Suns Rise On Easter Weekend

Surf Coast Suns’ inaugural game is sure to attract plenty of attention, an event a decade in the making.

By Ben Andonoudis

Torquay will become a two-team town on Easter Saturday.

At Banyul-Warri Fields, a new force in the Bellarine Football Netball League emerges when the Surf Coast Suns face off in their senior debut against new cross-town rivals Torquay.

The senior debut is the culmination of a decade of hard work, with the club built from the ground up into a strong community club.

The first new club in the BFNL for 30 years, the Suns have generated strong interest in the local community and created new pathways for young players in the North Torquay area to be involved in local sport.

Surf Coast Suns football president Jay Williams expects the inaugural match-up to be a great contest.

Williams, a Torquay local involved with the club since 2018, has been keen for the Suns to face off in a senior match.

Williams said it was “truly a historic moment for the community of Torquay and I look forward to seeing this be a locked in fixture for the future between the two clubs”.

Surf Coast Suns netball president Claire Sadler knows just how delighted the netball program of the club is to take the court for their first crack at senior netball.

"Everyone’s so excited, Salder said. "There’s still a lot of hard work to finish off before round one but the vibe’s really high, especially in the netball program”.

"We’ve been working hard for months now and everyone just wants to put on the dress for the first time and get at it”.

The Surf Coast Shire has also been a keen ally of the club during its formative stages, expecting “a bumper crowd, with junior and senior football and netball games from 8am and without any competing games scheduled in Geelong”.

The Suns were formed as a junior club in 2016 to provide opportunities for families to lead an active lifestyle in the rapidly growing region of North Torquay.

Torquay has grown over the last decade from a population of 10,142 in the 2011 census to 18,534 in the 2021, with that figure tipped to have increased exponentially since that time.

This growth has created strong demand for a second team in the town, with the Suns having fielded an impressive 21 junior football sides last season.

In an expanding town like Torquay, the Suns have ensured that young players have a clear pathway to play football and netball in their local area.

On Easter Saturday, the result will matter, but the occasion may matter more.

A decade in the making, the Suns’ senior debut marks the beginning of a new chapter in Torquay football.