InFocus 2022 – Balwyn

By Matt Fotia

It’s expected to be one of the most even top-flight seasons in the Eastern Football Netball League for some time, and one of the league’s marquee clubs is ready to make the most of their opportunities.

Balwyn were quite the enigma in 2021.

For periods in the first month or so of the season the Tigers looked to holding on the backend of a forgone era, dropping games at home to South Croydon and league newcomers Berwick in pretty uninspiring fashion.

But by seasons end they were the form side of the competition, not hanging onto to past glories, but rather getting ready to build new ones.

With one of the most potent forward lines in suburban football benefiting from a free-flowing style of football, the high scoring Tigers surged into third spot on the ladder – and premiership favouritism – before the untimely end to the 2021 season.

No strangers to the transfer table, the Tigers pounced on their chance to build upon the backend of 2021 and went about landing some impressive recruits including former star Cameron Manuel, who has returned from Moe, plus a handful of players who have made the move down from Yarrawonga, headlined by versatile key position player Matthew Casey, who will slot in down back next to Kris Pendlebury.

That being said Tigers coach Rodney Eade isn’t getting ahead of himself.

“We’re going okay,” said the former Sydney, Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast mentor.

“We’ve recruited okay, a lot of them are listed at VFL clubs, so hopefully for our sake we get to see a bit of them, and we haven’t lost too many players either, so a pretty good off-season for us.”

Eade is more excited about the batch of Under 19’s that will be putting pressure on some of the club’s more experienced players as they leave underage football behind, something that hasn’t happened at Cherry Road for a long while.

“All of the Under 19’s from last year are training with us, and pretty much all of them will progress onto our senior list,

‘Five or six of them are right in the mix to play seniors this year, following on from Jamie Ridd and Josh Sticca who debuted last year,

“There’s some real talent amongst them, and that’s going to really help the future, rather than relying on recruiting from elsewhere.”

With a crop of youth set to rise through the ranks and some more than handy recruits, things are set for Balwyn to have another proper tilt at the premiership in 2022.

If they do achieve the ultimate success, it won’t be due to an easy run.

The Tigers have arguably the toughest draw in the competition, taking on the likes of fellow contenders Blackburn, Vermont, Norwood, Noble Park, the highly regarded Doncaster East, and Berwick twice.

But Eade is adamant that won’t have any effect on the outcome of the 2022 campaign, with the evenness of the division making it hard for anyone to avoid a tough run to September action, naming 2017 premier South Croydon the team to beat in 2022.

“We’ve got a solid draw, just like we did last year, and we beat most of the top sides, and if you’re good enough you’ll win games, so that doesn’t really faze us too much, you’ve just got to win the games whoever you play.

“I think it’ll be really even division; I know Vermont have lost a few but they’ve got a great history and you know they’ll be thereabouts once again, but South Croydon are the team to beat I would’ve thought,

“But other than that, it’ll be really even.”