Yarra Valley Water InFocus 2025 | South Belgrave

By Jared Beanland.

After two years playing Division One footy, with a Grand Final appearance in 2023, and a straight-sets exit from the finals last season, South Belgrave are looking for something of a reset.

Kristan Height steps into the senior men’s head role at the Saints with three years of VFL coaching experience at Box Hill as midfield coach. Looking to get back to community footy, he felt that South Belgrave was the perfect fit for him, and the club has welcomed him with open arms.

“It’s been quite enjoyable, it’s a great club with great people. Getting to training and getting the work done has been great fun. Can’t be more happy, it’s been great to get back into local footy with a local community," Height said.

"I’m honoured to see that everyone’s all striving to do the same thing, which is to be the most successful club we can be.”

While taking his footy seriously is an obvious quality of Height, he explains that he was looking for a more enjoyable balance in his coaching experience. His priority throughout the preseason reflects that, as he has set himself to building bonds and connections within his new club.

“At the professional and semi-professional environment, there’s obviously a lot more accountability with time, and commitment to training, and doing the work. There’s not as much atmosphere with that, it’s basically business, a job,"

"But then back at local, there’s a lot more flexibility with timing and training. And there’s a lot more enjoyment, and that’s why you play footy at a local level – to be with your mates and to have fun."

"The professional and semi-professional environment is fun, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a lot more pressure on performance and getting everything right. Back at local there’s a lot more flexibility, and a lot more enjoyment. It’s been great to get back to local level where there’s a lot more people around, there’s atmosphere, and everyone loves the club. There’s plenty of people getting down, watching training, and getting involved.”

“The main focus for me has been connection. As a new coach coming in I didn’t know many players or anyone at the club prior to taking on the role, so the main focus for me has been getting to know everyone, getting to know the players, how they play, what they’re like as a person.”

South Belgrave has already had a rather successful track record playing Division One footy, losing only 7 of 40 games played at the level over the past two years.

The Saints look to be contenders once more, especially with finals specialists Mitcham now out of the division. Despite going out in straight sets in the finals last year, the aim is once again to make a deep run.

Height is new to the league, however, and explains that the first half of the year will be a learning experience for him.

“Our main objective is to win enough games to play finals, and once we get there we’ll have a crack at trying to win it. In relation to what the opposition, and what the competition is like, I don’t know yet, I haven’t been around long enough yet to work that out. But by the end of Round Nine and we’ve played everyone once, I’ll have a better idea of where the club’s at. But we’re definitely pushing to win enough games to play finals, and hopefully we’ll be good enough to compete for that. That’s our internal goal.”

2024 was a solid year for South Belgrave on multiple fronts. Not only did the senior men’s make the finals, the reserves team won the Grand Final, holding Mitcham goalless for the whole game. The under 19s also made a deep run in both of their grades, just missing out on a shots at the flag in Preliminary Finals at the hands of Surrey Park (in Division 1), and Blackburn (in Division 4) respectively.

The depth of the list speaks for itself, and the younger crop of players holds a lot of talent, something that Height is excited to work with.

One of the core tenets of his coaching philosophy is to blood the kids when they have earned their spot in the side, and this mentality looks to mesh well with the position the list is in.

“We’ve got a pretty experienced senior group that have been around footy for a long time, but we’ve also got a great group of kids. The 18-23 age group is really driven, motivated, and they’re really striving to be good senior footballers. So over the preseason I’ve been really pleased to see those younger guys really pushing hard to become better footballers. What’s impressed me is that next tier of players that are really driven to be the leaders of the team in the future.”

“Our reserves have got great depth, and our 19s and junior club are run really well. So there’s a lot of talent coming through at South Belgrave. I’m not shy to play kids if they’re good enough, and if they want to work hard. If they show they want to play senior football, I’m happy to pick them regardless of their age. We’ve had a fair few kids from the 17s and 19s training with the senior group throughout preseason. I’m happy to put it on the record that, at South Belgrave, we’ll give the kids a game if they’re willing to work hard and become better footballers.”

With multiple players moving on from South Belgrave in the offseason, such as Cayden Black, Brody Connelly, and the Kidd brothers Liam and Aiden, South Belgrave have looked to bolster their stocks. The two major recruits have been Calvin Daraio and Clay Tucker, both of whom have connections with players already at the club. Height rates this as an important factor in their inclusion to their club.

Not only are they gaining well-connected players, but also two footballers with solid resumes. Calvin Daraio comes in with plenty of experience as a centre-half backman at Vermont, including multiple forays into the Premier Division’s finals race. Clay Tucker on the other hand has Eastern Ranges talent, along with two years of playing for Box Hill at VFL level.

“The players that have entered the South Belgrave Football Club are here for the right reasons. They’re mates or cousins with people. Calvin Daraio for example is cousins with Riccardo who’s been there for years. The recruits have come in, they’re going to add a lot to our group, both on the field and off the field. We’ve already seen that."

"Clay Tucker is a Lysterfield junior, he’s best mates with three of four of our current group in the senior squad. So it was a great move for him to get back into local footy, and enjoy his football again. He’s been turning up at training with a big smile on his face, he’s ready for a big season. Calvin is just an elite user of the footy, and a really hard worker on the track. You should be excited about seeing both of those guys, they’re very good players.”

South Belgrave have opened their season with an impressive victory against last year’s runners-up Park Orchards. A seven goal victory at home would have been gratifying for Height’s first game as coach of the club was followed up with a massive on the road win over Norwood.

South Belgrave’s women’s side had another deep run into the finals in season 2024, after a near successful 2023 campaign.

That year (as the SBL Wolves) they nearly toppled the formidable Eastern Devils in the Grand Final, losing only by 3 points. Last year they made it to a Preliminary Final, being defeated by a rampant South Croydon outfit by 46 points.

Shane Mason takes over as the senior women’s head coach at South Belgrave with plenty of coaching experience at a junior level in both men’s and women’s teams. Most recently he has coached the SBL Wolves under 16s and 18s, meaning that there is already strong familiarity with part of the playing group.

South Belgrave looks set to continue their good form of recent years within the top level of Eastern women’s footy, with a number of important re-signings. Jemma Mason will continue to ply her trade in the middle of the ground, after an impressive 2024 season as one of South Belgrave’s best during the finals series, earning her a place in the Team of the Year in the midfield.

Olivia Flanagan was the leading goal kicker for the Saints last year, playing all 16 games and booting 34 goals from that. She has re-signed and will be an integral part of South Belgrave’s push for finals this year. Both Maddison and Ruby Southam will also return in season 2025, playing consistent roles for the Saints throughout last year.

The star recruit for South Belgrave this year will be Tayah Kelly, moving on from fellow Premier Division side The Basin. Kelly comes in with VFLW experience, having played with the Box Hill Hawks.

South Belgrave’s women’s side has started their 2025 season off in brilliant fashion, defeating the Eastern Devils by five points in Round One. An early season statement against a club has that is coming off three consecutive Grand Final appearances.