A missed opportunity for Warrandyte who went out in straight sets after another top two finish in season 2023.
By Ryan Long
Warrandyte
Ladder Position: 2nd (12-4, 129.19%)
Leading Goalkicker: Ryan Phillips (44)
Summary:
A straight-sets Finals exit for the Bloods will see the club looking at season 2022 as a missed opportunity for a Division Three Grand Final appearance.
Coming off the back of a dominant year in 2021, winning the Minor Premiership, Warrandyte was in a great position to build on that success. Injuries played a big factor for the side early, missing many key players at times. Despite all of that, they continued to put the wins on the board, only dropping four games for the year.
They were the first and only club to beat the Waverley Blues in 2022, sneaking home by two points against the Blues in Round One in wet conditions. After a couple of shaky results in the middle of the season, Warrandyte bounced back with five wins in a row to end the Home and Away season.
Finishing second on the ladder, they earned themselves a double chance and a first-week Semi Finals match-up against the Waverley Blues. A strong third quarter saw the Bloods cut back a 23-point deficit to just 11. They had their chances late but evidently lost by nine points despite a bag of five goals from Quinn Clark. The week later in the Preliminary Final, Warrandyte was hit by a storm with Donvale kicking nine goals to one in the first quarter. Incredibly, they managed to work themselves back into the game, putting themselves in a winning position, all to fall short by just ten points.
Key Players:
The Bloods had one of the most dangerous forward duos in the division with Ryan Phillips and Quinn Clark. Despite missing some games to injury, Phillips led the goal scoring for the Bloods with 44 majors and finished in the 2022 Division Three Team of the Year. In just two years with the club, Phillips has kicked 79 goals from 24 games. For Clark, it was his most consistent year of football at Warrandyte with 36 goals and nine times named in the best.
Oscar Hodgson also had a breakout year for the club, having a fantastic second half of the season, having a real purple patch in the lead-up to finals while Taylor Hayton had another great season, not missing a single game all year and finding a spot in the best 22 of the Team of the Year.
Best Win: Round 1 – Warrandyte 10.69 def. Waverley Blues 9.13 67 @Warrandyte Reserve
Under talked about at the time but after seeing what the Waverley Blues were able to do this year, the Bloods Round One win over the Blues was one of their best.
Due to the conditions of the day, most games around the league in the opening round were low-scoring slogs. It may have worked out to Warrandyte’s advantage, being able to limit the Waverley Blues’ firepower up forward. At the other end of the ground, key forward Ryan Phillips kicked four goals and had a great impact on the result. The Bloods were under the pump in the third quarter with Waverley taking back the lead with ten scoring shots in the term. However, Warrandyte fought back in the last and held on for a two-point victory and start their year on a high.
Off-Season Focus:
The club are still in a strong position where they don’t have to do anything too drastic in order to stay at the top. The club’s reserves team made a Grand Final that went to overtime while their Under 19s won the premiership in 2022.
They’ve added Zak Carroll from Mitcham and Jake Harkins from Whitehorse to their list for some added experience. Carroll will add a bit of depth to their midfield while also being able to push forward and present in front of goal while Harkins is well known for his career at Morton Park where he kicked 128 goals for Blackburn.
It’s one of the best lists in the division that’s well coached and there’s no reason why they can’t be aiming for the ultimate premiership at the end of the next year.
Netball Review:
Warrandyte Swans White (Section Two)
Ladder Position: 8th (3-14, 67.87%)
The Swans played off in the second-highest tier division in the Bendigo Bank Netball season, winning three games for the year. Their three wins for the season came against Oakleigh Districts, Kilsyth and The Basin. Jessica Rodwell led the team in goals, shooting 81 goals from nine games, two of her best games coming in two of their three wins against The Basin and Oakleigh. The Swans rotated through their goal shooters across the season with nine players all scoring at least ten points.
