By Josh Ward.
Beaconsfield men’s and women’s side will look to continue on their upward trajectory following promising campaign’s in 2023.
Last season saw the Eagles men side breakthrough for their first finals campaign since joining the EFNL in 2022, falling to North Ringwood in the first week of finals.
Their 2024 campaign got off on the right foot with a nine goal to four second half seeing Beaconsfield comfortably defeat Wantirna South by 37 points at home, followed by a seven point victory over North Ringwood.
Eagles senior men’s coach Mick Fogarty said on The Weekend Recovery that the round win victory was a hard-fought one in windy conditions.
“It was a good win by the boys, Wantirna South took it right up to us all day. It was a tight battle in difficult conditions but we prevailed at the end, which was great,” Fogarty said.
The win comes without Team of the Year members Brandon White and Jafar Ocaa, with Ocaa continuing his recovery following a leg injury late last year.
Fogarty said an improved connection between his forwards and backs paved the way for a much stronger second half after leading by seven points at the main break.
The victory adds to the wins column at Holm Park Reserve, a ground where Beaconsfield have started to build an advantage at having lost only to South Belgrave, Montrose and Mitcham at the ground last year.
Despite making Holm Park a fortress since joining the competition, Fogarty has looked to develop a game plan that can be utilised at all grounds.
“Like every team they always want to have a fortress and make (their) ground a really difficult place for opposition teams to come to, but we’d like to think that no matter where we play (we can) win anywhere.”
Mick Fogary’s men were boosted by the inclusion of VFL-listed players such as Mitch Szybkowski, Matthew Johnson, Kobe Shipp and Kade De La Rue, all of whom having played juniors with Beaconsfield.
The side also unveiled some of its recruits, including ex-Berwick tall Charlie Muley and former St Kilda player Nathan Wright.
“We’ll just keep making sure that, as a club, we keep developing those (juniors). If we can outside help with a couple of names like Nathan Wright and Charlie Muley, it really does add depth to our list and gives us a chance to hopefully be super competitive later on in the year.”
The Beaconsfield women’s program will make their return to Division 1 after winning four games last year, all of which against Ringwood and Chirnside Park.
While they lost all their games to top five sides, the back end of the season saw them be much more competitive and push the likes of Park Orchards, Knox and North Ringwood.
President Troy Robinson has stepped down from his role as women’s coach, with John Blackburn replacing him. Blackburn brings a wealth of experience as a player and a coach into the role.
The Eagles women’s side have picked up a few on the transfer front, with ex-St Kilda player Jessica Matin listing Beaconsfield as her community club while she plays with Box Hill Hawks in the VFLW.
Division 3/4 Team of the Year defender Kahlia Sommers also joins having won Fairpark’s best and fairest last season.
With Division 1 being a six team competition this season, along with East Ringwood and Donvale joining the division, the Eagles are set to be around the mark once again in 2024.
