The Ave - Issue One feat Tauranga City by Ellerslie AFC

Well hasn't that time flown quickly - it feel's like only a couple of weeks since we hosted North Shore United in our final home game of the 2016 NRFL Season - the reality is that so much has changed, so much that we won't be able to cover it all here so make sure you follow us on facebook, twitter and download our free official club app! Today we welcome Tauranga City to Michaels Ave in what will be their first game after relegation from the Premier League last season - we know what that feels like and we know you guys will be hurting but we hope you get back on the horse ASAP - just not maybe at our expense today! It's also a very special day for another reason - today we will officially celebrate the life of a true red blooded Ellerslie club man who recently passed away. You can read more about the man we knew as Hutchy in the next couple of pages - but just as importantly please take time to read and possibly even donate to the Mental Health Foundation of NZ, it's a massively important organisation to us as a club and in particular in light of the passing of Hutchy it's important for all you Men out there if you need to talk to someone they are there to help. Every program this season will feature a spot for the Mental Health Foundation of NZ and we will also raise awareness through this hashtag which we encourage you to use #checkonyourmates Everyone is welcome to join us after the game for a Lion Red (Hutchy's favourite) in the clubrooms - thanks to Ellerslie Cricket for allowing us use of the clubrooms prior to their prizegiving, we appreciate it!

Finally let's just wish all teams across all clubs all the best for the 2017 season - let's really make the game of football proud! Last Word: Come on you PONIES and get up you ALL WHITES!

Cheers Tim Adams Senior Club Chairman ELLERSLIE AFC

It’s unlikely if you have been a member at EAFC over the past couple of years that you won’t know Tim Hutchens - You may only know him as the loud voice on the hill during First Team games, egging the team on with his catch-cry “you got to want the win” or as he cheered as his favourite player Alex grabbed a goal.

That’s the minimum people will know about Hutchy, those who have ventured into the clubrooms from time to time will know about his love of his team the KB’s (there seems to be little KB marks all over the club), his love of the big red bottle or his love of team pile ups (which I had the unfortunate pleasure of being at the bottom of once). Hutchy was a selfless man, he would come and unblock the toilets in the clubrooms, fix showers, build walls, paint the clubrooms - the list was endless and while he also negotiated hard it was always with a cheeky grin.

I didn’t have the privledge of watching him play in his prime but even with a bit of beer weight on I could tell he was some player and he did some amazing things on the pitch and to our EAFC lives - you will be missed mate!

The Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand is a charity that works towards creating a society free from discrimination, where all people enjoy positive mental health & wellbeing. We work to influence individuals, whanau, organisations and communities to improve and sustain their mental health and reach their full potential. Right now, you are on our Staying Well positive mental health and wellbeing section; you will find information on mental health conditions, where to get help and how to support those you love and care about in our Get Help section. Although we are not a counselling or advice service, our information officers are happy to point you in the right direction to find help.

www.mentalhealth.org.nz

NRFL Div 1 Reserves NAME

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Pts

Ellerslie AFC

Franklin United

Hibiscus Coast AFC

Manukau City

Melville United

Metro FC

Mt Albert Ponsonby

North Shore United

Oratia United

Tauranga City

Waitemata FC

Western Springs AFC

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Pts

Central United

Ellerslie AFC

Fencibles United

Hibiscus Coast AFC

Lynn Avon

Onehunga Sports

Papakura City

Pukekohe AFC

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Pts

Women’s Conference Reserves NAME

Men’s Thirds NAME

Club League Table NAME

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Pts

Place

EAFC Men’s FT EAFC Men’s Res EAFC Champs EAFC Boylan EAFC Deceptively Slow EAFC KFCFC EAFC Revolution EAFC Diamonds EAFC Shotaholics EAFC Fake Madrid EAFC Business Time EAFC Shicksy EAFC Barons EAFC O35 Elks

EAFC O40 Metro EAFC O40 Mustangs EAFC Women’s FT EAFC Women’s Res

EAFC Women's Rebels EAFC Women's Fury EAFC Women’s R.C. ASFA Volcanoes ASFA Wanderers ASFA Wanderers II EAFC Sat U19’s EAFC Sun U19’s Red EAFC Sun U19’s Black

