VAFA Annual Report 2014 by VAFA Media

ANNUAL REPORT

2014

for the love of the game

Still number 1! The VAFA proved once again to be the number 1 community football competition in Melbourne, winning the AFL Victoria Metro Championships by defeating the Eastern Football League in March. Adam Bentick (pictured) from St Bernardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s captained the Big V in the win.

Victorian Amateur Football Association

123rd ANNUAL REPORT SEASON 2014

Presented to the Members at the Annual General Meeting Mantra on Russell 1 December 2014

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Mission Statement To provide all stakeholders of the VAFA with an aﬀordable, enjoyable and competitive game of Australian Rules football in a safe environment, whilst making a meaningful contribution to the community and the development of the game. The Victorian Amateur Football Association was established in 1892 and incorporated under the Companies Act 1961 on the 26th day of February 1970.

Contents

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

VAFA 2014

President’s Report

CEO’s Report

Football Operations Report

Umpire Operations Report

Commercial Operations Report

Media Communications Report

Premier

Premier B

Premier C

Division One

Division Two

Division Three

Division Four

Representative Football

The Big V Club

Junior

Club XVIII

Winning Edge Club Championship

Rising Star 2014

VAFA 2014 Patrons

Independent Tribunal

Messr. J.F.X. Dillion, M.G. Russel and the Hon. John S. Winneke, AC QC RFD

Chairmen: Messrs. D. Dann, D.J. Hughes, T. Issacs, M. O’Brien, J.K. Pilkington, D. Reynolds, S. Theodore Members: Messrs. J.H. Boorn, M.B. Brook, A. Cole, D.R. Dodds, R. Dore, S. Grey, R.E. Lippold, A. Marshall, R. McLean, T. Miller, O Oostermeyer, G.S. Ridd, F. Staﬀord, G. Thomas, A.H. Walstab, C.F. Wills.

President Mr. M.T. Hazell

Vice-President Mr. T.J. Nelson

Treasurer

Investigation Panel

Mr. A.L. Kirkwood-Scott

Board Messrs. A.M. Amad, B. Conti, Mrs. D.M. Connors-Calhaem, Messrs. N.W. Credlin, P.W. De Young, A. Evans (Appointed 3rd March) M.W. Sholly, N.J. Toohey, G.A. Voyage.

Chairmen: Messrs. R.L. Evans, N.J. Toohey. Members: Messrs. P.J. Grima, H. Harisiou, G.A. Voyage.

Registration Secretary Mr. C.C. Bastow

Saturday Score Recorder Mrs. N.M. McTaggart

Chief Executive Oﬀicer Mr. M.W. Sholly

Elsternwick Park Duty Oﬀicers Mr. J. Robinson

General Manager - Football Operations Mr. T.P. Noonan (until 22 January)

Publications Editor

General Manager - Football and Umpire Operations Mr. B.L. Goodman

Mr. A.T. Leonard

Life Members Messrs. V.J. Deane*, L.A. Adamson*, H.J. Stewart*, J.S. McCann*, E.F. Atkins*, F.H. Coldrey*, O.J. Meehan*, P.A. Matthews*, G.T. Moore*, L.S. Zachariah*, J. Fullerton*, Mrs. N. Fullerton*, Messrs. A.G. Perrin*, I.A. Brown*, G.W. McTaggart*, R.A. Sinclair*, M.G. Russell, T.A. Johnson*, N.C. Rundle*, J.F.X. Dillon, A.J. Keam, J.A, Miles, J.A. Fisher, J.F. Hawkins, P.J. Harris*, Dr B.W. Costello, Messrs. D.H. Scott, A.H. Stephens*, C.C. Bastow, T.M. Lyon, I.H. Munro, A.J. O’Callaghan, D.R. Burnes, N.W. Nugent, A.L. LangfordJones, Mrs. N.M McTaggart, Messrs. K.W. Sharkie, J.F. Nelson, P.O’Donohue*, D.R. Booth, D.J. Cook, J.A. Wilson*, R.L. Evans, Mrs. M.L. Bastow, Messrs. J.C. Wilson, P.W. Hutchinson, B.R. McTaggart, P.B. Stevens, J.W. Bell, B.J. Ivey, P.G. Rhoden, N.M. Bourke, D.J. Hughes, Dr. G. Janko and Dr. S. Costello.

General Manager - Administration Mrs. S.J. Anderson

General Manager - Commercial Operations Mr. B.C. O’Hara

General Manager - Media & Communications Mr. A.T. Leonard

Administration Mr. C.S. Burgess (from 28 January) Mr. S.A. Confait (from 31 March) Ms. O.P. Crowe Mrs. A.J. Handley (from 7 April)

VAFA Lawyers James Paterson of Anzarut & Holm

VAFAUA President Mr. D.J. Silfo

*deceased

Club XVIII Umpire Co-ordinator Mr. P. Lambert

Tribunal and Investigations Co-ordinators Mrs. S.J. Anderson and Mr. C.C. Bastow

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

President’s Report The VAFA had another strong year in 2014, reflected in strong finances, strong player numbers, and no major incidents of controversy.

Integrity), Adam Kirkwood-Scott (Finance and

Whilst the VAFA measures itself against a number of quantitative and qualitative measures, at its core the VAFA’s success is ultimately measured against those three pillars mentioned above, which pillars fit under the headings of financial performance, participation, and our brand.

of energy. A number of key decisions have

Congratulations and thanks to our very hard working staff and board for the time they have put in during 2014. The administration of sport comes under an immense amount of scrutiny in Melbourne and although we are not the elite level at the VAFA, I am often amazed at the level of pressure and scrutiny our staff are put under for a community competition. Our staff do an outstanding job running a senior football competition which is more than twice the size of most other senior community football competitions. I can assure everyone that we don’t have twice the resources of the other competitions to service that workload. Perfection is never possible in this environment so as President I am immensely proud of the work that our staff do.

matters which are important for the ongoing

At Board level, I thank and congratulate each of the Board Members on their contributions this year and in particular I extend thanks to the chairs of our sub-committees: George Voyage (Football Growth and Development), Tim Nelson (Commercial), Justin Toohey (Competition

competition we have spent significant time and

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Risk) and Phil De Young (Umpiring). Like every year, 2014 has been busy and full been made in 2014. This season in particular has also been a year of consolidation in many areas. In addition to some key decisions and consolidation, 2014 has also been a year where we have undertaken research into a number of viability of our competition. This research and analysis is crucial to ensuring we make the right decisions on certain key matters down the track. This included a detailed investigation into the insurance arrangements for our competition

The pathway for players who enter our

for the future, with a final decision to continue

competition has also been explored. For example,

our strong relationship with Sportscover only

how might we create a structure whereby more

confirmed in recent months. We continued

players would be able to play two seasons of

our engagement with all stakeholders about

Under 19s football before moving into senior

the prospect of regionalisation of the VAFA

football? Would this model allow for more players

competition. Nothing is set in stone yet, but we

to play football for longer as they move into their

are aware of the changing demands of what

adult years?

