The year that was 2017: Geelong’s A-Z
WHAT do you get when you cross 12 months of sporting highs and lows with the alphabet? A big bowl of the best bits of 2017, letter by letter ...
Agnes Emma-Nnopu received the Barwon Sports Academy’s highest recognition, the Lee Troop Award for
Excellence, after a breakout year on the basketball court. The teenage sensation became an under-18 national champion with the Victoria Country girls’ team, was part of the triumphant Lady Supercats’ squad and represented Australia in its under-16 Sapphires FIBA Asian Qualifiers victory.
Battle-hardened Bell Post Hill stormed to its seventh GDFL flag in eight years (below), denying Inverleigh a fairytale victory in the process. Jayden Ettridge kicked six goals to be judged best-on-ground, edging out teammate Adrian Fantella.
Commonwealth Games action beckon for a number of athletes, including shot put sensation Marty Jackson (below), who won silver at the national championships and came fourth at the World Para Athletics Championships in London.
Downpours interrupted Geelong’s historic Twenty20 double-header at Kardinia Park in February. Constant drizzle meant only 13,647 turned up for the first officially sanctioned international match at the venue. Australia lost both the men’s and women’s matches, but those who turned out were treated to an epic as Sri Lanka came from the clouds to chase down the Aussies in the men’s match.
Erin Hoare earned herself an AFL rookie spot on Melbourne’s list after impressing in Geelong’s inaugural VFL women’s campaign. The former Melbourne Vixen joins Cats teammates Lily Mithen and Richelle Cranston at the Demons.
Finals proved just out of reach for Geelong’s inaugural VFL women’s side, which claimed eight wins from 14 home and away matches. Star Lily Mithen (above) claimed the club’s best-and-fairest. The Cats were later rewarded with an AFLW side, which will enter the comp in 2019.
Gary Ablett had to wait until the final hours of the AFL’s trade period, but he eventually got his desired move back to Geelong in a return that keeps the Cats firmly in the premiership window in the short term.
History was made by the Geelong Lady Supercats (below), who claimed their first SEABL all-conference title. Fighting back from a sluggish first half against Bendigo, the Supercats brought the long-awaited pennant back to Geelong.
Inspirational defender Tom Lonergan and triple premiership player Andrew
Mackie emotionally announced their retirements from the AFL at Geelong’s final home game in Round 23 against GWS. Lonergan finished on 209 games while Mackie will continue at the club in a recruiting role after playing 280 games for the Cats.
Jacinta Carroll remained the women’s world record holder in waterski jumping, unbeaten since 2013, so, looking for a new challenge, she turned her attention to weightlifting and is now chasing a berth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Kennedy-Hunt was the name on everyone’s lips after Inverleigh forward Jak produced a debut GDFL season which saw him jag 104 goals from just 14 games to not only win the league goalkicking award, but the Whitley Medal as well.
Leigh Kentish (below) claimed a runaway win of last summer’s Intersport De
Grandi MVP Award after smashing 828 runs, falling only 72 short of breaking Jack Sing’s legendary record for the most runs in a home-and-away season, set in 1948-49. But Kentish could manage just 1 in the grand final as St Joseph’s (9-294) fell agonisingly short of Grovedale (8-296) in the GCA1 decider.
Melissa Reid (below) was a worthy winner of the women’s Vic Open, claiming the title after a three-hole playoff against Sandra Gal. Dimi Papadatos won the men’s event.
Newcomb & District’s tail order fought off a defiant Highton bowling outfit to take out the GCA2 premiership. Dinos captain Jeewan DeSilva had conceded defeat when his side slumped to 8-125, still needing 36 to win, but Andrew Webb and Jackson Attwood steered the club to victory.
Omitting Daniel Menzel from Geelong’s qualifying final side against Richmond proved one of the September talking points from Cats fans. Geelong’s final score of 5.10 (40) was its lowest at the MCG since 1963. Menzel was recalled for Geelong’s semi-final win over Sydney.
Patrick Dangerfield kicked 5.6 from full forward against Hawthorn after a Lazarus-like effort. After fears he had cracked his leg, Dangerfield was sent to the goal square and played like Gary Ablett Sr in a game-breaking, old-school, full-forward performance.
Queenslander Annabel Luxford claimed back-to-back-to-back Ironman 70.3 titles at Geelong in February. The former world No. 1 triathlete jumped out of the water in first and never looked back. Meanwhile, American Sam Appleton kicked off his 2017 season with the perfect start, taking out the men’s category.
Restructuring has been a controversial backdrop of this current Geelong Cricket Association season, with shafted hard-wicket clubs Teesdale and Bannockburn the face of the new-look competitions. And, strap yourselves in, a restructure is less than 12 months from reality in local footy.
South African Jordy Smith claimed his first Rip Curl Pro title at Bells Beach, beating Brazilian Caio Ibelli in the final. It was Smith’s sixth championship tour win and came a year after he lost the Rip Curl Pro final to Australian Matt Wilkinson. So confident was Smith he started mimicking the ringing of the famous bell when still in the water, with less than half the final completed. American Courtney Conlogue joined elite company, becoming just the fifth woman to successfully defend her Rip Curl Pro title.
Torquay ended an 11-year premiership drought in stunning fashion, brushing aside powerhouse Geelong Amateur by 51 points in the BFL grand final, ending Ammos’ bid for a record-equalling fourth straight flag in the process.
Unbeaten all year, St Joseph’s overcame a shock second semi-final loss to win the Geelong Football League premiership by 63 points over St Mary’s. It was the Joeys second premiership in three years, providing coach Heath Jamieson and captain Ben Capra their second flags.
Vengeur Masque stunned punters with his tough victory in the 2017 Geelong Cup. He ended up missing out on a run in the Melbourne Cup by one spot on the order of entry, but still was a major player in spring, running second in the Group 3 Lexus before winning the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth.
Women’s soccer superstar Sam Kerr put on a clinic at Kardinia Park, as the Matildas romped to a 5-1 victory over China in a stormaffected friendly. It’s been a year to remember for Kerr (below), who kicked 11 goals for Australia between July and November including two at Geelong. She was named Asian player of the year and was picked in the world team of the year.
X-factor small forward Gryan Miers (below) proved the difference in
Geelong Falcons’ premiership tilt, bagging seven goals in a best-onground performance at Etihad Stadium. The Falcons, who trailed by 20 at half-time, would hold on to win by just two points after Sandringham tall Joel Amartey missed a set shot after the siren. Miers was later drafted by Geelong at pick 57.
Young athlete Mackenzie Mielczarek (below) scored the Geelong Advertiser
Junior Sports Star of the Year. The 14year-old was celebrated for a year of national records and podium finishes across javelin and shot put, including becoming the national under-15 javelin champion when she threw a record 46.26m.
Zero — the number of defeats Newtown & Chilwell’s netball side suffered en route to its fifth consecutive premiership. The Eagles remarkably haven’t lost a match since 2012. The streak nearly ended in Round 9 when St Mary’s held a narrow lead late, only for Newtown to edge clear by a goal.