Please check www.aff.org.nz for any updates to fixtures or league tables

A feature of the first round see's two of the relegated clubs match up against the newly promoted clubs while the 3rd team down from Premier League in 2016 are our vistiors here at "The Ave" today. Mt Albert Ponsonby vs Hibiscus Coast Friday Night 7pm @ Anderson Park Game 1 of the season does look to be a contender for match of the round with nearly promoted MAP hosting a rejuvenated Coast who had their off-field issues last season (most forget they were punished as badly as Mangere but took it like champs on the chin while Mangere moaned and moaned). MAP have lost a couple of key players but they have dipped into the local market and pick up some decent signings from coach McKay's old club Three Kings. Little is known about Coast this year under new coach Maurico Rojas - but they have had some encouraging results in preseason. RESULT: Going for MAP to take a narrow win here. Melville United vs Waitemata FC 2:45pm @ Gower Park Probably the match of the round if you consider the back story - however it looks pretty one sided on the field with most of the West Auckland sides players from their winning side last season now lining up for Melville (including their new coach Michael Mayne). Gower Park is also probably the premier venue in this seasons league and most teams might forgive a few points once a season for the privledge to play on their sandcarpet. Mayne's replacement at "mata" Bob Sova has some pedigree but popular belief is that surviving in the league would be a job well done from the ex YoungHeart Manawatu boss. RESULT: Has to be the Pride of the Waikato winning this one - this is our lock result of the weekend! North Shore Utd vs Metro FC 3pm @ Allen Hill Stadium On paper this is a bit of a one sided clash with Metro who were a strong team last year against a very much changed Shore side who are desperate for some consistency after now having 3 coaches in 3 seasons. New coach of the Maroons is ex-Eastern Suburbs coach Tom Speers and he has leveraged his relationship with the #lilywhites to bring over Ross Langworthy who was part of the Suburbs SSP side - Metro have been solidly building for several seasons now and will fancy kicking on this season to be a genuine title challenger. RESULT: Head says Metro got this but I'm putting this down as my upset of the round as a new look Shore lay down an early marker Ellerslie AFC vs Tauranga City 3pm @ Michaels Ave Today's home side open their campaign against the third relegated side in what will be a big test - there have been a few rumours come out about the Tauranga side and some issues in pre-season but we know today's visitors will put out a very good team who will battle for everything and will bring recent premier league experience which is not to be scoffed at. Like all the relegated sides they will be keen to get some wins on the board and bounce back up at the first attempt. Ellerslie on the other hand will want a better start to the season than last year and while pre-season results have not gone #theponies way it won't matter in this game! RESULT: Going for a score draw here - just too many unknowns to be able to pick a winner. Oratia Utd vs Franklin Utd 3pm @ Parrs Park A battle of West vs South takes place on the lush green fields of Parr's Park - a venue which is very likely to see Enzo popping in more often than not. Franklin have not had the ideal pre-season with inagural partners Waiuku withdrawing from the cluster, but the Bledisloe Park based side were quick to bring in Dury Utd as new partners which gives them a good training venue close to the Southern Motorway. Tia have been very quiet in pre-season which means it's hard to get a guage on what they have this season, I'm expecting a direct approach from them as they try and use target man Mark Wither's considerable ability's to win them games. RESULT: Again hard to pick - maybe a home win just narrowly?

Western Springs AFC vs Manukau City 5:15pm @ Seddon Fields Our final clash of round 1 see's relegated Springs take on promoted Manukau at Seddon Fields - a pretty tough ask for Kevin Fallon and his team as they re-adjust after a chunk of the team including Fallon being involved in OFC Champions League qualifiers - that might mean they don't have any fitness issues but potentially they may be a bit underdone in terms of team prep. Western Springs for their part have recruited heavily to support their talented youth program with both Chris Bale and Adam Dickinson coming in for the Hoops. RESULT: Springs are almost a lock for this game but Fallon may have some tricks up his sleeve

11/08/17 (Fri)

05/08/17 (Sat)

22/07/17 (Sat)

15/07/17 (Sat)

01/07/17 (Sat)

24/06/17 (Sat)

