The Whitehorse Senior Women walked away as Premiers of the 2022 Premier B competition while the Senior Men’s side did enough to avoid relegation.
By Ryan Long.
Whitehorse
Ladder Position: 6th (6-10, 94.04%)
Leading Goalkicker: Daniel Horvat (43)
Summary:
The Pioneers came into season 2022 with high expectations but weren’t quite able to reach them, finishing sixth with six wins. The club attracted a lot of new recruits over the off-season while also having plenty of players making their senior debuts.
At times, the club proved they could match it with finals contenders such as Donvale and Coldstream in the first three weeks of the season. However, later in the year, they were defeated by those same teams by heavy margins.
With two teams being relegated in Division Three, Whitehorse needed to keep winning to guarantee they would stay above the likes of Fairpark, Glen Waverley and Scoresby. They manage to pull out two big wins in the last few weeks of the Home and Away season to consolidate their position in the division for 2023.
Key Players:
James Fasan was one of the Pioneers’ key figures in season 2022, featuring in the club’s best nine times this season. Fasan also finished inside the Top 10 for the Division Three league Best and Fairest. In just his second year of senior footy, Daniel Horvat had a breakout season, playing 16 games and leading the side’s goal kicking with 43. Horvat worked alongside known goal kicker Andrew Padbury who kicked another 26 goals while finishing in the best seven times.
Best Win: Round One – Whitehorse 10.10 70 def. Donvale 8.14 62 @Springfield Park
The perfect way to start 2022, a hard-fought win at home against future Grand Finalists, Donvale. The game was tight the entire afternoon with Whitehorse just a goal in front at halftime. For large portions of the third quarter, the Magpies dominated but didn’t make the most of their momentum, kicking just one goal from nine scoring shots. The Pioneers capitalised more on their opportunities to come up eight-point winners.
A great team effort for the Pioneers who had nine individual goal-kickers for the afternoon.
Off-Season Focus:
It’s been announced that Andrew Haining will take over as playing Senior Coach in 2023. The former Chandler Medallist is a well-respected leader in the EFNL and will have a big task at hand to keep the Pioneers in the division and set the club up for future success.
Last off-season, Whitehorse had ten inclusions from other club. With a new Coach, there could be similar amount of movement before Round One of next year. Their forward line worked well, structured around Horvat and Padbury but their defence leaked high scores throughout the year. Tightening up on defence should be a high priority for the Pioneers if they have ambitions of finishing inside the top four next season.
Whitehorse Women’s
Ladder Position: 1st (9-5, 114.85%)
Leading Goalkicker: Isabella Geitzmann (18)
Summary:
It doesn’t get much better for the Whitehorse Senior Women’s side, winning the Premier B Grand Final by one point. The Pioneers were locked in a battle with Donvale and The Basin for the Minor Premiership for the majority of the season. The club locked in a top-two finish and the double chance, winning their last two home and away matches of the season.
However, the Pioneers were forced to do it the hard way after losing in the first week of the Finals against Donvale by 37 points. The loss set up a Preliminary Final clash with The Basin where they bounced back with an 18-point win, Kershaw and Fisher kicking two each.
To win the premiership, Whitehorse had to go through Donvale again, this time a much different outcome, holding on for a one-point win and a memorable flag.
Key Players:
Georgia Fischer had a year to remember, the Premier B league best and fairest with 16 votes to go along with her premiership medal. Sarah Cowley and Briana Holland were two of the Pioneers’ most important players, battling hard in the midfield, featuring in the side’s best 10 and 11 times respectively.
Isabella Gietzmann was the club’s leading goal scorer throughout the Home and Away season with 18 goals from 10 matches.
Best Win: Grand Final – Whitehorse 4.3 27 def. Donvale 3.8 26 @Quambee Reserve
The Pioneers came into Grand Final week as the underdogs after a 37-point loss to the same side just two weeks prior. On top of that, from four meetings this season, Whitehorse had beaten Donvale just once.
The side had the perfect start, kicking two goals to none in the first term before stretching their lead to 13 points at the halftime break. Momentum started to shift in the second held with the Pioneers held goalless in the third term and the scores tied going into the last quarter. The final term became a defensive tussle with two behinds for the Pioneers enough for the girls to give themselves a match winning lead. With less than two minutes to go, Donvale had multiple inside 50s in attempt to steal a win but the back six held strong under pressure.
Sienna Tallariti went on to win the Blue Ribbon Medal for her best-on-ground performance. She played a crucial role in the win, especially with the game on the line in the second half, constantly giving the forward line plenty of chances with her inside 50 work.
Off-Season Focus:
Not a whole lot to change for a Premiership team in the second-highest division in the competition. Whitehorse will be looking to retain its current premiership-winning list and continue to develop and improve so that it can soon match it with the Premier A clubs. A lot to look forward to in 2023 for the Pioneers.
Netball Review
Whitehorse Pioneers (Section 3)
Ladder Position: 9th (4-13, 78.75%)
The Pioneers had just one team competing in the Bendigo Bank Netball league, the side finishing ninth in Section Three. The club started strongly winning three of their first four games before a string of losses. Their final win of the season came in Round Ten with a 16-point win over East Burwood.
Despite their position on the ladder at the end of the season, Elizabeth Bonnett led the league scoring 287 goals, a fantastic season for her to be proud of.
