It’s premiership glory for the Waverley Blues who escaped a Grand Final scare to hold on for the Division Three flag.
By Ryan Long.
Waverley Blues
Ladder Position: 1st (15-1, 174.32%)
Leading Goalkicker: Josh Williamson (57)
Summary:
A dominant year for the Waverley Blues who went undefeated after their Round One loss to win the premiership in 2023. Tom Langford’s men were ranked the number one offence and defence by a clear margin.
When up and running, the club’s forward line was by far the most dangerous set-up in the division. They scored over 100 points a total of nine times throughout the season. On top of that, their defence held up just as nicely, never giving up 100 points to a team themselves in 2022. They cruised through the year, beating other finals contenders by heavy margins. This included knocking off Warrandyte by 69 points, beating Donvale by 72 points and 60 points and putting away Coldstream by 38 points.
As strong as their Home and Away season may have been, the Waverley Blues were challenged come finals time. In the first Semi Final, they were pushed for four quarters by Warrandyte who came home strong. A big effort of six goals from Josh Williamson saw the Blues hold on for a nine-point win. Two weeks later, they met Donvale in the Grand Final, coming into the game as heavy favourites. However, it turned out to be a low-scoring close tussle where the Waverley Blues just did enough to hold on by two points to win the Division Three premiership.
There’s no doubt that the club was the best side all season in Division Three, they’ve certainly earned their spot in Division Two for 2023 with a dominant year.
Key Players:
There was no surprises to see six Waverley Blues players make the Division Three EFNL Team of the Year. Ben Turner, Ryan Serpanchy, Omar Mohammad, Josh Williamson, Tom Langford and Tyson Hale all had big enough seasons to feature in the team.
This year, Williamson played his first season in the EFNL, previously playing in the Tasmanian State League and more recently, the NFNL. The star forward kicked 57 goals for the year and finished on top of the Division Three goal kicking list. Omar Mohammad and Tom Langford were just as prominent up forward, especially come finals when it really mattered. Tyson Hale had arguably his best year of senior footy for the club in 2022, finishing in the side’s best nine times while experienced defender Ben Turner saved his best game til last.
Best Win: Grand Final – Waverley Blues 7.12 54 def. Donvale 7.10 52 @Jubilee Park
It certainly wasn’t their best performance of the season, but nothing beats the significance of a Grand Final win. The Waverley Blues were red-hot favourites coming into the big dance, easily taking care of Donvale twice during the season. They controlled most of the first half, even having seven more scoring shots than the Magpies in the first quarter. However, they couldn’t make the most of their dominance. A late Donvale goal from a free kick before Half Time cut the lead back to just nine points.
With a bit of momentum behind them, Donvale kicked four goals to two to take a seven-point lead into three-quarter time. It set up a massive final quarter for the premiership. Goals from experienced stars Langford and Playsted gave the Waverley Blues a one-goal lead before scores were levelled once more through Giles’ third of the afternoon for the Magpies. A late couple of behinds was enough for the Waverley Blues to hold on for a thrilling two-point premiership victory.
Ben Turner’s fantastic defensive role on Donvale’s Nick Murphy earned him the best-on-ground honours. While keeping his opponent goalless, Turner controlled the back half with countless amount of Intercept Marks.
Off-Season Focus:
Next season, the Waverley Blues will be competing in Division Two. As playing coach, Langford has led the way with professional standards. The playing list is in great physical shape, they’re strong at both ends of the ground and have a good mix of experience and youth to keep them from falling.
This season, East Burwood came up to Division Two and made a Preliminary Final. The Waverley Blues have enough talent to not just make the finals, but to win them in the higher division. However, in saying that, consolidate their position in the division first, and challenge second.
Netball Review
Waverley Blues Red (Section 7)
Ladder Position: 4th (11-5, 133.72%)
An impressive season for the Waverley Blues Red saw the team qualify for the finals, finishing fourth on the ladder with 11 wins. They qualified for the finals where they took on Coldstream in a Semi-Final. They had both beaten each other once during the season but the Blues came up short in the final by 10 points. Jamie Blewett and Gabriella Hatch were the two highest scores for Waverley with 192 and 182 goals respectively.
Waverley Blues White (Section 8)
Ladder Position: 5th (5-9, 86.61%)
The Waverley Blues White team featured in the eighth section this year, just missing out on a spot in the finals. They did have a couple of really strong performances over the year including a two-point win over third-place Scoresby and an eight-point win over fourth-place East Burwood.
Waverley’s Polly Gemmell won the Section Eight Best and Fairest with 24 votes. A great achievement for Gemmell who scored 203 goals during the season, the fourth-highest scorer in the section.