2019 RECAP
Eventual premier Sunbury aside, Burnside Heights was the big winner of the 2019 Strathmore Community Bank Division 2 season, earning its maiden finals berth in senior men's ranks.
Led by powerful forward Josh Covelli, the Bears won their first five games of the year and went on to defeat every club, bar the undefeated Sunbury Kangaroos, at least once by season's end.
Burnside Heights continued its historic run into the finals series by toppling Coburg Districts by 40 points in the knockout semi, before going down to Moonee Valley in the Preliminary Final the following week.
BEST & FAIREST TOP FIVE
1st - Adam Sullivan
2nd - Jordan Hughes
3rd - Anthony Fawcus
4th - Josh Covelli
5th - Nick Morda
GOAL KICKING TOP FIVE
62 - Josh Covelli
42 - Anthony Fawcus
39 - Matthew Peterlechner
23 - Adam Sullivan
15 - Vincent Angelone
DIVISION TWO LEADING GOAL KICKER AWARD
Josh Covelli
DIVISION TWO TEAM OF THE YEAR
Anthony Fawcus (half forward flank)
Josh Covelli (forward pocket)
Adam Sullivan (interchange)
2021 PREVIEW
Coach: Aidan Stott (5th season)
LODGED TRANSFERS
In: Reece Asciak (Hillside), Alex Axiak (St Albans), Jake Bartolo (North Footscray), Jake Busuttil (Taylors Lakes), Brayden Buttigieg (Hillside), Benjamin Cappelli (Caroline Springs), Liam Cauchi (Sunbury Kangaroos), Gabriel Cristiano (Aberfeldie), Daniel Delaney (Apollo Bay), Chris Ekladious (Keilor), Jack Gagula (Hillside), Jake Galea (St Albans), Sebastian Gatherer (Melton), Ryley Grech (Altona), Adam Imber (Westbourne Grammarians), Nathan Jenkinson (Yarraville Seddon Eagles), Tyson Maiava (East Keilor), James Mancuso (Hillside), Matthew Marshall (St Albans), Matthew Maxfield (Craigieburn), Omer Mohammed Ali (St Albans), Nathan Moseley (Lake Boga), Jamie Nardone (Hillside), Robert Nikolic (St Albans), Ferdinando Petrarca (Hillside), Thomas Raffaele (East Keilor), Darren Saad (Northern Saints), Nathanael Smith (North Footscray), Luke Sullivan (Taylors Lakes), Luke Vella (Westbourne Grammarians), Aaron Verrocchi (Melton Centrals), Tom Wood (Point Cook), Jake Xerri (St Albans), Luke Xerri (St Albans) & Mason Zahra (Caroline Springs)
Out: Jack Agius (Sunshine Heights), Perenara Akuhata (Colac Imperials), Blake Brigham (Sunshine Heights), Rhys Bucktin (Braybrook), Claudio Campos (East Sunbury), Ryan Cauchi (Sunshine Heights), Liam Cauchi (North Sunshine), Jake Galea (St Albans), Ryan Gooch (Hillside), Malcom Henricksen (Sunshine Heights), Jacob Kamprod (Sunshine Heights), Jake Klein (Sunshine Heights), Michael Krajina (St Albans), Mathew Labanie (St Albans), Dylan Licitra (Sunshine Heights), Matthew Marshall (St Albans), Nicholas McArthur (Braybrook), Patrick McDonald (Sunshine Heights), Robert Nikolic (St Albans), Brendan Nunn (Sunshine Heights), Kyall Parker (Sunshine Heights), Daniel Royal (Macedon) & David Scholes (Western Rams)
EDFL MEDIA SAYS
Boasting the division's best key forward in Josh Covelli (pictured) is an excellent starting point, but the Bears made huge strides in 2019 because of the added talent they had in their line-up further up the ground.
Anthony Fawcus, Matthew Peterlechner, Adam Sullivan and Jordan Hughes are all among the division's better players in their own right, and having lost very little talent of note since its last game, Burnside Heights enters 2021 as one of the teams to beat.
The Bears' opening month of fixtures is extremely tricky though, so Aidan Stott's men will want to make an early impression against the likes of Moonee Valley, Oak Park, Coburg Districts and East Sunbury.
2021 FIXTURE
