When a star key forward, who kicked over 100 goals the previous season, goes down in round two with a hamstring injury, the high hopes for the season take a hit.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
READ MORE SPORT:
That was the fortunes for Newlyn, losing star spearhead Marcus Darmody in round two after a dominant 10-goal haul against Springbank in round one.
Myles Sewell also fell victim to injury in round one, only able to manage four more games for the season.
Brother Adam was in the same boat, pulling on the Cats jumper once after recovering from off-season knee surgery.
Despite also losing Daniel Wehrung for four matches in the middle of the season, Newlyn remained in the finals hunt.
Eventually, it suffered the same fate as Bungaree and Clunes, losing out on a chance to challenge for the top eight in the final two rounds due to lockdown forcing round 16 to be abandoned.
Three of Newlyn's losses came by under eight points, two of those by three and two points respectively.
With a healthy list in 2022, this strong form with players out bodes well for the Cats' finals hopes next year.
For second-year coach Chris Banwell, in his first actual season, it was a tough initiation to the role, with injuries and constant lockdowns providing plenty of hurdles.
Considering the cattle he was missing for large portions of the season, it was a successful first season in charge.
"We didn't play the year with the squad that we thought we would initially have," Banwell said.
"Silver lining from that, guys that might have been a little bit more fringy and some of the development players that we have ... were able to play a full season of senior footy which is only going to benefit them for 2022."
Thomas Carey thrived in the absence of Darmody up forward, leading the side's goalkicking with 19 majors.
Banwell added that Lake Wendouree recruit Sean Willmott was impressive in the midfield, as was Dylan Fishwick and Jarrod Fryar (ruck).
With a healthy list in 2022 and some off-season recruits, the seeds are planted for a deep finals run, following on from its preliminary final appearance in 2019.
"I think we'll have to re-stock the midfield," Banwell said.
"With those guys that are coming through I think we just need to fill out our depth a little bit.
"We don't have to do anything crazy, we recruited pretty well at the start of (this) year."
Record: 5-6, 45.45 per cent games won, 107.91 traditional percentage
Ladder position: 10th
Leading goalkicker: Thomas Carey (19)
Season:
Round one: defeated Springbank 15.10 (100) - 13.8 (86)
Round two: bye
Round three: defeated by Buninyong 4.13 (37) - 11.9 (75)
Round four: defeated by Gordon 6.3 (39) - 21.14 (140)
Round five: defeated by Dunnstown 5.6 (36) - 6.8 (44)
Round six: defeated Beaufort 15.8 (98) - 12.10 (82)
Round nine: defeated Creswick 12.13 (85) - 3.1 (19)
Round 10: defeated Ballan 21.16 (142) - 1.5 (11)
Round 11: defeated by Clunes 4.7 (31) - 5.4 (34)
Round 12: defeated Learmonth 11.11 (77) - 9.7 (61)
Round 15: defeated by Waubra 6.7 (43) - 11.14 (80)
Round 17: defeated by Bungaree 7.7 (49) - 7.9 (51)
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.