17/06/17 (Sat)

10/06/17 (Sat)

03/06/17 (Sat)

27/05/17 (Sat)

20/05/17 (Sat)

06/05/17 (Sat)

29/04/17 (Sat)

25/04/17 (Tue)

22/04/17 (Sat)

17/04/17 (Mon)

14/04/17 (Fri)

08/04/17 (Sat)

01/04/17 (Sat)

25/03/17 (Sat)

Date

17:00

15:00

19:00

17:00

15:00

17:30

15:00

17:00

15:00

17:00

15:00

17:00

17:15

14:45

15:00

17:00

15:00

Time

Michaels Ave 1FT

Bledisloe Park 1

Anderson Park 1

Michaels Ave 1FT

Allen Hill Stadium

Michaels Ave 1FT

McLeod Park 1

Michaels Ave 1FT

Walter Massey 1

Michaels Ave 1FT

Links Avenue 1

Parrs Park 1

Michaels Ave 1FT

Seddon Fields 1 FT

Gower Park 1

Michaels Ave 1FT

Phyllis Street 1

Michaels Ave 1FT

Stanmore Bay 1

Michaels Ave 1FT

Venue

Oratia Utd

Franklin United

Mt Albert Ponsonby

Western Springs AFC

North Shore Utd

Melville United AFC

Waitemata FC

Metro FC

Manukau City AFC

Hibiscus Coast

Tauranga City Utd

Oratia Utd

Franklin United

Mt Albert Ponsonby

North Shore Utd

Western Springs AFC

Melville United AFC

Waitemata FC

Metro FC

Manukau City AFC

Hibiscus Coast

Tauranga City Utd

Opposition

26/08/17 (Sat)

Score

02/09/17 (Sat)

Scorers

NRFL DIV 1 NAME

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Pts

Ellerslie AFC

Franklin United

Hibiscus Coast AFC

Manukau City

Melville United

Metro FC

Mt Albert Ponsonby

North Shore United

Oratia United

Tauranga City

Waitemata FC

Western Springs AFC

HOME TEAM LISTED FIRST - CHECK WWW.NRFL.ORG.NZ FOR MORE INFO

NEXT WEEKS FIXTURES

Metro FC

Western Springs

Franklin Utd

Melville Utd

Hibiscus Coast

Ellerslie AFC

Manukau City

Mt Albert Ponsonby

Waitemata FC

North Shore Utd

Tauranga City

Oratia Utd

Normally in this section we would review the games from last weekend - since there are no games to review we will look at the final results of the 2016 NRFL and who has come up, gone down and disappeared completely. NRFL Premier League Winners - Central United Runners up - Birkenhead United Relegated Tauranga City, Western Springs and Melville (was a 13 team league due to TKGate) NRFL Div 1 Winners - Waitakere City Runners up - Manurewa AFC Relegated Mangere United (under a cloud) and Papakura City NRFL Div 2 Winners - Manukau City Runners up - Waitemata FC

Relegated Northland FC and AFC Fury (pulled out midway through the season) Promoted from Conference Football - Waiheke FC, Ngongotaha AFC Since the end of the season Ngaruawahia have pulled out of the league which left a playoff between relegated Northland FC and runners up of the AFF/NFF Conference Lynn Avon to play off for their place. Northland eventually won this two legged playoff to cement themselves back in NRFL football.

NORTHERN DIV 1 GOLDEN BOOT Goals

Player

Club

Download the new club app which has been developed in partnership with â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Sports Agencyâ&#x20AC;? who have developed a similar app for Three Kings and Eastern Suburbs. The app gives you instant access to key club info including a portal to For people reading this program digitally you can click on the appropriate App store link above - otherwise search Ellerslie AFC in your app store

GOALS

GOALS APPS START

ELLERSLIE EAFC RESERVES FIRSTAFC TEAM Sponsored by 11

Jason Mann

Dylan Horgan

Andrew Dalton

Adam Scott

Jordan Oosterhof

10 7

Adam Barkley

12 8

Sohail Basha ©

13 10 Josh Torrens

14 11 Art Twigg

15 12 Seb Poelman

19 13 Callum Waters

20 14 Sangster Crawford

23 15 Luca Ortali

24 16 Andrew Wallace (VC)

