By David Nagel
A total of 13 players, plus coach Lachie Gillespie, earned selection for the first time in the WGFNC Team of the Year, with a great mix of youth, experience, and new players to the league making up the elite class of 2022.
SEPTEMBER, 2022
The 2022 West Gippsland Football Netball Competition (WGFNC) Team of the Year is a shining example of the league’s growing reputation in the sport.
Since a Covid-wrecked 2020, several new faces have already made an indelible mark on the competition.
A total of 13 players, plus coach Lachie Gillespie, have earned selection for the first time, with a great mix of youth, experience, and new players to the league making up the elite class of 2022.
Dillan Bass, Matt Herbert, Adam Oxley, Dermott Yawney, Stewart Scanlon, Mason McGarrity, Nathan Foote and Dale Gawley are players to have earned selection for the first time after recently embedding themselves in the WGFNC.
Proven performers such as Jye Keath, Shem Hawking and Oscar Toussaint have also earned their first gongs, while exciting Tooradin-Dalmore youngsters Lewis Hill and Cooper Shipp join their senior coach Gillespie as maiden Team of the Year members.
This year’s league medallist, Collingwood premiership player Brent Macaffer, has also added some quality to the WGFNC after returning to the competition after a one-year involvement with Kilcunda-Bass in the inaugural season of 2017.
Impressively, three players have earned their fourth selection in the five-year history of the league.
Kooweerup’s Jason Wells returned to the Demons after a one-year stint with Longwarry, and added previous certificates from 2017 (Kilcunda-Bass) and 2018-19 (Kooweerup) to his growing list of achievements.
Nar Nar Goon star Trent Armour has earned a fourth-consecutive role through the midfield, while Zak Vernon continues to enhance his reputation as a driving force behind Phillip Island’s success over the last few years.
Dual league best and fairest winner Cam Pedersen was once again a standout choice in the ruck, and has been named captain of the team after three years of completely dominant form.
Macaffer, the other member with significant AFL experience, has been selected as Pedersen’s deputy.
Corey Casey and Cora Lynn full-forward Nathan Gardiner join Pedersen as three-time members of the team, with Blake Grewar, Brendan Hermann, Jack Taylor and Mitchell Cammarano joining Macaffer as being dual selected.
Gillespie’s selection as coach is a thoroughly deserved accolade after riding a roller coaster at Tooradin since taking over from incumbent Andrew Clarke, mid-way through the 2014 Casey Cardinia league season.
Gillespie has guided the Seagulls through some dark days, both on and off the field, but is now on the precipice of ending a 25-year premiership drought at the club.
As usual, several players – and one coach – were extremely stiff to miss out.
In the ruck, Billy Thomas, Eamon Trigg and Piva Wright were forced to sit in the shadows of Gawley and Pedersen – who finished top-three in league voting – while Curtis Murfett, Matt Voss, Will Gibson, Michael Marotta and Nathan Allen were unfortunate not to get a gig through the midfield.
And the magnet of Tooradin-Dalmore young-gun James Trezise, was on and off the whiteboard until the final minute…after a sensational season as a high-half forward for the Gulls.
And Warragul Industrials coach Harmit Singh was also seriously considered, after taking the Dusties from last position in 2019 to a preliminary final performance this year.
The team has been selected with match-day in mind, with three mids, a defender, forward and ruck all earning selection on the interchange bench.
