How your BFNL team fared in 2024
A perennial Bellarine challenger slipped in 2024 while a traditional cellar dweller showed green shoots of recovery. See how the bottom five BFNL teams were marked.
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It’s week one of BFNL finals from this Saturday and Drysdale, Anglesea, Modewarre and Geelong Amateur are preparing for action at Portarlington.
The Roos will be out to break a 25-year premiership drought, the Ammos its first finals win in six years while the Hawks are after redemption following last season’s final term fadeout in the decider.
With the 17-1 reigning premier taking the week off, five other teams will enjoy their first free Saturday in some time after finishing in the league’s bottom bracket and missing the finals.
So who improved, who went backwards and who stagnated in 2024, from the BFNL’s lower tier?
We take a closer look at their seasons.
Barwon Heads
Rating: C
An ordinary year for the Seagulls who never really got going against the Bellarine’s top tier, slipping from a preliminary final spot in 2023 to out of the five this year.
Needing to beat Torquay in Round 18, star Mitch Herbison stepped up with three of his club’s first four goals before a freak finger injury before half time drastically changed the course of the match.
It was perhaps reflective of their season.
Starting the season 0-2, the Heads got some early season momentum with five wins from six games against the bottom five teams – and a draw against the Ammos after a late surge – but struggled to take a scalp in 2024.
The Heads were hampered by injury and unavailability, after Ned Aulsebrook (East Geelong) and Mitch Phelps (Newlyn) departed during the off-season and Oliver Wiltshire was drafted by Geelong.
Runner up in the Les Ash in 2022, Sammy Baker missed several months while Brock Close managed just 12 games after battling with injury.
On a brighter, note, key players and co-captains Kyle Polley and Lachlan Wilson have recommitted for next year as the club looks for a replacement for co-coach Mitch Herbison in 2025.
Herbison, who had a brilliant year before sustaining that finger injury, was the club’s leading goalkicker and has indicated he will play next year.
The 36-year-old was also ranked second for involvements and third for goal assists in 2024.
It will sting that the Seagulls were the third most potent team in the forward arc, although it led this statistic last year.
Reigning Les Ash medallist Luke Davis was again huge for the Seagulls, tracking strongly across the league for throw in clearances (first), centre clearances, hit outs, hit outs to advantage and clearances (all second), ranking points (fourth) and contested possessions and inside 50s (sixth).
Expect a strong bounce back next season.
Queenscliff
Rating: B
The young Coutas under new coach Heath Jamieson yet again finished with a 7-11 season, but showed signs in the middle of the season they could be a finals shot next year.
However, Queenscliff would argue it was an eight-win season after appealing a four-point loss to Barwon Heads in Round 17 to AFL Barwon, believing a Seagulls point had been incorrectly called a goal.
During a mid-season run, Queenscliff took some scalps in Modewarre and Anglesea as they won four of six games before a couple of disappointing losses late in the season – 73 points to Drysdale and then a 104-point belting by Torquay – took the jam out of their doughnut.
Big name recruit Kyle Hartigan managed just three games due to commitments with Werribee.
However, youngster Lachie Kidd was influential, after flirting with a move to Bannockburn, to land in the league’s best for throw in clearances (third) centre clearances (fourth), groundball gets and clearances (fifth) and disposals (seventh).
After a full year under a premiership coach, and far greater stability off the park, the Coutas should attack 2025 with confidence.
Ocean Grove
Rating: C
The Grubbers went backwards this year with one less win compared to 2023 while finishing eighth for the second straight season.
After opening its account without a win from its first nine games, it shaped as being the year from hell down at Shell Road Recreation Reserve.
However, Ocean Grove produced a much stronger second half of the season with a 4-5 win-loss record, including consecutive victories against Portarlington and Queenscliff.
Then came the biggest highlights of the year: a 27-point defeat of finalist Geelong Amateur in Round 15, although the Grubbers were aided by the Ammos inaccuracy, and then a 15-point defeat of top three team Anglesea in the final round, who had rested a few.
Injuries to youngster Kye Annand and Ed Dayman hurt a lot, with Dayman close to the best player early in the season going by Premier Data.
However, Grubber Max Sutton had a strong season, in the BFNL’s top 10 for pressure acts (first), tackles and midfield tackles (second) and one per centers (seventh).
Sutton was ranked elite by Premier Data in nine different statistical areas, including an average of 100 ranking points and six tackles a game.
The Grubbers struggled to kick winning scores this year, though, and were the BFNL’s lowest scoring teams in terms of points for, with Brady Pritchard (26 majors) the only player within the league’s top 25.
Portarlington
Rating: B
Signs of improvement for the Demons in 2024 who scored their first win in the BFNL since July, 2019, in Round 1 against Newcomb.
In fact, the Dees opened the season with two consecutive wins, backing it up against Ocean Grove.
And some of Portarlington's big name recruits were massive successes, no more than ex-Hawk Teia Miles who was number one in the league for disposals, goal assists and rebound 50s, and second for ranking points, marks and uncontested marks after 18 rounds.
Unsurprisingly, he was ranked elite in 13 different areas by Premier Data.
Meanwhile, former North Melbourne and Richmond player Connor Menadue was strong when he could actually get on the park, kicking 23 goals from nine games.
However, injuries to Jaryd Cachia ended his season in early June with just five games in the bank.
Unlike last year, the Demons matched it with some of the top five teams, including Modewarre twice and Anglesea and almost pinched a fourth win for the season, going down by a point to Queenscliff in Round 18.
However, there were still big losses to the top tier, including 122 and 69 points to Barwon Heads, 99 and 74 points to Geelong Amateur, 84 and 72 points to Drysdale and 71 and 84 points to the reigning premier.
These results show the Demons still have a long way to remain competitive for four quarters against the cream of the crop.
Defence also remains an issue, with the Demons conceding the highest amount of points, although it reduced that figure by 25 per cent this year compared to last.
Coach Warren Finlayson, who’s future is uncertain at the Port, was impressed by the likes of youngsters Jack Baldi, Harry Sedgmen and Ethan Hughes.
Improving on their last place in 2023, and a far healthier percentage, it was a season of little wins for the Demons.
Very much a work in progress.
Newcomb
Rating: D
After bringing in plenty of new personnel in 2024, the Power went backwards this year and would have been incredibly disappointed with a bottom place finish.
The Power may have lost the opening round clash to Portarlington, they at least showed some fight beyond that, pushing the reigning premier to 11 points the following week, while going down to Drydale by eight in Round 4 and Geelong Amateur by just six in Round 9.
However, there were disappointing losses to bottom five teams like Queenscliff by 68 points and the Demons again by 34 which undid some of that good work.
Shining lights for the season were obviously gun forward Jack Duke’s 71 goals – if Play HQ can be trusted for accuracy – and young captain Ryan Jackman leading from the front.
Duke also topped the league for goal involvements while Andrew Steele was the next best up front with 21 majors.
Despite Duke’s heroics, only Ocean Grove scored less points this year.
Meanwhile, Jackman, was in the league’s top 10 for ball up clearance (third), contested possessions and midfield tackles (fifth), groundball gets (sixth), clearance, tackles and pressure acts (seventh) and centre clearance (eighth).
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