28 21 Ben Shaw

18 22 Lloyd Huysmans RGK

23 GK

Chris Wallace Grant Marshall Nick Russo Kris Pinnock Jason Man Tim Adams Alejo Leguizamon Matt Hylla Tim Adams

Coach Asst Coach Asst Coach GK Coach Manager Sports Scientist Physio Physio Manager

Today’sMatc Mat Referee: Referee: SABIT AR1: AR1: MIDD AR2: AR2: TOBI Assessor: n/a Assessor: n/a

tchOfficials Officials ch TOV, Dmitriy DLETON, Trevor IN, Alan

TAURANGA CITY Thomas Pamment

Dean Styles Alex McGregor Raymond How

Steffano Riley Dane Stollery Jordan Culpepper

Harry Gawtrey Jayden Sherriff Connor Irvine

Joshua Nelson

Barry Gardiner Alan Smith

Coach Manager

To Camp or not to Camp – that is the Question!

This weekend just gone we embarked on our third annual NRFL Pre-season camp – previous camps have seen us travel to Matamata and Tauranga – and this weekend we decided to travel far less distance as we visited brand new NRFL side Waiheke United. Due to large numbers of players in pre-season all trialing for spots it meant we were not able to confirm a squad for the season early enough to really lock people into the camp – and it could be argued that if you don’t have all your players the value of a pre-season training camp is diminished – I guess we took the glass half full option (or three quarters full) and decided that every person who was able to make the camp was a person who would benefit and for that reason we pushed on. An advanced party of about 11 people arrived on the island on Friday night and wasted little time with the team bonding as they tucked into a few beers (and in Freddie’s case a few more than a few) as they got to know each other a little more. On Saturday morning we picked up another 9 players at the morning ferry – bolstering our playing number to 20, which was just enough to cover the two games.

A call had been made to play the First Team game at 10:30am and with the reserves game following, to allow some First Team players to back up and play both games. For the First Team game we lined up with Jason in goal behind a back four of Luca, Sohail, Seb and Josh T. In midfield Mark sat behind Dylan and Adam B while Jordan and Adam S supported Andrew W upfront.

With all due respect to Waiheke the less said about the 1st half the better as the hosts didn’t cover themselves in any glory despite scoring two goals

and conceding none. A lot of credit to the Ellerslie players for (mostly) not getting involved in any of the antics in that first 45mins and they also showed a lot of heart to make the call to continue to play in the 2nd half when giving up may have looked like the smart and easy call to make. While I am dishing out some credit I must mention Waiheke and how they really made a massive effort in the 2nd half to focus on playing and from this point the game was very enjoyable as both sides pushed the ball around albeit without troubling the scorers any further. The reserves game which was in serious doubt earlier was played and it provided several highlights, including a goal from Jason Mann who played a decent cameo upfront, two disallowed goals from Andy Wallace who worked extremely hard for 120 minutes across both games but just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the luck of the Irish from Friday night. A extremely flamboyant overhead kick attempt from Andy Dalton (Yes Matt and Bonnie he now needs some work on his shoulder) and finally some niggle from Marshy who unwittingly almost sparked a return to the drama of the first half of the first team game. Post game we shared a bit of lunch and a chat with some of the Waiheke players before heading back to Waiheke Island Motel (great place for sports teams by the way, lovely hosts!) so the players could get into the pool or spa and rest their weary bodies. I think Jordan Oosterhof picked up the most minutes having played 90 in the First Team game and then another 40 odd in the Reserves game.

