AFL South Coast: Ultimate guide to all six teams competing in the Men’s Premier Division
The AFL South Coast kicked off last weekend with six teams competing for the crown in 2023. Check out the full guide to the season including a preview of all teams and key players to watch.
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The Men’s Premier Division of AFL South Coast kicked off last weekend with six teams set to battle for premiership glory again in 2023.
Recent history has seen the Wollongong Bulldogs and Figtree Kangaroos emerge as the heavyweight teams to beat in the competition, the latter of which enters the season as the defending champions.
Not to be outdone though, there are four teams keen to break this mould and emerge as title contenders in 2023.
Check out our full preview of the 2023 season.
Figtree Kangaroos
Coach: Michael Coleman
Captain: Jacob Hennessy
Home ground: Figtree Ovals
Players to watch: Two big ins for the Kangaroos in their title defence aspirations are Brendon Lagana, who returns to the side having played four years back, as well as Jacob May who was recruited from Canberra. Both midfielders with the power to go forward, run all day and get stuck in to contest and win the footy. As well as this, captain Jacob Hennessy won the league’s Best and Fairest last season and is crucial to the success of the team. As coach Coleman says, he’s captain for a reason.
Surprise packet: Young gun Oliver Burnett is a junior who has come through the ranks and is now in his second year of consistent senior footy. Has taken a massive leap in his game in the past six months and is valued as a future star of the club.
Round one result: Figtree Kangaroos 74 def. Northern Districts Tigers 37
Round one takeaways: The weather made the Kangaroos’ round one encounter with the Tigers a scrappy affair, but coach Coleman was impressed with how his side contested the footy and applied defensive pressure. Room for improvement was shown in their forward entries and general forward ball movements, but overall is was a solid performance by the Figtree side.
How competitive they will be: Coach Coleman admits that once you’ve reached the heights of winning a premiership, it can be hard for him to motivate his side. Luckily for him, the group he has does it themselves and have not taken the foot off the accelerator despite reaching the summit in 2022. They’ve got the same talented core group as last year with the theme of keeping improving still within them. They aren’t dismissing the improvement of a number of sides around them in the league and are ready for a tough battle to retain the crown.
Last season: Premiers
Kiama Power
Coach: Sam Hodges
Captain: Ryan Dragarski
Home ground: Bonaira Oval
Players to watch: At just 19 years of age Ryan Dragarski has clearly made an impression in becoming captain of the side. Runner up for league’s Best and Fairest in 2022, the halfback has great speed and strength. Ben Hoctor is another to keep an eye on this year. A fullback and halfback with a big kick and strong mark, a big physical presence and a tough competitor. Josh Simpson is another strong asset for the Kiama side, a young running back with great tenacity to challenge and win the footy.
Surprise packet: Kade Ovenden is a 6‘4” centre half forward, who once he bulks up a bit will be unstoppable. Naturally has a good overhead mark and once he grows into the quality of the league should be a real threat.
Round one result: Wollongong Lions 75 def. Kiama Power 50
Round one takeaways: For a lot of these boys it was the first game of senior footy they’ve ever played, so to be in front at the end of the third quarter and put in the shift they did is incredibly promising. While the loss hurts, the coaches were ecstatic with the output of their first run out.
How competitive they will be: A very youthful side that put in a massive shift in round one, narrowly missing out on victory. Kiama have been consistently playing finals footy for over a decade and that remains the expectation. Once the new lads get a feel for the intensity of the top league, plus the aid of the returning rep players, they will be right up there again this season.
Last season: Third
Northern Districts Tigers
Coach: Glenn Haase & Mick Montague
Captain: Brendan Davis & Owen Kocyan
Home ground: Hollymount Park
Players to watch: Fresh recruit from Leeton is Ryan Dunn who will lead from the forward line. A crafty forward which is something that the Tigers have been in need of, he’ll be massive for the Northern Districts this season. Two other recruits to keep an eye on for the Tigers are Heath Beaumont and Caleb Higgins, both selfless players that will put in the hard yards for the side week in week out.
Surprise packet: Returning to the backline in 2023 will be Jay Thorn, having been hit hard with injuries in 2022. Having come back and got himself fit and in shape again, he’ll be a surprise weapon for the Tigers.
Round one result: Figtree Kangaroos 74 def. Northern Districts Tigers 37
Round one takeaways: Coach Haase was pleased his side ran out all four quarters in a tough opening matchday fixture against reigning premiers the Figtree Kangaroos. The side won the third quarter convincingly, showing some good resilience to work after going down. Looking forward, the Tigers will be emphasising sticking to their own game structures and not getting sucked in to that of their opposition.
