By Josh Ward.
The Boronia Senior men’s will look to continue setting the benchmark in a tight Division 2 competition while the women’s venture into the unknown after a historic premiership.
Boronia’s men’s sides were one of the more dominant sides in 2023. Winning 17 out of 18 home and away games, their one defeat came by the barrest of all margins against Ringwood in Round 7.
The Hawks then claimed their second premiership under senior coach Matt Clark, defeating Templestowe by 65 points in the semis and Heathmont by 32 on the final day of the Division 2 season.
Clark says while the side enjoyed celebrating the success the following week, attention quickly turned towards how they would approach preseason.
“I was really impressed with the shape that everyone came back in for the first night and they’ve continued on since. I thought it was good that we celebrated and then we moved through it pretty quickly,” Clark says.
It’s been a strong preseason for the Hawks according to Clark, with fitness levels increasing and further advancements made in the side’s game style. The Hawks have also been strong in retaining the majority of their premiership list, with 95% of the side signing before the finals series.
The offseason has also seen the Hawks target additions to their tall forward stocks, with ex-Coburg and East Ringwood forward Liam Whelan and ex-Scoresby and South Belgrave forward Tom Sonsie signing on.
“(Tom’s) improved his fitness considerably. He’s got great skills, good hands and is a really good kick at goal so he’ll look to impact straight away.
“And similarly with Liam, he’s a really tall, competitive and aggressive forward who can play in the ruck or down back. You don’t get key position players who move like he does often so we’re really impressed with the way he’s come on board.”
The likes of Josh Begley and Mitch Mellis could also be set to make an impact once again alongside four-time league best and fairest winner Dean Grice.
“(Dean) last year had come off not playing for a while, he gots niggles all the way through last season. This year he hasn’t missed a night and is as fit and confident as he’s ever been.”
With the retention of most of their list along with the additions of Whelan and Sonsie, the Hawks have been tipped by many to be the benchmark this year.
Despite this, Clark says the division will be as even as ever with the recruiting from Heathmont, The Basin and Templestowe along with Lilydale and Croydon taking the drop.
“I can’t see a gap. This year, teams are going to have to be reliant on depth and just having your players with the right mindset at the right time.”
The senior women’s side enter this year in a similar vein to the men’s after winning the club’s first women’s premiership in Division 1.
Unlike the men’s, Boronia’s women’s took the long route to the grand final, winning the prelim by five points against Park Orchards before knocking over arch rivals The Basin by the same margin in the big dance.
The side will enter the Premier Division for the first time in its history alongside the Bears, with senior coach Scott Nicholas and the side excited about continuing their development at the pinnacle.
“In the past we’ve jumped up divisions when they’ve been restructured whereas this is the first time we’ve had success and been promoted. We’re excited for the challenge and the opportunity for our players and coaches to grow with that challenge,” Nicholas says.
The side is set to have a different look to last year, with players moving on following the premiership success. Nicholas says this has presented opportunities for senior players to develop their game even more as well as some of the development squad from last year, including sisters Rebecca and Mel Carpenter.
“Mel’s already played games in the seniors as an 18-year-old and Bec’s a couple of years older who hasn’t had that opportunity yet. They’ve had a huge preseason and built on all of their growth from last year.
The side has also added to the squad with the signings of former Swan Districts player Jenna Basse and Eastern Ranges-listed midfielder Cleo Smith. Lucy McLennan, Emily Wellington, Sharna Armstrong and Mikayla McNamara have also signed on.
While they’re set to enter a competitive eight-team Premier Division with many changes afoot, Nicholas says the sides main objective has set its sight on being competitive and reaching finals.
“We want to keep growing and building so realistically for us, we want to play finals football. It’s a hard thing to do to come up and have an impact like that, but we’re really confident in our ability to continue to grow.
“We understand how strong the Eastern Devils, SBL Wolves and South Croydon are. But we’d love to be playing finals football in Premier Division, it’d be a huge achievement for us to come up and do that.”
