It was always going to be difficult to match last year’s spectacular results of two Grand Final appearances and a premiership for the two senior football sides, but there’s still a lot of positives to take out of the 2024 season for Kilsyth.
Senior Men’s
Ladder Position: 4th (10-6, 133.20%)
Best and Fairest winner: Ryan McNay
Leading Goalkicker: Ryan Goodinson (42 Goals)
Summary:
The heights of the 2023 season were never reached in 2024 for the Cougars. A fourth-place finish on the ladder with some key personnel out at the wrong time meant a quick exit from this year’s finals series for the Cougars.
In such an even season for the top four, for most of the Home and Away season, the Cougars were in the mix for another double chance.
Against Top Four sides, Chirnside Park and Whitehorse, the Cougars pulled off impressive victories.
However, unlike last year, their dominance over Scoresby flipped in a reversal of form and the Magpies had their number on all three occasions.
Undermanned in the Elimination Final, they fought hard and were gallant in their five-goal defeat.
Key Players:
When talking about key players, there’s no better place to start than Ryan McNay. One of the great league stories of the 2024 EFNL season was Ryan McNay’s league best and fairest win that followed the footsteps of his father Gavin. Gavin McNay won league best and fairest in 1989, 1991 and 1994, Ryan now joins him 20 years later in a special moment in the club’s history.
33 votes polled in the Stephen Jones Medal, a runaway winner with an incredible final tally. McNay also went on to win the Kilsyth best and fairest and is recommitted to go again in 2025.
Luke Ivanovic burst on the scene in 2024, playing 16 senior games, while also playing three in the Under 19’s and nine games in the Under 17’s. The young star is already making a pretty big impact at the senior level and is only going to get better from here. Ivanovic kicked 29 goals in the seniors this season.
Yet another great season from Ryan Goodinson, the leading goalkicker for Kilsyth with 42 majors. Over the last four seasons, Goodinson has kicked an impressive 172 goals.
Big man Sean Currey was also one of the two Cougars alongside skipper Ryan McNay to make the 2024 Division Four Team of the Year.
Best Win: Round One – Kilsyth 8.10 58 def. Chirnside Park 8.9 57 @Pinks Reserve
Not as dominant as their pumping of Whitehorse at home but still one of the more impressive wins of the season and showed the ability to hold their nerve in a tight contest.
The opening round of the season saw two highly fancied premiership contenders lock horns at Pinks Reserve. The game was a tight low-scoring battle for the entire afternoon, the biggest margin at any break was just nine points.
Off-Season Focus:
They aren’t far off challenging for another Grand Final, as we saw in the first half of the season, the flag race was wide open.
Taking over the reins next season is Damian Murray, appointed as the senior playing coach. We’ve seen playing coaches succeed in these lower divisions quite frequently across the years. Most recently James Kenworthy from Surrey Park and Trent Martin of Silvan.
Murray’s had recent experience as an assistant coach with Bayswater and East Burwood and looks to be an excellent appointment for the club.
The club have also announced the signing of Bears swingman Liam Walter, which should give the side more versatility at both ends of the ground.
Skipper Ryan McNay carried much of the workload this season through the middle of the ground. If they can recruit some help in that area or continue the development of those younger players coming into senior level, it’ll certainly go a long way for their chances next season.
The Under 19s were dominant in their Division Four grade, taking home the premiership after an undefeated season. This bodes well for the club’s future.
A lot didn’t go right with injury, key recruit Justin Van Unen was one of those key names who battled through injury across the season. He however did celebrate a phenomenal achievement of kicking his 1000th career goal.
A fresh start in 2025, looking forward to seeing what Kilsyth will produce.
Senior Women’s
Ladder Position: 6th (4-10, 38.78%)
Best and Fairest winner: Hayley Heffernan
Leading Goalkicker: Shae Dale
Summary:
After the 2023 Division Three premiership, Kilsyth challenged themselves in a new division after a well-earned promotion.
Heading into a new division was only made tougher by quite a few changes to the list. This included the league’s best and fairest winner Btooke Slaney who rejoined North Melbourne after being on their injury list.
The Cougars had the best possible start to their new division with a thumping 67-point win over the Redbacks in Round One.
As a less experienced side, they faced some tough challenges across the course of the season. This included games with no bench or less than 16 players on the field. The group showed great determination throughout the year and managed to finish the year in sixth with four wins for the season.
Key Players:
Shae Dale impressed all year as the side’s leading goalkicker with 18, also featuring in the Team of the Year.
Taking out the club’s best and fairest was Hayley Heffernan. A fantastic and consistent season, in the best a total of 12 times from 14 games, all coming from the last 12 games of the season.
The Runner Up in the club’s best and fairest was Emily Van Veen, yet another one of Kilsyth’s most consistent players, 12 times in the best from 13 games.
Best Win: Round Seven – Kilsyth 9.8 62 def. Blackburn 8.9 57 @Pinks Reserve
In a special milestone game for Shae Dale, the Cougars pulled off an impressive five-point win over Blackburn halfway through season 2024.
In a very attacking game at Pinks Reserve, Kilsyth went into the final break with a very handy 19-point lead. A combined six-goal last quarter saw the Cougars challenged, holding off Blackburn in a close five-point victory.
Dale starred as the best player on the ground while Hayley Jackson found the big sticks frequently with four goals on the day.
Off-Season Focus:
Will look to consolidate the list going into 2025. Keeping the numbers strong will be the most vital thing over the off-season.
Netball
Kilsyth Black (Division Three): 5th (7-5)Kilsyth Red (Division Five): 9th (0-13)Kilsyth White (Division Ten): 7th (2-10)
The Cougars’ top side in the Netball competition just missed out on a spot in the finals series after losing the last two games of the Home and Away season.
Kilsyth Black won seven games for the season, having a very competitive season. Maddison Warrin finished off the season as the team’s best and fairest, just ahead of runner-up Shannon Lennie. Courtney Muller who finished off the season with the coaches’ award alongside Summer Lee, was fantastic in front of goals with 166 for the season.
The Division Five side unfortunately was unable to win a game this season despite some close games. Kilsyth Red still managed to score 30 or more in three of their matches this season. The winner of the Best and Fairest for Division Five was Lucy Badrock.
In Division Ten, Kilsyth White won the two games for the season with Courtney Innes taking out the best and fairest after a great season.