Yea FNC – 2022 Season Preview

Yea Football Netball Club have endured a tough off-season with a loss of players seeing the Tigers experience low participation numbers but will use season 2022 to extract the most of what they can and use it as a springboard to rebuild for the future.

The Tigers have one senior football side, under the guidance of playing coach Will Schwab, with a group of players who are passionate about getting through the year and reset for a rebuild in the coming years.

Despite the challenges of the off-season, club president Duncan Newcomen is proud of his Tigers for their efforts so far and is appreciative to those who are sticking by the club this year.

“As an established club of over 120 years of history, we have had our ups and downs, but we are looking forward to the year,” he said.

“Our players know we will struggle this year, but they are very determined to stick with us and get through the year.”

The netball department, on the other hand, are looking good with a predominantly younger base of players filling sides across A, B, C Grade and 17 & Under.

Rhiannon Aldous returns to the club in a full-time capacity taking on the role of Netball Coordinator and coaching all four sides and has done a great job in developing the young group of Tigers netballers.

The group managed to come away with one win out of its four sides from the weekends matches against Broadford, with the 17’s group defeating the Kangaroos 22 to 16.

“We have competitive teams across our netball department, so we are looking at the long-term opportunity of allowing these girls to perform at their best,” Newcomen explained.

“We are really pleased to field a 17 & under side this season which will help with the development phase of these and we feel we are really turning the corner with our netball.”

In exciting news for the junior club, the Tigers will field an under 15s football side in the ranges division of the OEFN junior competition, with the long-term goal being to build a development squad for the seniors as it will assist with rebuilding in the long-term.

As the Tigers look ahead to the remainder of the year, where there will be an emphasis on getting through the year and having fun, this proud club with a history spanning more than 120 years will be sure to give it all they’ve got to make the town proud.

“It’s about pulling people together to give them some confidence and enjoy themselves on a weekend,” Newcomen explained.

“Our precinct has undergone a lot of work over the off-season with the electronic scoreboard, resurfaced netball courts and new lights which we’re all really excited about as it’s modernised the club more.

“We appreciate the support from everyone in the town, the league and look forward to getting through the year as a tight unit.”