How competitive they will be: Some good off-season recruitment for the Tigers has presented them with a lot of new faces in their ranks. Once they gel and get their systems in place, the coaches believe this side can have a red hot crack at finals this season. They recognise that they’ve had a few slack years in recent history, but given the strength of their undisturbed pre-season, there’s reason to believe in the Tigers in 2023.
Last season: Fourth
Shellharbour City Suns
Coach: Dan Posch
Captain: Jarrod Falconer
Home ground: Myimbarr Community Park
Players to watch: One of the league’s best is the captain Jarrod Falconer, who despite missing games through injury last season came narrowly close to picking up the league’s Best and Fairest. The middle man brings a level of ability to his side that not many others can and has a number of years of experience under his belt. On the opposite end of the experience chain is young Brendan Cooper who captained the U17s side to victory last year. A centre halfback who has been looking impressive in the early stages on the season.
Surprise packet: Young Harrison McDonald is a classic case of the ‘If you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ mentality, as the young lad is still eligible to play in the U17s. He has held his own in pre-season and not looked at all out of place, showing great hands and feet in the small forward role.
Round one result: Wollongong Bulldogs 133 def. Shellharbour City Suns 14
Round one takeaways: It was a tough ask for the Suns in round one going up against a very strong Wollongong Bulldogs outfit. At patches they were able to get good ball movement happening which is a positive. Now it’s about getting their game plans in place and getting the right habits happening early so they’re better prepared to face the big boys next time.
How competitive they will be: The expectation for the Suns is to make the finals to which they very marginally missed out last season. The side is confident despite a bit of a hiding in round one that they can close the gap on the top two this season. It’s a very young group with only a handful of players over 21, but they’ve improved their squad depth that hurt them a bit last year. Plenty of potential in this lot.
Last season: Fifth
Wollongong Bulldogs
Coach: James Millman & Aiden Leishman
Captain: Louis Beard & Tom Dore
Home ground: Keira Oval
Players to watch: In a talented sea of young players, Eddie Keogh will be looking to steer the ship a bit having made the Team of the Year in the 2022 season. Has come into the 2023 pre-season super fit and has trained the house down, so no doubt big things are expected from him. Callum Burns and Josh Thomas are another couple of young talents who have been ticking the boxes in the pre-season with their fitness efforts. Burns is a defender and Thomas will spend more time in the midfield and adopt a leadership role.
Surprise packet: An exciting prospect at the Bulldogs is Jac Woeckel Hynes who kicked seven goals in round one. A super athletic bloke who hasn’t experienced a lot of first division footy but has a massive ceiling for talent, shown already in his first round performance.
Round one result: Wollongong Bulldogs 133 def. Shellharbour City Suns 14
Round one takeaways: Despite a comprehensive margin of victory over the Shellharbour City Suns, coach Millman is aware that his side is young and still need to learn to play a full four quarters of footy, which was an issue last year as well. Positives for the Bulldogs were the successful implementation of their new structures and strategies, plus there was a lot of good ball movement.
How competitive they will be: It’s a young and exciting group at the Bulldogs, the bulk of whom have an extra year of experience under the belt, with the core group of players retained from last season. With the whole squad under the age of 25, there’s a lot of raw talent that coaches Leishman and Millman will be continually looking to mould. The second place finish to Figtree last year stung, but of the few games they lost they were never out of the picture. They boys can challenge for a premiership and they won’t shy away from that prospect.
Last season: Second
Wollongong Lions
Coach: William Judd
Captain: Lachlan Konza
Home ground: North Dalton Park
Players to watch: One of the exciting acquisitions from Griffith is Angus Brown. A small forward who kicked a couple of goals in round one, including a peach from the boundary. A good character who’s young and ready to develop his game further. Best on ground in round one was Tom Crellin who has been at the club for a few years now and is fitter and in better shape than ever. Playing through the midfield, he might dabble further up the park as well.
Surprise packet: A couple of Lions juniors are looking to step up to another level this season for the Lions in Max Green and Austin David. Both played on the wings in round one and are excited to develop their games further, already showing their intent to get their head over the ball and attack the footy.
Round one result: Wollongong Lions 75 def. Kiama Power 50
Round one takeaways: It was a pretty ordinary first half for the Lions, playing a bit of sloppy footy and not really sticking to their structures. However, they showed good resilience and completely overran their opponents in the second half, kicking nine goals to Kiama’s three. The side knows they’ll have to tighten up their structures coming into tough games against last year’s grand finalists.
How competitive they’ll be: The early season bounce for the Lions has them in good stead mentally and they believe they can have a red hot crack at finals footy this season. They’ve trained well and bolstered the team in the off-season. The Lions are a close knit bunch off the field and that reflects in their chemistry on the park. They’ll be looking to improve on 2022.
Last season: Sixth
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