Seville Season Preview

Men’s Football

One would think Seville would have fire in the belly after having a brilliant season in 2022, resulting in a Grand Final loss to Gembrook Cockatoo.

They had an outstanding undefeated run until Round 11 where the Brookers won by a solitary point.

They only lost three games last year, with the other two at the hands of finalists Berwick Springs and 5th- placed Healesville.

Seville got the better of Gembrook in the Semi Final; victorious by 21 after trailing at 3QT.

Unfortunately for the Blues, they were unable to match it with Gembrook Cockatoo all game in the Grand Final.

Gembrook Cockatoo are now in Premier Division, which should make life a bit easier for Seville, although they will still want to be at their best in 2023.

There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be playing in the Grand Final again, boasting a playing list which is spoilt for talent. Headlined by a handful of Team of the Year representatives: Jake Strachan, Jye Sciortino, Deng Nai, Josh Weightman and Jack Nolan.

Not to mention their deadly forward line consisting of gun Nathan O’Keefe , who they will be more than pleased to have back, following injury, Domenic Aloi who slotted 38 goals and Rob Petracca who booted 34 from just 17 games.

Seville will be a deadly side again in 2023 if they bring a similar level of intensity and effort as they did in 2022, which saw them first in Division 1 for marks inside 50, clearances, hitouts (& to advantage) and tied for inside 50s.

Winning these key areas is what saw them score a massive 15.5 goals per game last year; potentially more with a clean bill of health.

Having Gareth and Jesse Fraser back is very handy as Seville look to win the Premiership in 2023.

 

Women’s Football

Positivity surrounds Seville’s 2023 season as they look to improve further, due to their strong team culture and improvement in their youngsters.

The Blues made the Conference 2 Preliminary Final last year after defeating Thornton Eildon in the Semi.

The second half of the season saw noticeable improvement amongst the playing group, especially with some of their more inexperienced players improving rapidly.

They were also unlucky to play against the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th ranked teams to start the season, plus Monbulk who were the Conference 2 Premiers.

With the competition split back into two separate Divisions, Seville certainly look to up to the task of taking that next step and making the Grand Final.

Madi Ward kicked seven goals last year, including four against Thornton Eildon in Round 6, with Lilian Pagels finishing with six.

Kylie Ockwell was the standout though, earning her a spot in Team of the Year on a back pocket, even more impressive given she was a first year player.

Orla Murray and Jess Beraud were amongst the best in the majority of their games, as were Ward and Pagels.

With a continued development of skills and cohesion, Seville are a team to look out for in 2023.

 

Netball

Will Seville go back-to-back?

All year Seville was one of the best two teams, alongside Berwick. So much so that Seville’s one loss was to Berwick.

Berwick beat them in the first final but Seville had the last laugh, winning the Premiership in one of the tightest games of Netball.

Seville got the chocolates but were made to earn it, winning by just one goal, courtesy of Ella Morse breaking a bit of a deadlock at the end of the match, with a clutch goal with only a second or two to spare.

The Blues are an impressive outfit, with a plethora of stars across the court which include Ella Bayliss, Cleo Minney, Ella Morse and Luiza Sulemani.

Hayley Ray and Emily Wicks also had strong seasons in what was a brilliant year for the club.

Seville scored 52 goals per game last year, conceding just 34. If they can produce a similar output this year, there is no reason they can’t go back-to back.

 

Written by Jordan Peeler