AT THE start of the 2026 season, men’s head coach Sean Byrne set the theme for the year and willed the football club to “Rise Up”.
On Saturday, a victory over the Bomaderry Tigers at Artie Smith Oval confirmed that Kiama had secured a finals berth for the first time since 2022, ascending from one of the toughest periods in the club’s history.
For midfielder Toby Trudgett, who has achieved the high of a premiership in 2018 and the low of the wooden spoon in 2023 and 2024, he admitted the club had come a long way… but said there is more growth to come.
“It was tough during those years just knowing that we’d struggle to win one or two games. Last season was the breakthrough to show us that we’re on the right track,” Trudgett told Power media post-match.
Captain Josh Simpson said the manner in which the Power qualified, which put a dampener on Bomaderry’s 2006 premiership reunion, summed up the resilience of the Kiama Football Club.
“Bomaderry came out hard and really challenged us. They turned up for their big day and we had to fight for four quarters to get the job done. In the past we weren’t able to stay in the arm wrestle and we’d lose those kind of games.
“It just sums up what the Club is about and where we’re going. We’re passionate. We want to be in finals and it doesn’t matter how you get there, we found a way.”
Simpson reflected on how the achievement was not just a milestone for the players, but also something for the wider Club to celebrate.
“To be honest, to put ourselves in the position we are now compared to the position we were in not that long ago, it’s awesome. I’m really proud of the group and the Club in general.
“I feel like the energy throughout the year has been pretty consistent… the whole job of the year is to qualify for finals, we’re in there now and we want to make some noise.”