people want from their sport and the changing environment of Melbourne, with particular regard to travel times around metropolitan Melbourne now and in years to come. Another area of the research on is our ambition to take the Under 18 competition to greater levels. Growing this

Umpiring is a question that is for constant discussion and the implementation of the Umpiring sub-committee was a big step forward. What our umpiring department looks like and the retention and recruitment of umpires to cover all our matches is a project that continues to evolve.

competition is a key objective of the VAFA and

The VAFA has a huge quantity of historical records

a separate sub-committee has been formed to

and data that now has a sub-committee directly

address this more thoroughly.

responsible for the preservation and where

possible publishing of these records for public consumption. This is huge task being undertaken and as we move towards our 125th Anniversary, it will assist in planned updates to the book on our history, For the Love of the Game. George Voyage from the Board and Andrew Leonard from the staff are overseeing a group of volunteers including former VAFA Executive and passionate club people through this process. Financially, we remain strong. Although we made a small loss in 2014, this was a loss that we budgeted for as we pursued additional expenditure activities. As a board and staff we are very keen to continue to put pressure onto ourselves by increasing spending into areas where money needs to be spent. Whilst it is quite a challenge increasing spending into areas where investment is needed whilst not increasing our affiliation fees, it is a challenge that we take on with enthusiasm and vigour. Whilst the VAFA still retains a significant point of difference to other community football competitions, we need to constantly refresh that point of difference with targeted investment into key areas. This year also marks the end of our current strategic plan. A lot of this year at board level has therefore been spent putting together the building blocks and undertaking discussion and research about where we should be taking the VAFA for the next 3 to 5 years. I look forward to the board and staff, spending time over the summer to discuss our medium to long term objectives as an organisation, and reporting back

to clubs early in 2015 about our discussions. Any journey we decide to embark upon is of course done in consultation with our clubs and other stakeholders.

For the VAFA to continue to be an attractive place for our thousands of players, umpires and volunteers to spend their time, we cannot sit on our laurels.

Whatever the outcome of our strategic discussions, one thing I can say with certainty is that we at the VAFA are up for the challenge of doing whatever is needed to keep our competition not just relevant, but the best community sporting competition in Australia.

I hope you all have an enjoyable and safe Christmas and New Year and come back refreshed in 2015. Michael Hazell President

VAFA Board

M.T. Hazell President

T.J. Nelson Vice-President

A.L. Kirkwood-Scott Treasurer

M.W. Sholly CEO

A.M. Amad

D.M Connors-Calhaem

N.W. Credlin

P.W. De Young

N.J. Toohey

G.A. Voyage

B. Conti

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Chief Executive Officer’s Report Football

Highlights of the 2014 season include:

The 2014 season commenced with AFL Victoria hosting the Metro Championships in March at Visy Park, Carlton. The VAFA were ranked Number 1 and were pitted against the Eastern Football League who were no doubt keen to exact revenge after two losses in recent times. The VAFA were outstanding, dismantling the opposition’s best and running away to a convincing 48 point victory. Congratulations to coach Simon Lethlean, captain Adam Bentick (St Bernard’s) and all of the team for their outstanding victory. Our senior team followed this up with another sterling victory against AFL Queensland by 83 points.

University Blacks winning their 14th Premier Section senior premiership and their first in the top section of the VAFA since 1974.

Three clubs winning back to back senior premierships - Hampton Rovers (Division 1 & Premier C), Kew (Divisions 3 & 2) and Northern Blues (Divisions 4 & 3).

Therry Penola gaining promotion from Division 2 to Premier C in consecutive years.

University Blues rebounding straight back to Premier after winning the Premier B title and also claiming the Winning Edge Club Championship.

Our representative program keeps growing and were delighted that Tom Paule (Old Melburnians) was named best player for the combined metro team that defeated AFL Vic country. Alongside Tom representing the VAFA was Joel Rice (Old Carey), Will Tardif (Collegians) and Jack Bull (Old Scotch). The season commenced with 247 teams contesting 26 separate competitions. In recent years we have seen the premiership winners being dominated by the old boy clubs, however, this year the seven senior sections were won by university or district club teams. The last time this occurred was in 1950 when the competition only had four senior sections.

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Old Carey and Parkdale Vultures gaining promotion after being relegated the previous year.

Canterbury making the Division 4 finals in their first year in the VAFA.

Night football came to the clubs with Collegians hosting Old Brighton in their Round 12 clash on Friday July 18. It is a great credit to Wayne Dyer and his committee for sourcing the required funding to get lights to a suitable standard to host a Premier Section match. In their final round match they again played under lights against Old Scotch. We look forward to more clubs having the facilities to host these games.

Whilst on facilities two of the best community sporting facilities were opened during the season. Melbourne University unveiled their pavilion early in the year whilst St Kevin’s had to wait until the latter rounds. Both of these give spectators, players and oﬀicials superior amenities to enjoy their matches. It was no surprise that both Melbourne University clubs, on the back of this redevelopment were able to capture the Premier and Premier B titles. St Kevin’s will enjoy the use of their facilities for the whole of the 2015 season and it will be interesting to see if there will be on field improvement as a result. These new facilities along with recent ones at Old Scotch, Old Camberwell, St Mary’s Salesian and Kew along with the approved upgrade to Beaumaris, show that clubs are building stronger

partnerships with their councils and sourcing various funding opportunities. Our thanks should also go to AFL Victoria and the AFL for their support of these projects. Grand Final week added a new event to the calendar with the VAFA Grand Final Lunch at the Grand Hyatt. Three hundred people attended the inaugural event which was MC’d by ABC journalist Barrie Cassidy with Essendon coach Mark Thompson, the special guest. We were fortunate that the ASADA ruling was being handed down as the lunch was in progress. Mark spoke candidly about the events at Essendon and his future involvement at the club. At the lunch we were able to congratulate our six senior premiers and focus on the University Blacks v Collegians Premier Grand Final match being played the following day. Also presented was the 2014 Woodrow Medallist, Brendan Iezzi from Old Trinity. Brendan has had a remarkable career in the VAFA which commenced in 2005, as a rep player later touring Ireland with the Australian Under 23 team. Brendan has won the Woodrow twice along with two GT Moore Medals for the fairest and best in Premier B – a four time competition best and fairest winner has him in elite VAFA company. Commercial and Media After a significant increase in sponsorship in 2013 we were able to maintain for this year. This was a pleasing result considering we lost one of our main sponsors, Royal Brunei Airlines, after some philosophical diﬀerences in our values. Blair O’Hara continued to build the portfolio and this year we added MEGT, Anytime Fitness, Authentic Autographs and Tahbilk Wines. Andrew Leonard has continued to drive our media and communications to new levels in 2014. The VAFA purchased all broadcasting and content

