By Jonty Ralphsmith
Southern Football Netball League Division One club Springvale Districts faces a season-defining month to finish off the home and away season.
A 33-point win over Chelsea Heights two weeks ago saw Kris Thompson’s men tick past the eight wins recorded in 2022.
Springvale Districts have continued producing in recent weeks despite the absence of 2021 best and fairest winner Peter Heng, star midfielder Dylan Quirk, ruck Ryan Auld and key backs John Walker Matthew Blair.
They currently sit third on the ladder ahead of games with Bentleigh, Cheltenham, Cranbourne and St Paul’s McKinnon.
Cheltenham and Cranbourne are the ladder leaders and will prove an intriguing reference point as to how far off the pace Springvale Districts is.
The Dees beat Bentleigh and St Paul’s McKinnon by 20 and six points respectively last time, and must win both games for the sake of confidence as much as ladder position.
“If you had have said to me that we would be 9-3 and (Tyrone) Vickery wouldn’t have played a game, I’d be pretty happy,” Thompson said.
“We were very reliant on him last year, to score so we’ve had to change the way we score, that’s been the most pleasing thing.”
The ex-AFL key forward kicked 47 goals in 15 games last year, proving a bail-out option inside 50.
“Not having Vickery has forced us to lower our eyes and change lanes and move the footy better and get better entries. We’ve done a lot of training around that since preseason,” Thompson said.
The return of pack-crashing key forward Matt Wetering has been welcome for Springvale Districts after he played only four games last season, in between Collingwood VFL commitments.
He has 40 goals in 13 games but is slightly smaller and, while important structurally, and a score generator, doesn’t have the same commanding presence.
It’s seen them become more unpredictable, with Daniel Helmore and Alex Derzekos both scoring threats.
That pair have both added speed to the engine room for the Dees in short spurts, which is where they’ve been able to find another level in 2023.
The three starting mids weren’t at the club last season: Dylan Quirk, Liam Giove, Nick Gay.
“Nick Gay has been a really good defensive midfielder,” Thompson said.
“He’s leading our club for tackles by a long way. Giove is similar. It’s a tough midfield.
“Our midfield last year was simply not a Division 1 midfield.
“We needed to improve that and we did. Giove has a bit of pace, Derzekos goes through there and breaks lines and kicks the ball really well. Helmore goes in there at times as well and he’s got pace and George Angelopoulos stands up when he gets his chance.”
Since Auld’s been out of action, following the game against Cranbourne on 27 May, Toby Arms has competed as an undersized ruck and his follow-up work has made him effectively an extra midfielder.
Arms was awarded the player with the most potential at the club best and fairest in 2022, and is delivering on that this year, averaging 25 possessions when playing as a ruck.
His clearance work has been crucial in that position, despite training as a forward/winger in preseason.
Veteran Stefan Feehan, meanwhile, has led the defence after playing most of his career as a forward, his team conceding at least 16 goals fewer than every team except for 2022 grand finalists Cheltenham and Cranbourne.
“People are just standing up or playing their role.
“Every year since I’ve been at the club, we’ve finished higher on the ladder and (we) are trending on the right path this year.”
Springvale Districts this week has a home clash against a young Bentleigh outfit.
