Yea FNC – 2021 Season in Review

Yea Football Netball Club were another club to show signs of contrasting results between its football and netball departments.

The footballers grabbed just one win in each of its seniors and reserves sides but were supported with strong numbers throughout the squad.

Speaking on the performance of the Tigers, club president Duncan Newcomen said Yea had a young side this year, particularly its footballers, but they all tried hard.

“We had an up and down year,” he said.

“Our last game was our best when we drew with Alexandra, they were second on the ladder and it gave our younger players the chance to realise that we can win and get better.

“We were competitive with a young side which was a credit to them, and I am very proud of the effort of our footballers.”

The netball squads put in a great performance, led by its A grade team who won all 10 of its games to finish in second on the ladder.

The experience and playing knowledge of the A grade team was invaluable this season as they assisted the C and D grade players coming through this year, some of whom are only 13 and 14 years old.

The brilliant undefeated run from A grade was capped off with the stunning individual performance of captain Nikki Watts, who won the league best & fairest award and was the leading goal shooter with 259 goals.

Newcomen boasted in his admiration for Watts, who has known her from a young age and is proud of her achievements this year.

“It’s an absolute credit to herself, she puts in a lot of hard work at training,” Newcomen explained.

“She’s not that tall for a netballer but she’s very talented as well as being a lovely young lady and a great ambassador, not only for our club but the game.”

The highlight of the season at Yea was the way in which all teams banded together, considering the nature of disruption in which 2021 was, which meant apart from Watts, no one player was a standout from all sides, which indicates the performance from everyone this year was the result of a team effort.

With COVID-19 still lingering around and the football netball season having to negotiate its way through stoppages, the extra strain put on volunteers this year was difficult, even for a club like Yea who are based in regional Victoria.

But despite this, the support staff at Yea rose to the challenge and Newcomen is pleased with the efforts of everyone involved at the Tigers.

“I am extremely proud,” he said.

“We have a great committee and an outstanding executive committee, and everyone gave 110% of their effort as they rode along with the ups and downs, just as other clubs did.

“We are a country family club, everybody gets on well and we are also here to have a good time.”

As pre-season training mode and the 2022 season comes around, the club will be looking to implement some new measures to win more games across all football sides.

This starts with the signing of a new senior coach and bringing a handful of new recruits to the club to make the Tigers more competitive.

Part of this process will also involve the addition of an U17’s side, the aim of which is to promote players from its junior club into senior football and bring new young players from around the area, which will feed into the seniors and reserves team.

Additionally, the club will have some upgrades to its facility which will make it more training and spectator friendly with new solar powered light towers around the oval, electronic scoreboard, and resurfacing of the netball courts.

This comes after the recent installation of large solar panels placed on the club rooms and netball rooms which will assist with operational costs.

Newcomen thanked everyone within the club for their support throughout the year, as well as AFL Outer East for their efforts to facilitate a competition in difficult circumstances.

“Without our sponsors, we wouldn’t survive and we are very lucky here in Yea where we have some excellent sponsors,” he appreciated.

“Without the support of our members, committee and players around the club, nothing would be possible.

“I would also like to thank AFL Outer East as they run a damn good league and have been very supportive to us, which is a credit to them.”

FOOTBALL	LADDER POSITION	WINS	LOSSES	DRAW
ATC Traffic Division Two	7th	1	8	1
PFG Australia Reserves Division Two	8th	1	9	–
NETBALL	LADDER POSITION	WINS	LOSSES	DRAW
Kärcher Division Two A Grade	2nd	10	0	–
Kärcher Division Two B Grade	5th	4	5	1
Kärcher Division Two C Grade	6th	3	7	–
Kärcher Division Two D Grade	7th	3	7	–