Welcome to season 2009 one in which we will rise up the ladder and build on our success in the Under 19s and Reserves competition over the last few years. What a great achievement by the Under 19s to win the flag coming from 3rd on the ladder with 9 of those lads having a taste of A grade football in the same year.
This year we welcome Vin Datoli as Senior Coach. Vin hails originally from our friends at Lalor where he played in 3 flags and has coached Bundoora for 5 years with several grand final appearances. More recently Vin was involved with the Northern Bullants as Reserves Coach. To assist him Tony Del Mastro comes to the club also via the Bullants and previously at Mill Park Juniors. Sav will head up our fitness department with some boxing and rehab work. Adam Bruni & Carlo Beraldo will continue their roles as Reserves & Under 19s Coach’s respectively. We welcome them all back to the club and wish them all the best in their endeavours.
In the middle of 2008 I called a meeting to encourage people in to getting involved with recruiting and rebuilding the club into a force in Division 1. As a result we saw John Meese and Paul McInerney jump on board in the recruiting department and along with myself we went about the task of selecting the coaching staff for 2009 from a highly talented pool.
Since then John, Paul & Vin have been super impressive in recruiting some quality players to the club. We welcome for 2009 Dean Davies a polished on baller from the Bullants, Dean played 1 game with us in 08, Ali Fahour from the Bendigo Bombers, Ali joins his brother Mo who coached the Under 15s this year. Former premiership player David Caccamo returns, Paul Harrison returns from Bundoora, Dale Piggott son of Gary who played with us back in the 70s will sit at Full Forward is a booming kick and has a good pair of hands. Nick Meese who won the Bullants Reserves B&F last year has committed his alliance to the club and will play with us when he has no commitments to the Bullants. They have all committed and we are still in discussions with several other players including another onballer and a key backman which will complement our huge wealth of youth. It is great to see almost 100% of out 2008 list back for season 2009.
Also as a result of the meeting in June a Coterie Club was formed to assist with improvements to the club rooms, equipment and fittings. We now have over 40 people committed at $500 and the following appointments have been made. President Gerard Sleeman 0412 220 765, Secretary Chris Miles 0409 942 209, Treasurer (Debt Collecter) Mario Signorello 0419 115 381. Rocky Tempone from TIS Partners will also be involved in managing this project. All enquiries should be directed to these fine fellows.
The club applied for some minor funding through local government in October but was unsuccessful. We will now go ahead with assistance of council to apply for major funding in excess of $500,000 in October 2009. Although no guarantees we are optimistic of improvements occurring. We will endeavour to improve viewing for members as well as improving the size of our change rooms over summer.
The Past Players, Friends & Associates will be resurrected led by John Hogan 0408 999 840 and he will be assisted by Brian Flynn and Chris Aylward. We are hoping to spread the word to recoup address’ mobile nos and email address’ so if you know of anyone who may have fallen of our radar please forward their details to us ASAP.
Lakeside Netball Club are looking for a new home and after preliminary discussion that home looks like being Moore Park in 2009 and they will look to field teams in the NFL Netball competition and are looking for new players. With over 150 members and 25 years of history will bring another dimension to the club.
The Annual General Meeting was held in October with a record number attending. The club announced that it had made a reasonable profit for its activities in 08 and would head into 09 debt free. The following appointments were made for season 2009
President Graham Mills
Vice Pres. Harpreet Sra
Secretary Kate Sleeman
Treasurer Tony Eley
General Committee: Mario Signorello, John Paola, Frank Paola, Phil Crapper, Michael McMahon, Shayne Rodgers, Chris Aylward, Julie Snell, John Piraina, Nick Sacco, Mark Sleeman,
Social Committee: Mark Sleeman, Brian White, Shayne Rodgers, Michael McMahon & Matt Sleeman
This would have to be one of the youngest committees in the competition but they are very keen on lifting our status both on and off the field. Kate Sleeman becomes the first female executive member in the clubs history and it was a delight to have a copy of the minutes that night of the meeting in a legible manner. It doesn’t look good for the other members as the carnage she inflicted on messrs Large and Junior at the Boro game in round 18.