rights for INRFM. This allowed us to own all the editorial and advertising content on the two hour Saturday morning show as well as all live weekend matches. The team produced 110 hours of live radio this year; a remarkable achievement from our band of volunteers. Our match day footage increased its viewership by 40% with 104,000 views. Another 54,000 viewed the popular VAFA TV bringing our video content to 158,000 views for the year. Matt Lodge won VAFA TV’s Search for a Star competition that saw him play live at the VAFA Woodrow Medal at Crown and he was subsequently invited to perform at the official VFL Grand Final lunch at Etihad Stadium. Finals We were delighted to be able to have our Grand Finals at premium venues. The Premier and Premier B were played at Sportscover Arena in front of a newly constructed grandstand; the Premier C at the refurbished Trevor Barker Oval, Sandringham; and the Division 1 at Visy Park, Carlton. It is our aim to provide players and spectators with the best possible amenities. Staff I would like to congratulate Brian Goodman on taking up the expansive role of General Manager of Football and Umpiring and handling it so professionally. Combining these two positions allowed us to employ a further staff member who could focus all their attention on their specific area. Olivia Crowe shifted from the front desk to Umpire Operations Officer and Sam Confait was employed as the Football Operations Officer. They were supported by Christian Burgess. They worked as a great team managing all the match day, finals and rep footy arrangements. A huge task especially to a group who were new to their positions.

Sue Anderson, was joined by Ally Handley in Finance and Administration and they combined wonderfully in handling club financials. Sue again looked after our tribunal and investigations whilst Ally relieved some of the pressures on Sue by becoming more involved in our events. As our off field events such as the Season’s Launch, Big V Club, Woodrow Medal and VAFA Awards Night and the VAFA Grand Final Lunch continue to grow, Ally’s skills will become even more valuable. Sue continues to be an excellent role model for all our staff. At the conclusion of the season Olivia Crowe took a position at the SMJFL. Olivia worked at the VAFA for over 3 years, initially on the front desk and then this year as the Umpire Operations Coordinator. I would like to thank Olivia for all her hard work and hopefully the experiences gained will hold her in good stead in her new position. The Board have grown significantly under the leadership of Michael Hazell. I would like to thank our sub-committee chairs, Tim Nelson, Justin Toohey, Adam Kirkwood-Scott, George Voyage and Phil De Young for the leadership and encouragement they have provided all the staff. The VAFA is a challenging work environment and the knowledge and support of the Board is critical to our success. Their expertise is greatly appreciated. I am confident that the staff this year provided even greater service to all our clubs and the strength of the VAFA both on and off the field has continued to grow. Michael Sholly Chief Executive Officer

Staﬀ (left to right): Sam Confait, Olivia Crowe, Brian Goodman, Sue Anderson, Andrew Leonard, Blair O’Hara, Ally Handley, Michael Sholly, Christian Burgess

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Football Operations Report The 2014 season has continued the growth of our competition accommodating 75 clubs entering 251 teams across 26 sections of the VAFA. New Arrivals This season we welcomed new senior club Canterbury along with a revamped Westbourne Grammarians into Division 4 and Wyndham Suns into U19 North. There were also two new employees to our football operations team. Sam Confait joined in April and has worked tirelessly to ensure clubs receive increased communication and eﬀicient day to day operations of the competition, whilst also organising our representative programs. Christian Burgess, joined in January and has been the primary point of contact for all player registrations and finals eligibility queries, whilst significantly assisting Sam throughout the season. These additions to our staﬀ have provided increased service levels to our clubs and assist the development and innovation for the future of our competition.

A focus point of this season was monitoring the completive balances for each section shown below. This data enables us to compare the strengths and deficiencies of each competition and assists our future planning to create sections that produce competitive matches. There are many challenges the VAFA face each season and again this year we endeavored to produce the best competition possible for our stakeholders. We continued to build key partnerships with Interact Sport and FoxSportsPulse to enhance and improve their services to meet our requirements. The introduction of a fine system for live scores saw a drastic increase in the use of this service and as a result there was a sharp increase in viewing numbers compared to 2013. We continue to work with Interact Sport to ensure clubs have easier access to the application next year. The table below illustrates the volume of club members and supporters we engage with and highlights the importance for clubs to complete live scores each week.

Club Football Hampton Rovers, Kew, Northern Blues and Therry Penola continued their climbs up the sections winning consecutive promotions whilst University Blacks secured their first Premier Section premiership since 1974. We introduced the VAFA Colts section this season to accommodate our U18 teams and U19 teams to provide a pathway for our junior players to transition into senior football and whilst this was a success, we are determined to deliver a standalone U18 competition in 2015. The continued eﬀorts from all our clubs to get to a position of zero forfeits again took a step forward with total forfeits down by 8 from the 2013 season.

Table 1: Average Winning Margins across the VAFA in 2014 (average margin at Rd 9 and Rd 18)

Brendan Iezzi (Old Trinity)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Table 2: VAFA Live scores sessions over the 2014 season

Representative Football

Finals

Acknowledgements

Our representative program this season saw our senior team display the strength of our competition by defeating the Eastern Football League in the Victorian Metro Championships to again establish our number one ranking within community football competitions. The senior team also travelled to Brisbane on the Queen’s Birthday weekend and had a dominant win against AFL Queensland. Our U23 team travelled to Hobart on the same weekend, and earned a hard fought 56 point win over the Tasmanian Football Council U23 side. The Premier B - Division 4 and U19 teams, played our traditional fixtures against AFL Victoria Country, however we were outclassed in both matches receiving two heavy loses. We have a chance for redemption next year on July 11. The representative program concluded with our U18 invitational side touring Auckland

We again faced challenges to secure venues for our finals series. To ease the burden, the VAFA again scheduled home finals in week 1 of the finals for all junior competitions except U19 Premier. We received positive feedback as it allowed clubs to operate their own canteen and bar for an extra week, plus gave the higher seeded teams home ground advantage.

I would like to thank our Football Growth and Development sub-committee for all their support and guidance throughout the season. This committee has been ably led by George Voyage as Chairman, fellow Board member Nigel Credlin and CEO Michael Sholly. Together they have continued to assess our competition and look at ways to innovate and advance the VAFA experience.

for two matches against AFL New Zealand. This trip continues to develop AFL Football in New Zealand and reward quality ambassadors from our underage competitions. Our representative coaches and support staﬀ are to be congratulated in continuing to provide first class coaching that has enabled the VAFA to stay on the winning side of the ledger in 2014 as we will look forward to a successful 2015 representative program.

We were able to provide first class facilities for our Grand Finals, using Visy Park for Division 1 and Casey Fields for Division 2, Trevor Barker Oval for Premier C and Sportscover Arena for Premier and Premier B. In an attempt to minimise travel for our clubs, we utilised Highgate Reserve in Craigieburn, Bill Lawry Oval in Northcote, Garvey Oval in Bundoora, Meade Reserve in Clayton and St Bernard’s College in West Essendon. We continue to strive for the perfect balance between venue quality and minimising travel for our clubs in all finals venues. A huge thank you to our duty oﬀicers and gate keepers for their eﬀorts during the finals.

