Lilydale’s win after siren
In May, Lilydale Football Club walked away from what was arguably the match of the day across the whole EFL when the Seniors game went down to the wire, with Lilydale prevailing 7.7, 49 over Montrose 6.11, 47.
25 minutes into the last quarter, Montrose kicked a goal at the clubroom end to go 4 points in front and leave Dales supporters with a familiar sinking feeling, having seen the team fall the wrong side of a couple of nail biters already in the season.
With time not on their side, a kick into the Lilydale forward line was marked strongly by Jordan ‘Jaws’ Jaworski deep in the pocket and sending the Lilydale supporters along the boundary fence into uproar.
The ground descended into silence as Jaws went back and began his run-up, only for the final siren to sound as he ran in towards the goal. Undeterred, Jaws’ shot arced towards the goal and went straight through the big sticks.
Pandemonium ensued, with coaches, officials, reserves and U19.5’s joining the senior players in piling onto the match-winner who sunk the allegedly ‘best finishing side in the competition.’
Mooroolbark’s 10 straight wins
Mooroolbark Football Clubs’ senior side had a dream run in the first half of the 2022 season, winning 10 from 10 and sitting on top of the ladder.
Coach Bret Lavers said the stellar start even came as a bit of a surprise to him knowing the competition standard of the other sides in division 1.
“[Winning 10 games] definitely wasn’t on the radar. As a coaching group, you’re always striving to win more than you lose and we had plans to improve on the previous year, that’s what we set out to achieve,” he said.
The winning streak created an exciting energy around the club and Lavers said it was a good driving force for the playing group to play their best footy.
Success in the AFLW draft
Two former Montrose junior girls players were selected in the AFLW draft, with a fellow Eastern Ranges player also picking up a spot in the top competition in July.
Mia Austin came in at pick number nine for Victoria and number 18 nationally, being selected by Carlton Football Club.
“I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to play at a club like Carlton,” she said.
Eastern Ranges captain Mia Busch was also selected at pick number 35 by the Essendon Football Club for its inaugural season.
The two-time club best and fairest was selected for her competitive midfield and defending work and high work rate to win contests and get the ball moving forward.
Also from Montrose and the Eastern Ranges, Charli Granville was picked by North Melbourne Football Club at number 50.
“[She’s got] a good goals sense, she kicks a lot of goals, which we love and we probably needed to add a bit of potency around goals so Charli will add that,” North Melbourne Football Performance and Talent Manager Rhys Harwood said.
Young athlete wows at World Champs for laser run
A young Yarra Ranges Athletics athlete took the world by storm in an international competition for the laser run which saw him head to Portugal to compete in September.
Mitch Pointon, the 13-year-old from Mooroolbark, was selected to represent Australia in the under 15s age group after wowing scouts at the national competition in April.
Having only taken up the sport in October last year, Mitch quickly developed the skills needed for the laser run, which includes three 600 metre runs with a shooting element in between.
Flying to Lisbon for the World Championships, Mitch finished tenth to qualify for the final.
“It was pretty fun and I really enjoyed it. I ended up finishing 12th in the final,” he said
As someone who found his running talent just four years ago, Mitch said the laser run “adds a little bit of pizzazz, it’s different and enjoyable.”
Chirnside Park’s Muay Thai world champ
Having started Muay Thai only three years ago, Chirnside Park’s Erin Carter never envisioned she would be crowned a gold medalist at the World Championships in early November.
But returning from Turkey only recently, the 24-year-old can proudly say she has achieved that success.
“It was a big achievement. Something definitely at the start of the year, I never would have envisioned for myself. Everything has gone very quickly this year with my progression through the sport,” she said.
“It was an amazing opportunity just to be invited and then to go over there and actually win for Australia and bring home the gold was really great.”
