Wallan’s football side will come into the 2024 season with a largely unchanged lineup hoping to hit the ground running off the back of last year’s campaign.
The Magpies finished the 2023 season in second on the RDFNL ladder but fell short in the preliminary final for the second year in a row, going down in a tough match against Woodend-Hesket who eventually lost to premiers Diggers Rest.
Assistant coach Spencer Mathieson said the Pies would be looking to ‘take it one step at a time’ ahead of more ambitious late-season goals.
“We’ve just got to worry about who we play each week and try get results, and then hopefully getting to the finals and win a couple of matches there. That’d be everyone’s goal, but we’ve just got to take small steps at the moment,” he said.
A key addition to Wallan’s ranks for 2024 is Chris Stewart, a decorated ruck forward who is also stepping in as assistant coach and has brought an enhanced work ethic and training environment to the preseason program.
Former Wallan players Shaun Stewart and Lachlan Inness are also returning to the club this year alongside young guns Reuben Rode and Ned Davis.
The rest of the Pies’ lineup has remained largely unchanged, a factor that Mathieson said was an encouraging sign for the club.
“It’s always good to retain your people and to have a good enough culture that they enjoy and want to stay, so that’s a positive,” he said.
“We’ve just wanted to make it a place where people want to come to, that’s been our philosophy and it’s good to keep everyone around.”
Wallan’s season begins on April 6 as it hosts Romsey at Greenhill Reserve, with the reserves’ first bounce at 12.15pm and the seniors underway at 2.15.
Meanwhile, Wallan’s women are coming into 2024 on a high after winning the NFNL Division Three premiership.
The result meant the team has been promoted to division two, bringing a fresh challenge with longer quarters and a new pool of opponents.
Premiership captain Kelly Lennox said in an interview with the NFNL earlier this year that the team was in a strong position.
“We’ve had a lot of interest, a lot of new girls have come down to the club and are doing some pre-season training,” she said.
“The connection of all the girls in the team has grown too, we’re all pretty much friends outside of the club, the bond there is really good and really strong, and I think everyone is just enjoying it.”
The women’s season gets underway on April 14 at Lower Plenty.
Netball
Wallan’s A Grade netballers are ready to go off the back of a solid preseason with multiple fresh faces on board for 2024.
The club’s netball department is in a strong position, with new coaches Kirrily Gilchrist and Sharon Bell signed on for B Grade and under 19s respectively alongside the addition of a D Grade side that will contest the RDFNL’s newest division.
A Grade coach Lucas Bennett-Hullin said the Pies were looking good across the board.
“We’ve had a really good recruiting year across all age groups, so I think we’re looking really quite strong in all grades,” he said.
“We’ve made finals the past two years and unfortunately we’ve made first round exits two years in a row, so this year we’re hoping to go quite a bit deeper in the finals.”
While 2023 RDFNL Ryan Medalist and club stalwart Gemma Grimmond has departed, Wallan has retained captain Genevieve Carboon, sharpshooters Maeve Donegan and Rebekah Konstantopoulos, and defenders Georgia Stevenson and Amanda Rothwell-Hiscock in a largely unchanged lineup.
The Pies have, however, welcomed young gun Alyssa Pearse and Victorian Netball League star Madison Wallmeyer.
Bennett-Hullin said he was looking forward to the 2024 season with the round one home match against Romsey.
“We usually get Romsey first round and in the past couple of years it has been [at Romsey Park], so to host in the first round is a little bit different for us,” he said.
“We’re at that point where we’re almost there, we’ve done a bit of the hard yards and now we’re just excited to get on court and show what we can do.”