I also wish to thank those who have assisted the football operations department throughout the season and built friendly working relationships with our team. This includes our representative program; weekly assistance at Sportscover Arena including: Nancy McTaggert, John Robinson, Phil Hope and Grzegorz ‘Greg’ Tereszczyn; and the 2014 finals series where our ambassadors, club personnel and board members considerably contribute to the success of the campaign. Brian Goodman General Manager, Football Operations

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Umpire Operations Report Umpire Numbers Umpiring in 2014 again highlighted how difficult the role can be; with a rare upswing of injuries to some key umpires, we needed younger and less experienced umpires to step up to the plate and we did struggle in some respects. An influx of new umpires did assist in this area, but unfortunately a number of those identified to show improvement didn’t quite meet expectations. If we are to perform up to the KPI’s and the expectations of the VAFA then we must get more numbers to training and coaching sessions to sustain our high level of performances over past seasons. Recruiting too was not as strong as past seasons; with 37 new field, 27 new boundary and 9 new goal umpires joining the VAFA. This is respectable, but when countered with the loss of 33 field, 37 boundary and 7 goal umpires from 2013, the recruitment still clearly needs to grow. The month of April saw the umpiring department gain a new staff member in Olivia Crowe who, after two and half years, moved from VAFA administration to become the Umpiring Operations Officer. This provided our umpires and clubs with updated information on a regular basis and Olivia’s role included overseeing the accreditation and Working with Children component of umpire administration.

Coaching Our Head Coach, Tony Hales, has made a significant diﬀerence to the standards expected, but the onus falls onto the umpiring group to apply all our coaches’ messages and convert it to high level performances on match days.

Our umpire coaches in Steve McCarthy, Mark Gibson, Darren Dalgleish, Gavin Boyd (Boundary), Bernie Jephson (Goal), Terry Gunn, Patrick Lambert (Club XVIII) and Graeme Collins, under the wing of Tony Hales, turned out an umpiring group that was selected on form and ensured our umpires were on an upward trend at the end of the season. This meant competition for finals’ appointments was fierce. The inclusion of Craig O’Donoghue as a specialist coach was a great initiative that brought rewards in fast tracking the development of field umpires on the cusp of our top sections. We will benefit even more from Craig’s great work with this program in 2015. A special thank you to Neville Nash, AFL Victoria Umpiring Development Manager for his assistance and guidance to our coaches throughout the season. I thank our umpire observers for all their support, dedication and much needed feedback to the umpires. Many of our club coaches also provided constructive criticism and also a pat on the back when they felt it was warranted. AFL umpires Brett Rosebury, Matt Stevic, Matthew Tomlinson, Daniel Wilson and former VAFA umpire Damien Cusack attended training as part of the AFL’s Community round; this was a great initiative that gave our umpires a great insight into umpiring at the highest level. Former VAFA field umpire Robert O’Gorman also attended training after making the AFL list in 2014 and spoke about his career path and what it takes to make it to the AFL. The fitness of our umpires was up to our usual standard due to the eﬀorts of Wayne Hinton who devised and implemented a training program

that would ensure our group was fit and ready to go from round 1. Neeraj Kochhar (Physio) was again at the forefront of providing the necessary treatment and advice for any injuries that arose throughout the season. It was extremely pleasing to have so many young and enthusiastic umpires progress from the U19s into senior ranks, this was attributed to Darren Dalgleish and our on-field coaches Geoﬀ Deveson, Tony Gleeson, Brian Bulluss, Terry Gunn, Graeme Collins and a welcome return for the last few games of the season from Leah Gallagher. Well done to Patrick Lambert, who in his first season as coordinator of the Club XVIII umpires showed tremendous enthusiasm and handled the challenge extremely well.

Awards and Achievements Congratulations to Russell Davidson for winning the Umpire of the Year award. Russell capped oﬀ a great season by umpiring his seventh Premier Grand Final, a record that will without doubt stand for some time. The talented Sam Levin was awarded Most Promising Umpire, with a special mention to Alexandra Anthony who became the third female field umpire at Premier Section level. The VAFA’s representative program provides many umpires’ opportunities they would never experience anywhere else. Merv Monty will attest to this as Merv umpired four matches in Ireland in October 2013. The VAFA was privileged to have our umpires appointed for the pre-season AFL Victoria Metro Championships representative match. This provided a great highlight for the umpires who were selected to oﬀiciate an independent match in this event.

Premier Grand Final Umpires Russell, Davidson, Kit Harvey and Michael Hooper talk to Inner FM pre-game

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

SFL v WRFL • Field: Kit Harvey, David Lepair, Ben La Vale • Boundary: Hugh Bennett, Remy Cadman, Jack Cooper, Mitchel Jones • Goal: Clayton Evans & Dominic Napoli AAFC: VAFA U23 v Tasmania U23 in Tasmania on 7th June 2014 • Field: Sam Levin AFL Queensland v VAFA in Queensland on 8th June 2014 • Field: David Lepair AFL Vic Community Cup: AFL Vic Country v AFL Vic Metro on 12th July at Avalon Airport Oval • Boundary Umpire: Mitchel Jones AFL Vic Country 2 v VAFA Premier B to Division 4 on 12th July 2014 at St Albans Geelong • Field: Russell Davidson • Boundary: Ben Rickard & Liam Van Essen • Goal: Clayton Evans

All finals matches were umpired extremely well and we can be proud of their eﬀorts especially from our first year umpires. The feedback from clubs was very positive.

I owe a great deal to my VAFA colleagues for their contribution, and the fantastic support from Michael Hazell and the VAFA Board in all matters umpiring has again been first rate.

VAFAUA

Umpires in the VAFA are not subjected to the same pressure as within some other leagues. The VAFA’s zero tolerance of bad behaviour toward umpires, its policy of no alcohol during matches and its alertness in arresting any decline in standards ensures that the VAFA is the best place to blow the whistle.

The contribution of outgoing VAFAUA president Daniel Silfo has been very good, and we have worked through many issues to a conclusion that was beneficial to the group. This huge task has given Daniel the insight into how to deal with many diﬀerent personalities and he has discovered that umpiring means a lot to so many within the VAFA. Daniel and his executive also maintained regular dialogue with the VAFA and it is fair to say that the relationship between the Association and umpires has never been stronger.

