A tough season for the Upper Ferntree Gully senior men, winless in 2022 while one of the club’s section five Netball teams made the Grand Final.
By Ryan Long.
Upper Ferntree Gully
Ladder Position: 10th (0-18, 29.03%)
Best and Fairest: Luke Tynan
Leading Goalkicker: Rory Bailey (23)
Summary:
Upper Ferntree Gully was unable to get up and running in season 2022, winless from 18 games. The senior group in 2022 was relatively young across the board, and the inexperience made it tough to compete in the second-highest division in the league.
The Kings have been relegated to Division Two where they’ll look to find some success on the field in season 2023.
Key Players:
Two young stars, Greg Lord and Max Brasher were standouts for the Kings this year, both finishing in the best nine times. Rory Bailey kicked 23 goals for the season and was the club’s leading goal kicker.
Playing Coach Luke Tynan won the club’s best and fairest, also selected as a Division One Team of the Year in the back pocket.
Off-Season Focus:
It’s all about the future of Upper Gully, the club have already had a couple of big changes ahead of next year. Playing Coach Luke Tynan has departed the Kings, joining Doncaster East in season 2023. Since then, Upper Ferntree Gully has announced the signing of Mark Fisher as the new senior coach. Fisher has had a great amount of experience with coaching, through Eastern Ranges, Vic Metro, Essendon VFL and most recently Mount Evelyn.
It’s no doubt a tough challenge with already a few of their key stars from season 2022 committing to opposition clubs. Ideally, they need to recruit a few more experienced players to the list with such a young core group of players. The Kings would love to add a couple of midfielders to cover the losses of the likes of Brasher and Lord.
Although no club likes to be relegated, it’s a great opportunity for the young side to drop now and find their feet in Division Two. With just one win over the last two years, Upper Ferntree Gully will be desperate to break its losing streak in the first few weeks of the season. Very important for the belief of the players and bringing back that winning culture at the club.
Netball Review:
Upper Ferntree Gully Blue (Section Five)
Ladder Position: 3rd (13-3, 132.93%)
The club had two sides in the fifth section of the Bendigo Bank Netball competition. Upper Ferntree Gully Blue had a great year, winning 13 out of 16 games to finish third on the ladder. After defeating Balwyn, the girls took on Chirnside Park in the Preliminary Final. Losing to them once in the season, the final played out very differently. Upper Ferntree Gully led by 12 points at Half Time and never looked like being beaten, making their way through to a Grand Final with a seven-point victory. They took on Vermont in the Grand Final where they unfortunately lost by eight points. Nikeisha Grant and Leesa Meldrum starred for the club, both finishing in the top five goal shooters with 257 and 246 goals respectively. A great season for the club with a lot to look forward to in 2023.
Upper Ferntree Gully Red (Section Five)
Ladder Position: 6th (6-9-1, 84.75%)
The other Upper Ferntree Gully side competed in section five as well, winning six games and a draw. Although they didn’t feature in finals, their best form was still impressive, knocking off a lot of the sides around them on the ladder including a seven-point win over fifth-placed Ringwood. Kristy-Lea Wilson had a fantastic season, scoring 163 goals from ten matches.
Upper Ferntree Gully Veterans
The club were also able to get a Veterans side up and running in 2022. Upper Gully won two games throughout the year, finishing eighth on the ladder. Their two wins came against Forest Hill and Chirnside Park. Jason Cain had a fantastic season for the Kings, eight times in the best from nine games.
Upper Ferntree Gully Juniors
Upper Ferntree Gully juniors had a strong 2022 season. The club won premierships in both the Under 13 and Under 15 Boys competitions. Jake Frost from the all-conquering Under 15 side capped off a great personal season winning the EFNL League Best and Fairest this season..
The Upper Ferntree Gully girls program continues to grow with the Under 14 side narrowly losing their grand final in season 2022.
The club looks set for more growth in 2023 which bodes well for the senior club in future years.