The coaches then took the chance to have a meeting about our first game next weekend and put the building blocks in place for our players leadership group (more on that next week). After dinner the players were on their own time and it would be a bit of an understatement to say they bonded over some drinks throughout the evening.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now pre-season all done and dusted as we focus on the important task of Tauranga City United AFC this weekend in our inaugural fixture of the 2017 NRFL season

APPS

GOALS

Lloyd Huysmans

Prethip Rajeswaran

John Murphy

Alex Witteveen

57 15

Conrad Benefield

Josh Lai

Monju Shohei (VC)

Karar Sohrabi

Didi Wadam

Victor Ganescu

Sam Christensen

Brennan Priestley

Callum Brown

Ricky Barbosa

Mike Glenny Â©

Rowan Corbett

Joe Junge

ELLERSLIE AFC RESERVES

Ben Fletcher Jason Man Alejo Leguizamon Matt Hylla Tim Adams

Reserves Coach GK Coach Sports Scientist Physio Manager

FIRST TEAM CAREER STATS ONLY

Match O Referee: MASON AR1: n/a AR2: n/a Assessor: n/a

Officials N, Paul

TAURANGA CITY RESERVES Ryan Foord

Elijah Welch Hamish Watt Pip Fauvel

Sergio Fuentes Sham Chetty Strauss Boome

Felipe Garcia Patricio Wilson Rolando (Max) Sotomayor

Michael Bell Harris Edlin (RGK)

Barry Gardiner Alan Smith

Coach Manager

SPOT THE BALL

Answer picture on page 26

All our Men’s and Women’s First and Reserve team players this season are on the hunt for a player sponsor - for a small outlay a sponsor can get their name on the back of a players shirt, a listing in this publication and in our mobile app on our website. If you or someone you know owns a business that want’s a little public exposure or branding please get them to get in touch with the club on chairman@ellersliefootball.org.nz Sponsorship details below:

NRFL & Women’s Conference Player Sponsorship Package $300 + GST per player Business name get’s put on the back of the shirt Business has the choice of retaining the shirt at the end of the season so they can frame it for their office. Business get listings in the match day program, official club app, and the club website. Don’t hesitate - be a player sponsor today!

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Conference NAME

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Pts

Central United

Ellerslie AFC

Fencibles United

Hibiscus Coast AFC

Lynn Avon

Onehunga Sports

Papakura City

Pukekohe AFC

This season the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Conf team is lead by Nicola Demaine who was last years Conference Reserves coach - she takes over a stable side from Jason Oliver who had done a tremendous job across several seasons. Joining Nic as team manager is Jason and Fran while Lane Whittaker joins the group as Reserves (Swamp Dragons) coach.

All the best wishes to both teams this season as they look to be as competitive as possible in the Conference League.

Central Utd

Fencibles Utd

Pukekohe AFC

Papakura City

Ellerslie AFC

Lynn Avon Utd

Hibiscus Coast

Onehunga Sports

09/07/17 (Sun)

02/07/17 (Sun)

18/06/17 (Sun)

11/06/17 (Sun)

28/05/17 (Sun)

21/05/17 (Sun)

14/05/17 (Sun)

07/05/17 (Sun)

30/04/17 (Sun)

23/04/17 (Sun)

09/04/17 (Sun)

02/04/17 (Sun)

Date

13:00

12:15

13:00

Time

Michaels Ave 1FT

Stanmore Bay Park 1

Michaels Ave 1FT

St Peters College

Michaels Ave 1FT

Ken Maunder Park 1

McLennan Park 1

Michaels Ave 1FT

Bledisloe Park 1

Waikaraka Pk 2

Michaels Ave 1FT

Riverhills Park 1

Michaels Ave 1FT

Venue

Papakura City FC

Hibiscus Coast

Pukekohe AFC

Onehunga Sports

Central Utd

Fencibles Utd

Lynn Avon

Papakura City FC

Hibiscus Coast

Pukekohe AFC

Onehunga Sports

Central Utd

Fencibles Utd

Lynn Avon

Opposition

16/07/17 (Sun)

Score

23/07/17 (Sun)

Scorers

Spot the Ball Answer Picture

Ellerslie AFC Team

Date

Opposition

Venue

Time

Please check www.aff.org.nz for any updates to fixtures or league tables

Fixtures correct at time of printing

#checkonyourmates ELLERSLIE ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL CLUB Michaels Avenue Reserve P.O. Box 11 328 Ellerslie, Auckland 1542 P: 09 579 8910 E: chairman@ellersliefootball.org.nz W: ellersliefootball.org.nz facebook.com/EllerslieAFC

twitter.com/EllerslieAFC

Photoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supplied by Tim Adams Phototek Cobra Photography

Program Editor Tim Adams