All of our clubs contribute to the excellent standing of the VAFA in our football community and long may it continue. Brian Goodman General Manager of Umpiring

AFL Vic Country U19 v VAFA U19 on 12th July at St Albans Geelong • Field: Andrew Bowden • Boundary: Hugh Bennett & Jack Punshon • Goal: Josh Prince Congratulations to Anthony Edmonds who was selected for his first representative match, oﬀiciating in the two games between the VAFA and the AFL New Zealand Under 18 teams, in October at Parrs Park, Auckland, NZ. The major milestone of 2014 was the 650th game achievement by Field Umpiring veteran Steve McCarthy, the well know radio star of 88.3 Southern FM. Other notable milestone achievements were: Jamie Gunn – 400 games; Lionel Katz – 300 games; Russell Davidson – 200 games; Shane McNamara – 200 games; Peter Pullen – 200 games. The introduction of the AFL’s Player to Umpire program enabled the VAFA to again show its expertise. We embraced Andre Gianfagna into our umpiring ranks to assist him in fast-tracking his career in umpiring. We thank Adam Davis, Wayne Campbell, Hayden Kennedy and Scott McLaren for selecting the VAFA to provide much of the week-to-week coaching of Andre. Another first was our Media Manager, Andrew Leonard donning the umpiring attire to give him an insight into umpiring. I can say Andrew acquitted himself quite well and were he to give up his media commitments with Inner FM, more umpiring experience could see him become a regular senior umpire! Russell Davidson

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Commercial Operations Report The commercial development of the VAFA continued to progress well in 2014. There were many areas of focus including acquiring new sponsors & partners, growth of our database, membership offers, promotion of job opportunities, increasing sales through our online store and improving food & beverage operations at Sportscover Arena. Sponsors & Partners In February, the VAFA put the Sponsor Expo back on the calendar. The event was well supported by all sponsors and club officials with a 90%+ attendance rate. The three minute rotation format worked well as it was a terrific opportunity for everyone to connect. Our sponsors donated an amazing array of give-aways ranging from a fridge full of free Gatorade to a commissioned portrait painting worth $5,000. Another highlight was the presentation by Twitter Australia’s Jonno Simpson. Jonno demonstrated how to use Twitter effectively and his advice applied as much to the sponsors as it did our clubs.The VAFA added five new sponsorship partners in 2014. We welcomed Anytime Fitness, MEGT, Authentic Autographs, Tahbilk Group, and Four’N’Twenty. Unfortunately, our relationship with Royal Brunei Airlines ended unexpectedly due to external factors and resulted in a significant loss in sponsorship revenue. Despite this, sponsorship income rose slightly but was offset by an increase in sponsorship costs due to an increased event program. Anytime Fitness is one of the world’s biggest fitness centre operations and are a perfect fit for the VAFA. Their gyms are state of the art facilities and most of the locations in Melbourne are in close proximity to VAFA clubs. We thank Simon Olive for his support and involvement throughout the year. MEGT is one of Australia’s leading organisations in the areas of employment, education, and training, particularly for apprentices and trainees. We intend for the partnership to open up the number and breadth of positions available for more players. Authentic Autographs are the leading distributor of official licensed memorabilia in Melbourne. Managing Director, Dave Sumiga, is a wealth of knowledge in the industry and produces high quality items at the lowest cost in the market. Tahbilk Group has been very well received by the VAFA and many clubs in their first year of involvement. Tahbilk is a historical wine brand from the Nagambie Region, along with brands, Four Sisters and Macphersons. We thank John Irvine and Martin Kelliher for their work to establish and grow the partnership. Our sole major sponsor, Sportscover, continues to be the cornerstone of the VAFA sponsorship portfolio. Sportscover CEO, David Lamb,

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

performed the toast to the VAFA at our Season Launch in March. We acknowledge and thank Chris Nash and all staﬀ for the very high level of insurance coverage and customer service we receive each year. Bayford Group has established themselves as the go-to dealership for new or used cars throughout the VAFA. Bayford provide a valuable investment into the VAFA and, through their rebate program, Bayford have put in over $15,000 to VAFA clubs who have supported their dealerships. We acknowledge Wayne Taynton and Robert Sultana for their great support of the partnership. 1116 SEN is becoming an increasingly supportive partner of the VAFA. SEN became naming rights partner of our Big V Lunch in August with extended promotion of the event. Maintaining mainstream awareness is critically linked to increasing the value of sponsorship for the VAFA and clubs. We thank CEO Barrie Quick for his ongoing support. In 2015, the VAFA will re-design most of the VAFA.com.au website. East Malvern Community Bendigo Bank, led by Peter Norman, has provided the necessary funds to execute the redevelopment of this fundamental digital asset. Branch Manager, Peter Wolﬀ will be leaving this particular bank branch but we thank him for the many years of hands-on support during his time at East Malvern. Cambridge Clothing Co. expanded on their first year in the VAFA with interactions at various VAFA clubs for ‘fashion shows’ this year as well as a record number of entries in the VAFA ‘worst dressed man’ competition. Our sports medicine partners, Club Warehouse, Beiersdorf and Lifecare continue to provide the highest level of quality across their range of services. All three companies are heavily involved in the further education of the VAFA trainers and this is reflected in the great level of care provided to players on match days. We appreciate the continued and valued involvement of our major suppliers, including KooGa/BLK, Sherrin, Schweppes, Winning Edge Presentations, Cyan Press, 2XU and technology partners ClubData, FoxSportgPulse & Interact Sports. In addition, we thank our game day football sponsors K2 Asset Management & Taco Bill for their ongoing support. Club operations From May to June, I invited club presidents or sponsorship managers from Premier B through to Division 4 to three separate workshops to discuss sponsorship acquisition at club level. It was a great forum to analyse club sponsorship proposal documents and workshop how to improve. We also discussed other commercial initiatives such as membership programs,

fundraising nights, and areas the VAFA could assist clubs increase revenue. I am pleased to report several clubs gained sponsors in the $2-3k range after attending the workshop. Catering We learned from our 2013 experience, to enhance the food and beverage operation at Sportscover Arena. Improved service times during the busy periods of finals was a focus and we achieved this. Unfortunately, due to lower crowd numbers than previous years, the financial result was less than expected. Having said that, a profit of $21,400 is a significantly greater return than when operations were outsourced. Future planning Currently, the commercial sub-committee is developing a new three year strategic plan. One area of focus is our warehouse and distribution service to your community. Based on learnings from the commercial workshop, assisting clubs resource and deliver an eﬀective membership program is also a potential development area. Earlier in the year, new software allowed us to consolidate the database and clean it of incorrect or outdated records. The end result was an accurate list of over 20,000 individuals. We are aware of how big the VAFA community is throughout Melbourne and we aim to ‘join the dots’ and grow our database Acknowledgements To the members of the VAFA commercial subcommittee, Chairman Tim Nelson, Anthony Amad, Davina Conners-Calhaem, Michael Sholly, Michael Hazell and Andrew Leonard, thank you for your valued and active participation throughout the year. Overall, 2014 has been a year of consolidation and refinement in our understanding of what work is required to increase the revenue potential of the VAFA for short and long term benefit. We look forward to building upon this in 2015 and beyond. Blair O’Hara General Manager, Commercial Operations

