Powelltown Season in Review 2022

Senior Football

The drought is broken! After 33 years, Powelltown have snapped their flagless run of 33 years to take out the Division 2 men’s Premiership.

The Demon’s defeated Kinglake 12.19 to 12.9 in a game that they controlled but never really put Kinglake to bed in until the final siren. Powelltown led by as much as four goals, but Kinglake didn’t give up, making it a close finish, with the Demons getting over the line by just 10 points.

It was always going to be an enthralling match, with both Powelltown and Kinglake the two standout sides for the season, with Kinglake and Powelltown finishing the H&A season first and second respectively: on 12 wins each and three wins clear of third placed Yarra Junction.

Including the Semi Final, the two had played each other four times and had won two apiece prior to Grand Final day.

Both teams were neck & neck in most key stats this season, with the only real standout differences being that Powelltown averaged 14.4 contested marks per game, with Kinglake only averaging 9.4, Powelltown averaging 7.4 more clearances per game and notably 17 more hit outs per game, thanks to gun ruck Ben Wratten.

As well as winning the ultimate prize, Powelltown weren’t short of season highlights with multiple players booting bags and throughout the season.

Joel Perry amassed a whopping 74 goals from 16 games, Michael Fowkes 34 from 15, Garry Sheppard 23 from 13 and Jarrod Bayliss 21 from 14.

Other standout players for the year were star ruck/forward Ben Wratten, Josh Johnson, James Ashby, Russell Cowan and Sam Meadows.

Wratten (ruck), Johnson (back pocket), Ashby (half-back flank), Cowan (centre) and Perry (CHF) all were acknowledged in Team of the Year for their outstanding season, as well as Wratten and Perry taking out the Division 2 Seniors B&F medals for 2022, with special mention to Wratten for doing so for the third year in a row.

The season started off in tight fashion, edging out Yarra Junction by 7 (103-96), before backing that up with a one goal win over Warburton Millgrove (131-125) in a high scoring affair.

Their win over Kinglake in Round 9 was emphatic, 26.22 to 20.4, winning by 54, which easily could have been a whole lot more. Mitch McLaughlin nailed 6 goals, Joel Perry slotted 5 and Michael Fowkes added 4 of his own.

The largest win came in Round 10 against Broadford Yea, 228- 23 where Perry starred with 8 goals whilst Jarrod Bayliss and Chris Moreland booted 6 each.

Powelltown had a fantastic year and something that should hold them in good stead heading into the future is that they have plenty of contributors across the board, highlighted by five players in Team of the Year and a handful of noted goal kickers.

The reserves finished 5^th at 5-10.

 

Netball

The A Grade team had a very strong year, finishing 2^nd off the back of 11 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses. They unfortunately went down to Broadford 34-41 in the Preliminary Final, a team that they had beaten twice and lost to once during the season.

Powelltown were so consistent that they never lost two games in a row, showing how strong a side they really are. Three of their five losses were against Warburton Millgrove who are an outstandingly impressive team. Their other two losses came against the Alexandra and Broadford who finished the H&A season third and fourth respectively.

Powelltown also beat both sides twice and recorded seven wins and a draw against the bottom three sides in Yarra Junction, Yea and Kinglake.

The one knock on their H&A season could be how much they lost to Warburton Millgrove by; 15, 21 and 13. They will need to put brakes on opposition scoring if they are to push Warburton Millgrove next year, however.

Losing to Broadford in the Preliminary Final isn’t something to be ashamed of either, as their encounters during the H&A season were all decided by less than five goals.

Powelltown ranked fourth for defence and fourth for goals, not a poor marker, but something they will look to improve on. It does, however, show that they were good at winning some of the tighter games.

Amy Stanley shot a massive 615 goals, with Brooke Erickson shooting 151. Stanley was so prolific that she was 174 goals ahead of the next highest scorer.

Stanley was the clear standout, with a handful of other players heavily influential this season. Olivia Caneva was amongst the best 2/3 of the time she played, just as Stanley was. Caneva combined well defensively with Maddalyn Beet who also enjoyed a great season. Hayley Debuf and Demi Barber also enjoyed strong years.

Olivia Caneva (GK), Demi Barber (WD) and Amy Stanley (GS) all deservedly made Team of the Year, with special mention to Caneva who took out the Division 2 A Grade B&F medal for 2022!

There is plenty of talent in the Powelltown team and they’ll look to be amongst it again next season.

Powelltown’s B Grade won the Premiership after defeating Broadford 39-31

Sam Murty and Nicole Hajder combined beautifully scoring 19 and 17 respectively. Kylie Hetherington and Chelsea Neale had great games, whilst Jessica Coffey was the standout and best-on-court.

In C Grade, Powelltown made the Grand Final going down by two (25-27) to Warburton Millgrove.

The D Grade side also went down to Warburton Millgrove in the Grand Final (14-27).

It was a fantastic year Powelltown as a whole, with the Senior football Premiership, B Grade Premiership, two runners ups and one Preliminary Final finish.

 

Written by Jordan Peeler