A huge congratulations to Maroochydore servants Mick Dawe, Kerrie Gibson, Aaron Yates, Rod Wilkie, Brett Maloney, Paul Meehan, Craig Scrase & Kent Weightman who were inducted to the Sunshine Coast Coast AFL Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Maroochydore RSL on Saturday.
Each inductee have been tremendous in providing their time energy and services to Maroochydore & AFL on the Sunshine Coast.
Welll deserved, guys. Local footy clubs like Maroochydore would not be here today without your unwavering assistance.
If you haven't done so already, make sure you go over and 'like' the Sunshine Coast Hall of Fame Facebook page to keep updated on all the happenings.
Inductees
Mick Dawe – Mick is a very popular coastal football identity and school teacher who has had a long involvement with the game. He played at Maroochydore from 1988 to 1996 featuring in six premierships there with three as captain along with playing in the state league with the Caloundra “Cool Cats” for a couple of years. Mick has also continued to contribute as a player, committeeman and vice president with Masters footy on the coast since 2005 and has represented Queensland on six occasions. It is his involvement for primary school footy that Mick will long be remembered. For the last 27 years he has been involved in coaching school and district teams on the coast. During that time he has also been convenor for the Sunshine Coast Carnivals for five years, rep team coach for four, selector for 25 years and a delegate to the QPSAFL body. He has been honoured with a Queensland primary school service to sport award and during the early nineties he was the inaugural Auskick convenor and a junior coach at Maroochydore. Well done Mick!
Kerrie Gibson – Kerrie has had a long involvement with coastal football commencing as a cheerleader for her Dad’s team back in the 70’s. More recently since the turn of the century Kerrie has been a very active club person at Maroochydore in various roles from team manager, umpires coordinator, ground marshall, treasurer, sports medicine and committee person. Kerrie was honoured with a AFLSCJ Service Award in 2008 and won the Best Club Person Award at Maroochydore in 2006. Her skill in the sports medicine area is appreciated by all, she also spent some time at the Kawana Eagles assisting in that area. Kerrie is also active with the umpires and has been acting as their treasurer since 2012. Her family has also been willing to put their hand up when young umpires from intrastate require billeting on the coast. Kerrie is always at the front of the queue when it comes to helping junior football.
Brett Maloney – A passionate footy person Brett immigrated to the coast from country Victoria back in the late 90’s and immediately began to make a mark on footy on the Coast commencing at the Noosa Football Club. Brett played over 150 senior games for the Tigers as well as captaining and coaching the club over a six season span. Over his 17 years of footy involvement he has left an indelible mark on local football and has influenced the lives and development of a gaggle of players both mature age and junior through his coaching roles with Under18’s, the Suncoast Power, the Aspley football club in Brisbane and more recently over the past three seasons as senior coach of the Maroochydore Roos.
Paul Meehan – Another outstanding contributor to the game on the Coast starting his long association as player at Noosa before moving into junior coaching where he is still involved today as the colts coach at Maroochydore, continuing his role as a mentor to young players. In 2006 he was honoured with the AFL Queensland’s “Youth Coach of the Year” at the annual awards night in Brisbane. Around the same time he took on the role as President of the Kawana Park Eagles footy club and continued in the position for seven years, leading the club to two AFLSCJ “Club of the Year” titles in 2010/11. Paul has a really positive big picture view of the world which was reflected in the successful facility sharing agreement he reached with Kawana Waters State College. For the period of his leadership he was a junior league delegate and continues today to provide mentoring at Kawana Park. He was honoured with a League Service Award in 2008.
Craig Scrase – Craig has been a wonderful servant to the game on the Coast. He commenced his injury interrupted playing career at Glasshouse in 2002 whilst at the same time helping out around the club with various roles including being on the committee and president for three seasons. In 2008 he moved to the Maroochydore Roos to play and immerse himself in the club. In his time there he has acted on the committee, been secretary, treasurer and was President for four years before reverting back to just being a strong helper around the club these past couple of years. Craig has also played a key role for the AFLSC Juniors on their tribunal panel as well as being the Maroochydore club umpire for the past five seasons. His tireless work doesn’t go unnoticed and he richly deserves his spot in the Sunshine Coast Hall of Fame.
Kent Weightman – Kent was a stalwart of local footy for many years stretching back to the early 2000’s. After an extensive playing background in the south, it was a natural progression for Kent to move into junior coaching where he had a big impact on many coastal junior players in his long term role with the Suncoast Power Representative program, including U14, U16 and U18 involvement. A number of the players he helped guide went on to be drafted. At club level he also coached many junior sides over the years at Maroochydore and was also the Club Coaching Coordinator and a committee member. In 2013 he was also assistant coach of the seniors before moving back to Victoria. Kent was also on the AFLSCJ Management Committee for eight years and was famous for the phrase “you have to speculate to accumulate”. He was also honoured with an AFLSCJ Service Award to local footy. Kent had a big impact on local footy over a 12 year period.
Rod Wilkie – Another very talented player who played over 200 impressive games with Maroochydore after coming north from Victoria. At the Roos he played in three premierships, captained the side and won a B&F. He was also a regular in representative teams. Since retiring from local footy in 1992 Rod has continued to play Masters footy with the “Rayners” and is a stalwart of that club. During the past 20 odd years he has been a regular state player, been named All Australian on numerous occasions and also won the national carnival medal on two occasions along with a number of local B&F and Players Player awards. A great footy career indeed for the likeable local plumber!
Aaron Yates – Another true football person with a wonderful coastal footballing pedigree. Aaron has played pivotal roles with both the North Shore and Maroochydore footy clubs as a player and volunteer since 1994 whilst before that he played countless junior games and represented the coast at Under 19 level. During his twelve years as a senior player he also took on numerous tasks for the clubs at working bees and in particular in the construction of scoreboards at both grounds. He has also taken on coaching roles, been the Roos runner, and been on the committee, played Masters footy and last year played a leading part in his role as a builder in the construction of the house that the club built as a fundraiser. Aaron has been a great servant of the game.
Last Modified on 05/08/2015 14:19