Media and Communications Report By the numbers

The 2014 season saw a growth in the media and communications figures through all of our operations. Again the VAFA presented content via many platforms to keep up with the demand and trends of an ever-changing media landscape. Platforms The VAFA’s most engaging platform continues to be our website, vafa.com.au. The VAFA has a strong presence on social media with regular updates about the Association on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and we also increased our use of LinkedIn as a tool to communicate and interact with our community. Our award winning weekly TV show, VAFA TV, continued to feature a club on a weekly basis. The Amateur Footballer continued production albeit on a smaller scale than in previous years. As the VAFA community turns to online for their information the print run numbers declined year on year by a further 20% from the 2013 season. We again produced a full colour A4 version of the VAFA Grand Final Record. The Amateur Footballer was also available free for download via our iPad App through the iTunes store. Inner FM was again our match of the day broadcast partner for match day radio, whilst North-West FM and Southern FM continued to provide radio shows covering the VAFA on Sunday. The VAFA Finals podcast returned and was well received each week of the finals via the website. We expanded our coverage on commercial radio station SEN 1116 to include a weekly wrap of the VAFA that was played on Tuesday drive and Wednesday breakfast every week. Our premier sections were all filmed and each match of the season was available to be viewed and downloaded at vafatv.com. The VAFA Premier and Premier B Grand Finals were shown on Channel 31 again as well as a 30 minute highlights show of the finals during September. Our weekly newsletter continued to keep both past and present players and VAFA community up to date with what is happening in the VAFA.

Twitter

4,002 followers

29.03% increase

Facebook

3,582 likes

21.61% increase

Instagram

305 followers

73.33% increase

YouTube

51,720 views 155,071 minutes watched

0.51% decrease 3.07% increase

211 followers 890 group members

55% increase 16.9% increase

vafa.com.au

5.61 million hits

2% increase

VAFA Newsletter

19,000 recipients

44.73% increase

VAFA TV Matches

103,177 views

39.18% increase

VAFA Livescores

70,000 views

31.43% increase

Awards After last year’s Annual Report went to print, the VAFA were delighted that VAFA TV won the AFL Victoria Community Football Media Award for Best use of Online Media in 2013, our show beat off online TV offerings from all other community football competitions. We have again been nominated in this category as well as other categories for the continued excellence of our media offerings in 2014. Acknowledgements The sheer size of the VAFA means that the job of producing quality media content is beyond one person and for this we must thank the team of volunteers that work throughout the VAFA Media team. Thank you to the Amateur Footballer scribes who returned for another season: James Ried, Division 1; Brenton Mann, Division 2; Kris Neil, Division 3; Lewis Emmerson, U19 Section 2; Olivia Crowe, VAFA Colts; Norm Nugent, Club XVIII; Geoff Reilly, Retrospective and Steve McCarthy Umpires Corner. We must also thank our new practitioners Blair Morton who covered Premier B, Ned Hunt wrote on Premier C, Ryan ‘Hammy’ Goodman on Division 4, plus John Donohoe on U19 Premier, Tom Connolly on U19 Section 3, Anna O’Donnell on U19 North and South, and Kit Harvey in Umpires Corner.

Thank you also to the fantastic team at Inner FM for their coverage of our game in 2014. The commentators led by Michael Crooks, Chris Venus, Andrew Holmes, Barnaby Willis, Jo Wotton, David Speedie, Ryan Goodman and Blair Morton; the fantastic service and commitment of Ken Petrucco and John Kanis as both special comments and hosts of the Saturday morning VAFA Football show; and finally not forgetting the team behind the scenes in Tim Armstrong, Glenn Dragamire and Adrian Hook. Tom Brain and Steve McCarthy returned and were joined by Stephen Grey to do their ever popular show, VAFA Sunday, on Southern FM. Thank you also to Glenn Scarborough and Pat for his great coverage on North-West FM each Sunday night in the North-West Amateur Footy Report. I would particularly like to thank Olivia Crowe who did a power of work behind the scenes and also to Ryan Goodman who covered for me on a week of VAFA TV. Finally thank you to Michael Sholly for again writing his editorial each week and the support and guidance he has given the VAFA Media department throughout the year. Andrew Leonard, General Manager, Media and Communications

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Premier

Black on top It was another eventful season in Premier Section, two coaching changes, an unregistered player, the very first Friday night football, an on field player count and for a few rounds it looked as though both of the 2013 grand finalists could be relegated. In the end, University Blacks ended a 40-year drought when they defeated Collegians in the Grand Final. There had been other exalted times at Blacks since 1974, but none of these premierships came with the status as the best team in amateur football. That is what Blacks were in 2014. It has been a meteoric climb from the doldrums; from floating in F Section and a sensational news story that mooted Blacks were seeking a potential merger with adversaries Uni Blues in the late 1990s, to the past decade that has been a steady climb back to the top.

Old Brighton in the opening six games looked bereft of enough talent to win a game, let alone go the distance, but Simon Williams marshaled his troops well and their final day relegation was unlucky considering their form line read better than that of De La Salle in the run home. Nevertheless, the Tonners return to Premier B only twelve months on from lifting that trophy. They can say they were part of history though when they featured in the first Premier Section game to be played under Friday night lights when they lost to Collegians at Harry Trott.

The season may have commenced a week later than the rest of the competition but whilst some things change, some stay the same. Beaumaris again handed St Bedes/Mentone Tigers a hiding in round 1. It would prove a sign of things to come as St Bedes/Mentone struggled through the season to eventually be relegated after seven years, three grand finals and one famous premiership in the VAFA’s top section. Club and VAFA egend, Luke Wintle, played only three games to get to 300 with the Tigers before hanging up the boots. The Tigers were smashed by injury and lacked depth at key points of the year.

De La Salle was under new leadership. Paul Satterley took charge of an almost entire new list at the Dairy Bell. A one point win over St Bernard’s at home and a tense victory over Old Brighton – also at home – late in the season were key victories that ultimately enabled the La Sallians to stay up. First class performance after first class performance, plus a couple of mark of the year contenders from Tom Humphrey, was another highlight in a season where De La were lucky to hang on in eighth.

