FOOTBALL
A fresh season and a fresh playing roster brings fresh optimism at Canterbury Park.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After a 2021 season to forget, Eaglehawk has high hopes that it can push back into the BFNL top three in 2022.
The Hawks were sixth on the ladder at the completion of the BFNL's shortened 2021 season - a far cry from the club's three-straight grand final appearances between 2017-2019.
Classy midfielder Dylan Wiliams returns to Canterbury Park, while former Sydney Swans rookie Brady Rowles, ex-Bendigo Pioneer Liam Marciano, highly-rated Echuca defender Fraser Verhey and talented defender Zane Carter are a more than handy list of additions.
Jarrod Findlay, Brenton Conforti, Koby Hommelhoff, Gedd Hommelhoff, Riley McIvor and Jack Dye have departed the club, while the playing future of Brodie Filo and Sam Harper also remains up in the air.
Borough coach Travis Matheson said the arrivals fill a need the club identified as a weakness last year - outside run.
"Our outside midfield depth is where we looked to bolster because we know we 've got the guys on the inside like Billy Evans, Noah Wheeler, Joel Mullen and Benny Thompson,'' Matheson said.
"Hopefully the guys we've added can help compliment them, not only for when we do win the footy, but also when we don't have the footy."
Although 2021 was a frustrating year for the Hawks, Matheson said the experience of playing a dozen games together had the Hawks better-placed in 2022.
"The boys know each other's game better now and they know the other boys in the team better,'' he said.
"Probably our biggest focus in the pre-season was connecting as a team - not only the guys that were new last year, but the new players that have come on board this year."
Eaglehawk played a practice match against Kerang last Saturday and, despite having several senior players missing, Matheson liked what he saw from his side.
"Both sides had players out, but it was a decent standard game,'' he said.
"It was good to get a good run into the young players.
"Jack Thompson, Ben Thompson and Jacob O'Brien are young kids that realistically could have played 50 senior games by now but we haven't played footy the past two years.
"They haven't missed a beat and it would be great to see them get some consistency in their footy."
Workhorses Darcy Richards and Shaun Knott will hold down the key forward posts for the Borough.
"We're light on for bigger boys in the forward line this year, but I think it will function really well,'' Matheson said.
"Our midfielders and mid-sized forwards are all capable of hitting the scoreboard."
The Hawks will get a good gauge where they stand when they play Strathfieldsaye in round one and South Bendigo in round two - two teams that finished higher than the Borough on the ladder in 2021.
"If we're willing to work hard and gel as a team then we can, hopefully, improve on what we did last year,'' Matheson said
"You have to aim for the top three. If you aim for top three and you then come up a little bit short and finish fourth or fifth...well at least you're still in the race.
"I'm not sure who the last team was to come from fourth or fifth to win the flag (Golden Square in 2001), so you have to aim for the top three."
Read more: BDCA grand final preview
NETBALL
Coaches: Elley Lawton and Eleisha Saunders.
Placing when season ended last year: Fifth.
Arrivals: Mia McCrann-Peters, Charlotte Edlin, Jessie Cliff.
Departures: Ashley Gilmore, Abby Gilmore, Bree Heiden, Renee Sheridan, Maddy Atherton.
Season opener: at Strathfieldsaye (April 9).
Last A-grade premiership: 2012.
Summary: It will be very much a new-look Eaglehawk which takes to the court for the club's season opener against on April 9, starting from the top.
The Hawks are entering the season with a pair of new and enthusiastic young coaches, with star A-grade defender Elley Lawton and former A-grade player Eleisha Saunders taking over the reins.
With plenty of experience gone from the A-grade line-up, their focus will be on developing the Hawks' wealth of young talent.
Eaglehawk has contested every finals series since 2017 and would have qualified again last year had they gone ahead.
Four wins from 10 games was enough for the Hawks to end the abbreviated home and away season in fifth spot, two wins below fourth-placed South Bendigo and one win ahead of sixth-placed Strathfieldsaye.
If the Hawks are to continue their finals streak, they will need to do it without several of last season's team and an entirely new shooting combination.
After a season together in the goal circle, sisters Ashley and Abby Gilmore are both gone from Canterbury Park, while centre Bree Heiden, a BFNL Rising Star award winner in 2018 when playing for Golden Square, and last season's co-captain Renee Sheridan (Northern Territory) have also departed, along with promising youngster Maddy Atherton.
"Kate Clow had an excellent season last year in A-reserve and has really cemented her spot in the A-squad."
Those player losses have paved the way for Lawton and Saunders to create opportunities for others within the club, with a few players already seizing their chance.
"Jasmine Gallagher is stepping up from 17s. She is a strong and versatile player with some previous A-grade experience," Saunders said.
"Kate Clow had an excellent season last year in A-reserve and has really cemented her spot in the A-squad."
An exciting addition to the squad is young goal shooter Mia McCrann-Peters, who is playing VNL this season with Melbourne University Lightning's under-19 team.
The Hawks have also welcomed Charli Edlin, a talented athlete, who has excelled in several sports including football and soccer, and won LVFNL club Inglewood's best and fairest in 2021.
She will be a welcome addition to the midcourt, while former South Bendigo junior Jessie Cliff, who has not played for a couple of seasons, has made a return to the court and has been included in the A-squad.
The Hawks have retained livewire midcourter/goal attack Gracie Berryman, slick young midcourter Arriah Keogh and defender Morgan Keating, giving them a solid base to launch a push for finals.
Keating was third in last year's A-grade best and fairest award won by new coach Lawton, who will again anchor the defence.
The Hawks will open the season with matches against the two teams closest to them on the ladder last year, with Strathfieldsaye first-up followed by a Good Friday clash against South Bendigo at Canterbury Park.
Their new coaches are embracing a season of change.
"This season is going to be very competitive and challenging for all clubs, given the recruitment and movement that has occurred in the off-season," Saunders said.
"The league is definitely going to be very strong this season.
"The girls have the potential to push for a finals position and this certainly is our aim."
SEASON FIXTURE
ROUND 1 - April 9
Strathfieldsaye (a)
ROUND 2 - April 15
South Bendigo (h)
ROUND 3 - April 23
Kangaroo Flat (a)
ROUND 4 - April 30
Golden Square (h)
ROUND 5 - May 7
Maryborough (a)
ROUND 6 - May 21
Sandhurst (a)
ROUND 7 - May 28
Kyneton (h)
ROUND 8 - June 4
Castlemaine (a)
ROUND 9 - June 11
Gisborne (h)
ROUND 10 - June 18
Strathfieldsaye (h)
ROUND 11 - June 25
South Bendigo (a)
ROUND 12 - July 9
Kangaroo Flat (h)
ROUND 13 - July 16
Golden Square (a)
ROUND 14 - July 23
Maryborough (h)
ROUND 15 - July 30
Sandhurst (h)
ROUND 16 - August 6
Kyneton (a)
ROUND 17 - August 13
Castlemaine (h)
ROUND 18 - August 20
Gisborne (a)
2022 SEASON PREVIEWS:
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Download our app on iOS and Android
- Bookmark bendigoadvertiser.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter @BgoAddy
- Follow us on Instagram @bendigoadvertiser
- Join us on Facebook
- Follow us on Google News