Kinglake FNC – 2022 Season Preview

Having fun and playing to the best of its ability lies at the heart of what Kinglake Football Netball Club are all about, but more importantly, the Lakers are really looking forward to being able to mingle and enjoy a full season again.

A family club that is driven by community values, all members of Kinglake are keen to come together as one to enjoy the year, each other’s company and have some fun, regardless of the result.

Incoming president Billie Cvijetic says her club have enjoyed a great pre-season campaign to date where recruitment has been a focal point and preparing for a strong year with the aim to be competitive.

“Our numbers have been very strong and we are really thankful for this,” she said.

“Pre-season has been all about getting the footballers and netballers together to start the year off well and we are really confident that we can play a full season again.”

Senior football coach Andrew Fairchild, as always, has been a good role model for his side as they went through their pre-season training program, with a particular focus towards young footballers and transitioning them into the senior group.

The Lakers will once again field three football teams in seniors, reserves and under 18’s.

Although the club places a huge emphasis on developing young talent coming through the ranks, they are grateful to welcome Jake McNamara who comes across from Greensborough and Matthew Coen from Whittlesea.

Cvijetic joins a predominantly new look executive committee as the first female president of Kinglake, describing the role as one in which she is enjoying so far.

“I have been involved with the club for a few years now and have always had some form of involvement with the committee,” Cvijetic explained.

“When the vacancy appeared, I decided I really wanted to have a go at it because I would really love to see the club grow.

“I also enjoy being a leader in being someone that members of the club can connect to considering I have that dual role of being a netball player and club president.”

One of the most positives changes at the club this year is with the netball department, where a strong recruitment program sees the Lakers in a strong position to fill all four grades of senior teams once again.

With new coach Kathy Carden coming onboard to coach all the senior sides, a well thought out campaign inviting new and old players to the club sees the netballers in a great position to build and have a great year.

One of the issues we had was we have a lot of partners throughout the club that play football and netball, so for those who had children, we had issues regarding who would babysit,” Cvijetic said.

“We found a solution for our netballers, both new and existing where we hired a babysitter who can look after the kids so the parents can both go to training.

“We were able to provide a lot of support to our incoming netballers to make an informed decision where they really wanted to play this year.

The aim from Kinglake this year is to be strong both on and off-field, compete for a place in finals and go in with a shot at winning a premiership.

“We are building on from a strong season in 2021, I feel like we have done well enough over the pre-season to try and achieve a premiership,” Cvijetic said.

We are also placing a huge emphasis on coming together as a community again, particularly since we have missed out on a lot of football and netball over the last two years.

“Hopefully by the end of the year, we can celebrate some good results across all football and netball teams.”