Brendan Iezzi (Old Trinity) - Woodrow Medallist

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Beaumaris’ bright start fell away badly. After spending the first 7 weeks in the four, an eight game losing streak saw the Sharks plummet towards the bottom rungs. Percentage saved them from any real concerns, but the reality of their situation and the diﬀerent direction that club and coach wanted to go saw Steve Lawrence depart his post after Round 16. It was the second mid-season coach departure in as many years in the top section for Beaumaris. Former Saint and midfield recruit Raphael Clarke took control for the final two matches that saw the Sharks sign oﬀ the year in seventh. A round 7 loss to Old Brighton saw Old Xaverians complete their worst start to a season since 1996. The loss signaled the end of Dom Berry’s solo tenure, just seven games after being co-coach of the premiership Xaverians in 2013 with Nick Bourke. The Black and Red said thank you and farewell to Berry and returned to a co-coaching model. Favourite son Simon Lethlean returned to club football from State duty with former Collegians B Section premiership coach Pat

Hawkins by his side. Xavs made a charge towards an unlikely finals berth, but in the end there was too much to do. A lackluster performance at Old Trinity sparing other finalists any nervous tension about what Xavs might do had they made it. Old Xaverians ended up sixth with their poor percentage (courtesy of playing an unregistered player) and early losses ensuring they missed the finals for the first time in a decade. Without doubt the surprise packet of the year was Old Trinity. The T’s fell short of a Premier B premiership in 2013, but the year spent in Premier B had taught them how to win again. Old Trinity were winning games they previously could not in the top section. Defeating the Tigers at Brindisi St for the first time, a rare victory at Old Brighton’s Beach Oval and they also got the points twice against Old Xaverians. All of this without A. Ramsden on the team sheet for the first time in two decades. Despite their blistering start Old Trinity fell in a mid-year hole. Players ventured overseas and whilst the soccer World Cup drew on playing stocks from all clubs, it was the T’s who suﬀered most. The younger side struggled with slender bodies on heavier tracks and subsequently lost six on end. They won their last two matches but Old Scotch rested half their side in the final round meaning that whilst Old Trinity were barracking for the Cardinals in that Friday night clash, in the end it was Collegians who booked a spot in September. Old Trinity though will look back on 2014 fondly, they had the Woodrow Medalist in Brendan Iezzi, the new award of the Premier Coaches MVP in Harry Tinney and the Club Warehouse Rising Star in Anthony Scott all in their team. A finish of fifth, with many U19 eligible players in the side and their 19s claiming a premiership too, Adam Andrews has a side that is on the up. Old Scotch again finished third and again lost the first semi final. The third year in a row they had done so. A diﬀerent approach saw Old Scotch make 11 changes from their Round 18 clash with Collegians to the first semi final. Whilst most will remember the first semi at Trevor Barker Oval as one of the games of the decade, those wearing cardinal red will lament another season falling short of potential. It was a solid year but as the three year reign of Messrs. Anderson and Powell ended, Old Scotch change direction looking to build on what they had accomplished. St Bernard’s had the makings of a serious challenger in 2014 and just a few weeks out from the end of the home and away season the crystal ball was predicting the Snowdogs to be there on

Grand Final day. A drop oﬀ in form cost new coach Anthony Rock dearly as St Bernard’s flirted with their form resting half their side against Blacks in Round 18 and subsequently lost their next two finals to exit September in straight sets. The club is on the right track though, they had all six of their teams play finals. A six year project, the pipe dream of Collegians President Wayne Dyer finally came to fruition when Old Brighton put their hand up on a soggy July Friday night to face Collegians at Harry Trott. The game was a huge success. Despite the sideways rain, a larger than normal crowd witnessed the event. It was around this time that Collegians were starting to show some form as they made their bid for a spot in September. After securing a finals spot in Round 18, Collegians won through to a fifth Grand Final in seven seasons. Collegians were a mix of old stars and fresh new faces that took this group to beyond expectations. Mark Hibbins continued to lead the way and was joined by Darren Baxter this year. Shura Taft continued to be a diﬀicult match up for defenders and he finally won a section goal-kicking award in his 12th season. On grand final day Collegians fell short of an inspired Blacks side, but there was enough promise for the next season. University Blacks under the tutelage of Cameron Roberts took all before them in 2014. From an opening round win over reigning premiers Xavs, to their crushing wins that took place throughout their campaign, Blacks were the standout team of the year. A raft of former AFL listed talent, including the acquisition of St Kilda 200 game veteran Jason Blake saw that Blacks were bigger, stronger and more devastating than their opposition. They were more than 200 points better in attack and more than 300 points better in defence than their nearest rivals. It was a stunning year crowned when inspirational captain and Jock Nelson Medalist Bede Mahon joined Roberts on the dais to hold up the LA Adamson Cup. It was a double for Blacks who also claimed the reserves flag in thrilling fashion. Coming from behind in the final quarter to level the scores with Old Xaverians before the final siren sounded for a draw. Ten minutes of extra time ensued and Blacks full of running and momentum managed to kick clear to claim a ten point win. Andrew Leonard

Premier Section Premiership Team: University Blacks B: HB: C: HF:

Adam Pitt, Jason Blake, Jesse Laurie Brent Sheehan, Bede Mahon (C), Scott Weekley (VC) Harrie Lahy, Jandre Slabbert, Joel Ernest

Angus Locke, Adam Pattison, Alastair Robbins

Andrew Willingham (VC), Tyson Kruse, Simon Hogan

Int: Coach:

Isaac Anderson, Nick Batten, Angus Drysdale, Tom Napier Cameron Roberts

Leading Goalkickers Name

Club

Goals

Shura Taft

Collegians

53* (65)

Matthew Handley

Old Xaverians

Chad Jones

St Bernard’s

Mark Passador

Old Scotch

Adam Pattison

University Blacks

49 45 (48) 41 35 (37) *Sharpshooter (Including Finals)

JN Woodrow Medal Player

Club

Brendan Iezzi

Old Trinity

Adam Bentick

St Bernard’s

Bede Mahon

University Blacks

Tom Sullivan

St Bernard’s

Wil Tardif

Collegians

Votes

Scribe Team of the year B: HB:

Harry Tinney (OT), Tom Humphrey (DLS), Adam Pitt (UB) Will Tardiﬀ (Coll), Tom Caven (StB), Richard Eva (OS)

Tyson Kruse (UB), Brendan Iezzi (OT), Esmonde Prowse (OX)

HF:

Tim Doherty (SBMT), Chad Jones (StB), Adam Bentick (StB)

FF:

Shura Taft (Coll), Mark Passador (OS), Ed Weatherson (OT)

Shane Neaves (OS), Chris Waller (OX), Bede Mahon (UB)

Int:

Huw Lacey, Peter O’Rourke, Simon Thomas

Robert Cathcart (Beau), Marcel Bruin (OB), Tom Sullivan (StB), Matt Handley (OX)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2012 2014

Premier Results PREMIERSHIP LADDER University Blacks

For

Agst

PTS

1842

1032

178.49

St Bernards

1603

1321

121.35

Old Scotch

1625

1452

111.91

Collegians

1535

1429

107.42

Old Trinity

1408

1321

106.59

Old Xaverians

1291

1347

95.84

Beaumaris AFC.

