By Ryan Long.
Two Senior Grand Final appearances and one senior premiership sums up what was a memorable ride for the Cougars in season 2023.
Kilsyth Senior Men’s
Ladder Position: 1st (12-1-3, 174.22%)
Best and Fairest winner: Jayden Weichard
Leading Goalkicker: Ryan Goodinson (45 Goals)
Summary:
For the first time since 1952, Kilsyth finished on top of the Division Four ladder, progressing through to the 2023 Grand Final. Although it wasn’t the desired outcome on Grand Final Day, it’s been a highly successful year for the club, setting up the foundations for a future run up the divisions.
Twelve wins and a draw in the season was enough for Kilsyth to finish on top of the ladder and earn the double chance.
Simon Caldwell was rewarded with his work this year as senior coach by being selected as the 2023 Team of the Year Coach for Division Four.
It’s another step forward for the club that qualified for the finals series in 2022 for the first time since 2015.
Key Players:
When speaking about Kilsyth’s most important players in season 2023, it’s hard to go past the Division Four league best and fairest winner, the Stephen Jones Medal Medallist, Jayden Weichard. The young midfielder has crossed over from the Mustangs, bringing experience from a Division One Grand Final side. He finished in the best a total of nine times, hitting the scoreboard as well with 23 goals.
One of the club’s major recruits over the off-season, Weichard proved to be a match-winner on multiple occasions. Weichard worked superbly in the midfield alongside the likes of Ryan McNay, another recruit from Division One. McNay a big-bodied inside midfielder finished as runner-up in the Best and Fairest. His impact can’t be ignored, also one of the side’s best players on Grand Final day.
Other players that stood out across the season included Jarrod O’Neill, who had a fantastic finals series in both games against Surrey Park. Despite the Grand Final not going the way of the Cougars, O’Neill fought hard, finishing with three majors.
Ryan Goodinson finished with a total of 45 goals, the most of any Cougars player this season.
Big man Sean Currey was quite influential across the season, also reaching his 250th career game milestone this year. Others such as Mackinley Ayton and Bailey Rae had big years with the club and played their part in helping Kilsyth reach the Grand Final.
Best Win: Semi Final 2 – Kilsyth 8.12 60 def. Surrey Park 7.6 48
Finishing on top of the ladder, the Cougars faced off against Surrey Park in the first week of the finals, their eventual Grand Final match-up.
They had to do it the hard way, trailing at Half Time by 17 points, with just two goals to their name. In tough conditions, Kilsyth managed to dominate the second half, kicking six goals to two in the second half.
The Cougars managed to turn the game around to finish 12-point winners and set up a Grand Final appearance.
Off-Season Focus:
If there’s something the Cougars need to have a look at, it’s probably their leg speed. The youthful Panthers ran all over them in the Grand Final in warm conditions, potentially exposing a weakness. If they can add some extra run on the outside, they’ll look that extra bit dangerous.
Overall, it’s still a reasonably young list so if they are to go up a division in the next couple of years, they should have the talent to stay up.
The club are in a great position with the new facilities at Pinks Reserve due to be completed before the start of the 2024 season. This side will remain in the premiership window, but they’ll be wary of the sides around them looking to take another step forward.
Kilsyth Senior Women’s
Ladder Position: 1st (10-1, 454.24%)
Best and Fairest winner: Brooke Slaney
Leading Goalkicker: Shae Dale (27 goals)
Summary:
Another senior Grand Final appearance in season 2023 for Kilsyth. The senior women’s team had a fantastic year, making the Division Three Grand Final, defeating the Eastern Devils by 18 points.
The side had big changes over the off-season, having a change in personnel and senior coach with Quentin Van Veen taking the reins. He took over a very committed young group who went through the entire season, dropping only one game, which happened to be by less than a kick. Van Veen was eventually selected as the Coach of the Division Three and Four Team of the Year.
A historic year for the club, the peak moment being their Grand Final triumph.
Key Players:
In a premiership side full of stars, Brooke Slaney stood out, winning the competition best and fairest away with 19 votes from just 8 games. Having played at the higher level, she brought a new level of experience to a young playing group. She had another massive performance in the Grand Final, able to steady the Cougars when the game was on the line.
Up forward, Shae Dale finished the season with 27 goals. This included a bag of eight goals in Round Three and another bag of six, five rounds later against the same team. She finished in the Division Three and Four combined Team of the Year alongside Brooke Slaney.
Emily Van Veen finished the year off as the Runner-Up in the club’s best and fairest, having a very consistent season. Other stars included Darcy Innes and Kayla Villarreal who finished with 16 goals from ten games.
Best Win: Grand Final – Kilsyth 8.2 50 def. Eastern Devils Black 4.8 32
Without a doubt, the greatest win of the season had to be the 2023 Grand Final, held at Quambee Reserve. The best side of the division, Kilsyth faced off against the Eastern Devils in their first final, winning comfortably.
After a three-goal to-zip first quarter, it looked as if Kilsyth may have a similar result. However, a second-quarter challenge made the club work for their victory as the Devils took the lead during the term. An even third quarter saw Kilsyth holding onto a slender one-point lead coming into the final change.
Accuracy in front of goal and making the most of their opportunities saw Kilsyth kick away late with three goals to none.
A very memorable day for the club!
Off-Season Focus:
Re-signing their list will be a major priority of the off-season as they look ahead to potentially a new division next season.
Like the Senior Men’s, the side will be looking forward to playing home games in front of their new facilities in 2024.
Netball Recap
The Cougars had four teams that participated in the 2023 Bendigo Bank Netball season: Kilsyth Cougars, Kilsyth Black, Kilsyth Red and Kilsyth White.
Their top side participated in Division Two, winning three games and having a draw throughout the year. Three wins and a draw had the Cougars finishing ninth on the ladder. Their goals during the season were well spread out between Lara Nathan, Alexandra Hawkins and Alyssa Hawkins.
Both Kilsyth Black and Kilsyth Red competed against each other in Division Four. Qualifying for the finals in fourth position with 12 wins and a draw was Kilsyth Black. They finished off the season in great form, winning three of their last four, the other result being a draw. They took on Oakleigh District in the first Semi-Final, holding a lead at every change to win by five goals. That set up a Preliminary Final with Vermont, where they fell five goals short against the eventual premiers. Courtney Muller was superb for the Cougars, finishing the year with 259 goals. Her highest tally in a game came against Ferntree Gully, where she finished with 34 goals.
Kilsyth Red finished three spots below Black, winning six of their seventeen games. Finishing third in the goal shooting for the division was Sophie Papadopoulos with 268 goals from 14 games.
The final Kilsyth team participated in Division Seven with four wins for the year. Ella-Mae Watkins was the leading goal shooter with 227 goals. She finished fourth overall in the division for goals shot.
Juniors Recap
The Kilsyth JFC fielded 10.5 teams in 2023, with the club’s junior program continuing to grow into 2024.
Kilsyth had a successful season, with 3 teams playing finals in 2023. The highlight of the season was the Under 17.5C team winning the premiership, whilst the Under 16C side were narrow runners up in their respective Grand Final. Jeremy Green from the Under 17.5C Grand Final side, finished the season as Runner Up in the league Best and Fairest.
With shiny new rooms back at Pinks Reserve in 2024 and the senior side on the march, the club is set to enter an exciting new era over the coming years.
