-Trends often filter down from the AFL to community football level – mostly on-field – but there’s one that’s developing behind the scenes that will be very interesting to watch unfold over the coming weeks, months and years. Back in March, up to 60 AFL players launched a concussion class action against the AFL, with players being diagnosed with, or showing signs of, long-term traumatic brain injuries. We’re not sure what avenues are available to local footballers, but two prominent former community footballers have contacted the Gazette in recent weeks to try and gather information from our archives about some big hits they received in the past, and explaining how those hits are having an effect on their day-to-day lives.
-One coach in the OUTER EAST competition has been put on notice by his players…”If you keep punching the coaches box it is going to cost you.” The former VFA/VFL footballer is as passionate as they come but just can’t refrain sometimes from giving the knuckles a rub on the tin that surrounds the coaches box at his home ground. His players can hear it, and have warned him that punishments have already been planned and will be implemented every time they hear the hearty-echo around the ground.
-There’s a bit of talk circulating about the prospects of TOORADIN-DALMORE premiership player James Trezise being picked up in the 2023 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft to be held on Wednesday 31 May. The problem is, at this stage he is not eligible. Players are eligible for the mid-season draft if they nominated for last year’s national draft and were not selected, or a player who was delisted last year, or a retired player who delisted himself and has not been on an AFL list for one year or more. But Trezise, who is attracting attention through his performances with RICHMOND in the VFL, still has hope. Last year the AFL gave 11 players exemptions to be eligible for the mid-season draft despite them not nominating for the 2021 draft. Whatever happens on 31 May, Trezise is definitely one to keep an eye on!
-FORMER PAKENHAM player and current-day runner Tommy O’Loughlin was a star performer on the footy field, but always suffered in comparison to his super-star brother Dan – who won four league best and fairests during his days with both the Lions and TOORADIN-DALMORE. Well, now it seems Tommy is suffering the same fate again, with his daughter Stella clearly the most talented of the pair after making her recent debut for the Pakenham Warriors senior basketball team. It was great to see Tommy, Dan and a great friend of the O’Loughlin family – Pakenham’s most recent premiership coach Michael ‘Jock’ Holland – at Cardinia Life recently to watch Stella show her stuff in the early stages of her career.
-There were plenty of first gamers across senior football and A Grade netball in the WGFNC on Saturday. Sophie Carter made her A Grade debut for DALYSTON, while youngsters Theo Zaccari (GARFIELD), Will Campbell (KILCUNDA-BASS), Tom Niven (PHILLIP ISLAND) and Cody Templeton (WARRAGUL INDUSTRIALS) all stepped out for their first hit out at senior level. Templeton might be one to keep an eye on, making his debut at the ripe-old age of 15!
-Getting around the traps is certainly paying dividends for new WGFNC Operation Manager Brett Tessari, who won the $1000 first prize at the NAR NAR GOON draw on the weekend. Tessari was also spotted at Bunyip on Thursday night, addressing the players in the change rooms ahead of the Bulldogs brave battle against KILCUNDA-BASS. The 12 WGFNC clubs wanted a presence from their Ops Manager this year, and they’re certainly getting that with Tessari in the chair. Netball Ops Manager Rick McNaughton has also been getting around the traps in a great sign that the netball side of things is in good hands. Well done to both managers…they’re certainly having an impact!
-”Kritter’s not that far away.” That’s the word from TOORADIN after Kris Sabbatucci completed his first full-session with the senior squad last week. The rock-solid stalwart from the Seagulls damaged his ACL last year and, despite his best efforts, was unable to return in time for the Seagulls 2022 premiership success. Sabbatucci is one of the really great guys in footy, and a premiership success this year would definitely be a headline story.
-While on injuries, word from NAR NAR GOON is that skipper and ace-midfielder Trent Armour will be out for between six to eight weeks after surgery last week to repair a broken cheekbone. Armour received the break in the early stages of the recent draw against PHILLIP ISLAND, but played on after half time in an inspirational message to his teammates. Goon defender Sam Blackwood is also on the mend and shouldn’t be too far away, while gun forward Dermott Yawney could be a starter this week against CORA LYNN.
-Popular NAR NAR GOON star Meaghan Winter has had her share of injuries over the years and it continued on the courts at Spencer Street on Saturday. The former PAKENHAM premiership midcourter rolled her ankle in the first minute of the clash against TOORADIN-DALMORE and was forced to sit on the sidelines. Let’s hope it’s not too serious, because the former league best and fairest winner is one of the best players to watch in the business.
-Worth shouting out the SOUTHERN LEAGUE which was tinted pink this week with a pink socks round being run to raise awareness and money for Breast Cancer Network Australia. It’s an important cause to recognise with more than 20,000 people this year to be told they have breast cancer. One in every seven women will have some form of breast cancer throughout their lives.
-Talk to players about their roles: check. Reinforce messages discussed on the training track: check. Assign jumper numbers…? It’s not the traditional pre-match routine for a coach, but needing their clash strip against MOUNT EVELYN this week, PAKENHAM’s Ash Green found himself wearing more than one hat in a late administrative scramble. The need to assign guernsey’s may have thrown the side’s schedule out of whack on Saturday morning, with the players completing their pre-game warm-ups close to five minutes before the opening siren.
-The OUTER EAST competition continued it’s commitment to supporting the LGBTQI+ community last week through hosting Pride Round. Inspired by YARRA GLEN footballer Jason Ball’s decision to come out as gay, the club hosted an annual Pride Cup match and incorporate rainbow into special playing jumpers and their 50-metre arcs, an idea that has spread beyond Outer East and into other leagues, sports and codes. According to the league, the latest Pride Cup impact report found that players at clubs that host pride cup games “used significantly less homophobic language than players at clubs that have never hosted a game.“ A tumultuous 12 months for Yarra Glen, where their facilities suffered extensive weather damage and their football club moved divisions on the eve of the season, means the Pride Cup was unable to take place in its original form, however the club stated on its Facebook page that they are planning on staging one later in the year. Hats-off to the club, and the league, for their commitment to inclusion.