Pre Season started on Monday 15th November which saw 72 players take to the track, a mix of Senior, Under 19s and Under 17s players. A great sight to see the sight of so many footballers on the field. Training will continue up until Wednesday Dec 10th when all members are invited to a pre Christmas BBQ from 6.30pm at the club. Pre Season will resume the first Monday in February.
The club will be holding a Sportsman’s Lunch on February 22nd with some very high profile guests attending and we are hoping for a turnout in excess of 200 people. More details to come as they are finalized. If you only attend one event in 2009 this is the one event you should attend.
The Presentation Night for 2008 was held at The Stolberg Beer Café in front of 182 very noisy patrons. The following Awards were handed out for 2008. Congratulations to all recipients.
A Grade Best & Fairest 2008
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Daniel McFerran
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A Grade 2nd Best & Fairest 2008
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Damien Smith
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A Grade 3rd Best & Fairest 2008
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Bill Morrison
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A Grade Coach's Award 2008
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Jason Defelice
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A Grade Most Improved 2008
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Ryan Ewing
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A Grade Leading Goal Kicker 2008
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Bill Morrison 41 Goals
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B Grade Best & Fairest 2008
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Matthew Hyde
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B Grade 2nd Best & Fairest 2008
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Damian Piperno
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B Grade 3rd Best & Fairest 2008
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Jon Hiho
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B Grade Most Consistent 2008
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Ed Heading
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B Grade Best Team Player 2008
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Brian White
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B Grade Best Final Player 2008
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Daniel Coen
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Under 19 Best & Fairest 2008
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Luke McKenna
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Under 19 2nd Best & Fairest 2008
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Corey Ray
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Under 19 3rd Best & Fairest 2008
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James McInerney
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Under 19 High Achievement Award 2008
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Daniel White
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Under 19 Most Reliable Player 2008
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Matthew Civarella
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Under 19s Best Final's Player 2008
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Corey Ray
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Best Clubman 2008
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Frank Paola
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Rising Star Award 2008
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Luke Vincitorio
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Jim Millett Award (Goal Kicking)
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Bill Morrison 41 Goals
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Life Member – Adam Bruni
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Juniors Paddy Irving will again lead the Junior club our major sponsor in 2009. Numbers are still growing and they are looking at putting 2 Under 17s teams on the park in 09, which can only benefit the senior clubs viability. It is a credit to the junior club that the numbers keep increasing. The Under 17s have been invited to do pre season with the senior club to ensure a smooth transition into the senior ranks. The club will run its own Auskick program on Saturday mornings and selected Friday nights.
Email It is important that people forward their email address to the club so that we can save time and money as well as providing regular updates to our members. It is important to note that only financial club or past player members and life members will be forwarded relavant information in the future. To keep up to date with all NFL happenings go to www.nfl.org.au In 2009 the club link to our website will be up and running.
2009 Fixture The interim NFL fixture has been produced and we have been scheduled to play 4 of our first 6 games at home and the last 6 games we play 4 at home. The season kicks of on April 18th V Northcote Park and April 25th V North Heidelberg at Home. A great guide to where we are at.
All in all the club is in a very positive position as it heads into another season of Division1 football and we encourage everyone to get involved at any level. E.g. membership, functions or just calling in for a chat.
The bar hours have changed a little winding back a little from 7 days a week. We will now be open Thursdays and Fridays from 5.15pm, Saturdays from 2pm, Sundays From 3pm. We will also open on training nights from 5.15pm.
The club has to replace our complete set of jumpers for 2009 and has taken the opportunity to revamp its design or continue with the existing model. The first is Royal Blue with a Red & White V. The 2nd is White with a red and blue V. If you wish to have any input on designs please forward your thoughts to the club.
Membership No newsletter would be complete if we didn’t put out a passionate plea out to buy a membership in 2009. We don’t see any reason to put the price up and starting from $60 for adults they keep the club alive and financially viable. All details will come out in February’s newsletter.
Adults $60 Pensioner $30, Gold $120 Diamond $250 and the 555 Club is still $555
We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year. Look forward to seeing you all over the Christmas period and early into 2009.
Last Modified on 24/02/2009 17:27