Panthers thrive with a high five

By Marc McGowan
DEVON Meadows Football Club has yet to win a senior premiership since it was formed in the mid 1970s, but how many sporting organisations can boast of having five relatives on the field at once?
It was a feat the Panthers achieved against Rythdale-Officer Cardinia in its heartbreaking four-point loss at Glover Reserve on Saturday.
Rory Alder, 25, Joel Alder, 23, Tommy Hayes, 19, Billy Hayes, 17, and Ryan Talbot, 24, were the five in question and almost helped their side to its first victory of the season.
Their fathers, Mark (Rory and Joel), John (Tommy), Ian (Billy) and Kevin (Ryan) also played football together, but at rival club Cranbourne.
Devon Meadows senior president Michael Brick, who is in his second year in the role, explained that the weekend was a long time in the making.
“The cousins were pretty excited to be playing with each other,” he said.
“They decided at Christmas that they all wanted to play together this season.”
It was far from a fait accompli and required several occurrences to go their way for it to happen.
It was Rory’s first game of the season after overcoming a shoulder injury, Billy had been playing with the Dandenong Stingrays, it was only Tommy’s second game in the seniors for the year and Ryan had to receive a clearance from his Queensland club, Labrador and now flies down on Fridays.
The only other family link in Devon Meadows’ senior side comes in the form of the Holdsworth twins, Brenton and Kristan, but the former is out for the season through injury.
The star of the five cousins is Ryan, who was on the Sydney Swans’ supplementary list and Brick is hoping to retain his services.
“We’ll see how the wear and tear and strain on his body goes. I’d love to keep the whole list together because we have one of the youngest lists in the league at the moment,” he said.
“We’ll be encouraging Ryan to stick around because he’s a quality footballer, but we won’t know until the end of the season.”
Brick believes the cousins’ appearance together was indicative of what Devon Meadows is now about.
“The four families are all great people and the young blokes are fine men,” he said.
“Our club is a very close-knit unit and we don’t put up with any garbage. We are really trying to professionalise the club.”
This goal includes a strict dress code where footballers from the under-18s and above are obligated to wear all black attire.
“If they don’t (comply with regulations) they get fined.
“It is about self-esteem, professionalism and showing that we are prepared to do the little things to look good,” he said.