By Jonty Ralphsmith
Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League Division 2 side Devon Meadows’ finals misery continued in 2024, bundled in straight sets after a home-and-away season and list profile full of promise.
Two heavy finals defeats give the season a sour undertone, despite a strong culture and consistent home and away season in the face of injuries lifting them to a third-placed finish on the ladder.
We’ve dissected what happened in 2024 and what the next steps should be.
• Where Devon Meadows needs to improve to go further in 2025
Ease the burden on Joel Hillis: “It would be nice to have two or three of him, wouldn’t it?” quipped coach Ryan Hendy. He’s probably favourite for the MPFNL Division 2 League best and fairest, but when the game was on the line, he didn’t have enough help. The discrepancy between his individual output and the teams was laid bare in a 33-disposal, seven-goal finals loss to Somerville.
Add grunt to the midfield: The focus of the season was on playing a faster brand, but it fell apart in finals – if you aren’t winning contested footy, it doesn’t matter how you plan to play. Applying pressure and having bodies that can stand up to the rigor of finals will need to be part of the recruitment strategy.
Endure the pressure of big games better: Devon Meadows started competitively, if not well, in every difficult assignment in 2024, except its one-point loss to Edithvale-Aspendale. Yet, the trend was a difficulty maintaining that heat throughout four quarters. At times against the best, it felt like the Panthers were holding on as the game went on, rather than getting proactive and playing their footy.
Hold themselves more accountable in the heat of battle: When things were going against them on-field, Devon Meadows seemed too mentally fragile to leave it in the past and move on to the next contest. Small grievances turned into big holes, and in both finals, they were match-sealing. Capitalising on momentum and more importantly, staying resilient when it feels everything is against them needs to improve.
Continue to back the kids: The growth of Jack Wilson and Riley McDonald was exceptional in 2024. Both became valued members of the midfield rotation, Wilson with his composure and McDonald with his negating. Tyler Hunter, Jack Grimsey, Alex Canal and the Sinnema brothers were others to show glimpses that suggest they can take the leap Wilson and McDonald did in 2024. The Panthers’ under-19s participation is also at an all-time high, indicating more names could be soon to break through.
Spread the leadership load: Of all the injuries, Dean Kent’s season ender on the eve of finals hurt the most, labelled unanimously as the spiritual leader. More voices stepping up will be critical in 2025.
IN SHORT
• Positives
Emergence of Jack Wilson
Versatility of Riley McDonald
Joel Hillis’ white-hot season
Underappreciated backline – Liam Drew, Dylan Gregson, Jayden Sullivan, Nathan Drew leading the way
Balanced list demographic
Recruits delivering – Brendan Hermann, Dylan Gregson, Jack Wilson
• Negatives
Injuries
Goals from midfielders (other than Hillis)
Lowered colours in both finals
Shown up against best sides regularly
Struggled in the rain on multiple occasions
• Most Goals
Joel Hillis (51 goals)
Patrick Ryder (31 goals)
Alex Canal (28 goals)
Jack Wilson (25 goals)
Patrick Harmes (24 goals)
• Top-5 B&F Prediction…
Joel Hillis
Nick Battle
Jack Wilson
Riley Simmons
Brendan Hermann
• Question and answer with coach Ryan Hendy
What are the emotions reflecting on the season?
We’re bitterly disappointed to finish the way we did. I thought we had a consistent home and away season and did the work to get the double chance and the boys couldn’t deliver in finals. Things didn’t go our way. We just didn’t play the footy required to advance further.
What went wrong throughout the finals series?
It was the first final against Chelsea which was most disappointing. We thought we were a lot better than what we delivered on that day and it was always going to be pretty hard coming back from a big loss like that. It played around with the boys’ confidence being a young group. We still thought we were good enough to beat Somerville but it wasn’t the case.
This time last year you spoke about needing speed in the midfield after you were shown up there – how did that progress throughout the season?
I think our speed in the midfield was okay. It wasn’t a lack of speed in there, but maybe a couple of bigger-bodied mids would have been handy. Our on-ballers had good seasons but playing in finals, it really showed that bigger bodies are required going further. We just have to get more professional in the offseason and have blokes preparing better throughout the year and really getting their gym-work in and working on their endurance. We were dominant in the first quarter against the breeze to have an impact in the next three quarters but our body shapes and conditioning didn’t allow that so it’s something we’ll look at working on. We will look to get professional players into the club who are willing to drive high standards.
We’ve spoken about the young players at length – who of that group do you feel like has really emerged?
Jack Wilson and Riley McDonald went to the next level this year in their first or second seasons of senior footy. They’ve got really big futures for the club and we know they’ll take the next step and become elite players of the competition. We will try to get young guys come through and take the next step. There were good signs from young players impacting but it was too patchy – we have to get a little bit more consistency from them. Riley Simmons really started to come on as well so we expect him to be dominant in the ruck next year. I’d imagine Jack has the capabilities of playing VFL footy – he’s come a long way and had a good eight or nine weeks of form.
