in the best alongside the Kidd brothers (Liam and Aidan), Ryan Silver, Riccardo Daraio and Jay Robertson.
However, Trent Farmer got the three votes thanks to his two goals, with Jack Blyth also picking up two votes in what was a dismal display by South Belgrave against one of their biggest rivals.
Standout Player: Timothy Smith
Whilst Liam Kidd picked up the Division Two Best and Fairest, he wasn’t South Belgrave’s top vote getter. That mantle belongs to former Melbourne forward Timothy Smith.
In his first season since retiring from the AFL and his first out east since his junior career at Upper Ferntree Gully, he enhanced an already strong South Belgrave forward line, winning the Division Two goal kicking with 33 goals.
Picked up 11 votes in the B&F count, including three BOG’s, and was named at Centre Half Forward in the Team of the Year. He was also in South Belgrave’s best five times, had already signed on for season 2022 and will be an asset in years to come for the Saints.
Offseason Plans:
The offseason for the Saints has already begun, with South Belgrave (at time of writing) having 16 resigning’s and three new signings, including Callan Burns and Mitch Garner making the move from Rowville, and Tom Sonsie signing on from Scoresby.
The biggest there is Tom Sonsie, with the 23-year-old having a career best year, being Scoresby’s top goalscorer with 20 goals. However, he’s hoping to develop his game in midfield and could potentially strengthen both their midfield and attack at the same time.
They’ll be looking for others, they could look for a defender (although they only conceded 50.4 points per game (third least in Division Two) but expect them to go for more depth rather than a particular position given how strong they already are across the board.
SBL Wolves:
Overview:
After a promising first season in 2019 which saw them make (and lose) the grand final vs Rowville in South Division, it was a solid and another promising season in 2021.
The Wolves finished fifth with a 5-5 record, with the South Belgrave and Lysterfield side on track for finals after winning three of their last four before the season got cancelled.
Had three that made the Division One Team of the Year and will look to build on a promising ending of 2021.
Best Win: Round 10 vs The Basin (South Belgrave 5.3.33 defeated The Basin 2.5.17)
In a twilight match after the men’s side got their best win of 2021 over The Basin, it was the Wolves who followed that win up with their best win of 2021 at Belgrave South Recreation Reserve.
The Basin were previously in red hot form, and their superstar captain Julia Baker was leading the charge with nine goals in her last two games. However, they managed to shut her down to one goal and a 20-7 second quarter was enough to get the win sewn up by half time.
Nicole Cormack continued her outstanding run of form, picking up the three B&F votes as well as being named in the best alongside Anika Carr, Matilda Hardy, Keely Shepherd and Evelyn Curtis.
Maddison Southam picked up two votes for the Bears, whilst Areeb Hassan picked up her first votes in a Wolves shirt as SBL finished off a near perfect day for the South Belgrave sides as three out of four teams won their games against The Basin.
Worst Loss: Round 11 vs Whitehorse Suns (SBL Wolves 3.5.23 defeated by Whitehorse Suns 11.3.69)
Again playing after the men’s win against Knox after a week’s rest and coming into the game in red hot form, it was a disappointing result for SBL as they got humbled by Whitehorse by 46 points at Belgrave South Recreation Reserve.
It was a tight first half, but the game was broken wide open in the second half, with the Suns outscoring the Wolves 44-2. Isabella Gietzman led the way with seven goals as well as picking up the three B&F votes.
Baylie Withers was named best on for SBL and picked up two B&F votes, with Christie-Lee Chadwick, superstar Olivia Flanagan, Matilda Hardy and Faye Lougheed also named in the best.
Standout Player: Nicole Cormack
SBL had plenty of standout players such as Baylie Withers and ex-Hawthorn VFLW star Olivia Flanagan, but it was Nicole Cormack who was the most consistent of them all.
The talented youngster was terrific in her first full season at SBL, finishing third in the B&F count with 13 votes, with all 13 votes coming in a hot streak between rounds five and ten (excluding eight).
She got three BOGs from the umpires, was named in the Wolves best three times, and was named in the Division One Team of the Year at rover alongside superstar teammate Olivia Flanagan. Has an extremely bright future ahead of her.
Offseason Plans:
The main objective most likely for the Wolves offseason is to keep their core playing group together after showing their potential towards the end of the campaign.
One area they might need to fix up is their key posts down back and up forward. Out of the top five sides this season they averaged the second least points per game (28.3) and conceded the second most points per game (36.7)