1510

1625

92.92

De La Salle

1150

1526

75.36

Old Brighton

1158

1687

68.64

St Bedes/Mentone Tigers

1322

1785

74.06

Premier Grand Final at Sportscover Arena University Blacks

2.3

2.4

12.9

13.12 (90)

Collegians

0.1

3.1

4.2

7.4 (46)

University Blacks Goals: A. Robbins 2, J. Blake 2, H. Lahy 2, T. Napier 1, A. Locke 1, S. Weekley 1, A. Pattison 1, T. Kruse 1, J. Laurie 1, H. Lacey 1 Best: B. Mahon, H. Lahy, A. Pitt, S. Weekley, A. Pattison, S. Thomas Collegians Goals: S. Taft 3, N. Corp 2, H. Croft 1, J. Kamener 1 Best: C. Hylton, J. Eimutis, S. Hibbins, N. Ries, T. Penberthy, C. Holst Bede Mahon (University Blacks) - Jock Nelson Medallist

Jock Nelson Medal: Bede Mahon (University Blacks)

Preliminary Final Collegians

1.4

7.6

10.7

14.8 (92)

St Bernards

1.7

2.12

4.18

5.22 (52)

Collegians Goals: H. Croft 3, C. Hylton 3, S. Taft 2, C. Jesaveluk 2, G. Jones 2, A. Croft 1, N. Corp 1 Best: C. Hylton, T. Zimbachs, T. Phillips, C. Jesaveluk, H. Croft, J. Eimutis St Bernards Goals: B. Considine 1, A. Merrington 1, A. Bentick 1, T. Overman 1, S. Clarke 1 Best: A. McLeod, N. Kazuro, S. Caven, T. Sullivan, M. Angel, A. Singleton

Semi Final 1 Collegians

3.6

6.9

10.16

17.21 (123)

Old Scotch

5.2

7.5

11.7

16.13 (109)

Collegians Goals: S. Taft 7, C. Jesaveluk 2, G. Jones 2, A. Croft 2, A. Howison 1, N. Corp 1, N. Ries 1, C. Hylton 1 Best: J. Kamener, N. Giles, C. Simmons, S. Taft, C. Hylton, L. Apted Old Scotch Best: M. Passador 3, E. Barlow 3, C. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Beirne 2, L. Hill 2, W. Strange 1, N. Jamieson 1, E. Routman 1, J. Bull 1, R. Wills 1, J. Long 1 Best: N. Jamieson, A. Houlihan, J. Hurley, J. Bull, S. Thompson, M. Passador

Semi Final 2 University Blacks

2.3

7.6

12.10

15.17 (107)

St Bernards

2.1

4.4

6.7

9.10 (64)

University Blacks Goals: A. Robbins 4, N. Batten 2, T. Napier 1, H. Lacey 1, J. Ernest 1, A. Pattison 1, B. Mahon 1, C. Turner 1, I. Anderson 1, A. Locke 1, J. Slabbert 1 Best: J. Laurie, S. Hogan, P. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Rourke, A. Pitt, B. Mahon, S. Weekley St Bernards Goals: C. Jones 3, N. Cooke 2, A. Bentick 1, T. Sullivan 1, M. Hannan 1, S. Caven 1 Best: M. Hannan, S. Caven, T. Sullivan, T. Overman, N. Kazuro, A. Singleton

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Premier Reserves PREMIERSHIP LADDER St Bernards Old Xaverians University Blacks Collegians Old Scotch Beaumaris AFC Old Brighton St Bedes / Mentone Tigers Old Trinity De La Salle

For

Agst

PTS

18 17 18 18 18 18 18 17 18 18

15 12 10 10 9 9 9 6 4 3

3 5 7 7 8 8 9 11 14 15

0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1529 1400 1169 1179 1276 1291 1198 992 960 917

853 899 966 1117 1103 1146 1146 1384 1753 1601

179.25 155.73 121.01 105.55 115.68 112.65 104.54 71.68 54.76 57.28

60 52 42 42 38 38 36 24 16 12

Premier Reserves Premiership Team: Old Xaverians B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coach:

Alex Williamson, Ben Clark, David Cooper Sean Butler, Rob Humann, Steven Flight Jordan Quaile, Lachlan Devine, Lachlan Huntington Bart Mill, Cameron Turner, Scott Myers (C) Trent Storer, Jordan Foster, Justin Crameri Tim Howie, Ben Kealy, Harry King Jackson Roder, Ben Vile, Scott Dadswell, James Bismire Xavier Moloney

Premier Reserves Grand Final University Blacks Old Xaverians

1.1 3.8

3.4 4.9

4.4 7.10

9.9 (63) 7.11 (53)

University Blacks Goals: J. Foster 4, S. Butler 2, S. Flight 1, J. Crameri 1, S. Myers 1 Best: J. Quaile, J. Foster, S. Flight, T. Storer, L. Devine, T. Howie Old Xaverians Best: M. Cain 2, J. Anderson 1, L. Keith 1, M. Douglas 1, M. Margin 1, C. Beetham 1 Best: J. Douglas, M. Cain, M. Douglas, D. Prowse, D. Harangozo, C. Margin

Cameron Turner (University Blacks)

Best on ground medal: Jordan Quaile (University Blacks)

PREMIERSHIP LADDER Old Xaverians University Blacks St Bernards University Blues Collegians Old Melburnians Old Scotch

Premier Thirds

For

Agst

PTS

14 15 17 17 16 14 16

12 13 11 7 6 4 3

2 2 6 9 9 10 13

0 0 0 1 1 0 0

1 2 1 0 2 2 2

3 1 0 1 0 0 0

1423 1309 1248 1201 908 686 732

739 807 1024 1040 1049 1272 1205

192.56 162.21 121.88 115.48 86.56 53.93 60.75

64 64 48 34 34 24 20

Premier Thirds Premiership Team: Old Xaverians B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coach:

Matthew Adams, Tom Grigg, Matthew Dimattina Liam Rogan, Tim Trahair, James Woods Joshua Hanger, Stuart Ross, Hamish Buckley Andrew Mathis, James Morton, Daniel Molan Anthony Torre (C), Todd Daniher, Callum DiPierdomenico James McElhinney, James Smith, Patrick Armstrong Benjamin Corcoran, Joshua Evans, Patrick Dillon, Jackson Sleeman, Nick Ielasi, Tom McClusky Liam Grigg

Premier Thirds Grand Final Old Xaverians University Blacks

2.5 0.2

6.11 2.2

11.13 5.5

17.16 (118) 5.5 (35)

Old Xaverians Goals: T. Daniher 5, H. Buckley 3, C. Dipierdomenico 3, B. Corcoran 2, S. Ross 1, A. Mathis 1, J. Evans 1, N. Ielasi 1 Best: H. Buckley, J. Smith, T. Daniher, P. Armstrong, J. Woods, J. Hanger University Blacks Best: J. Heeley 1, A. Mackay 1, H. Robinson 1, J. Wilson 1, A. Torney 1 Best: A. Torney, L. Crameri, J. Cordner, J. Champion De Crespign, S. Lewis, A. Mackay

Hamish Buckley (Old Xaverians)

Best on ground medal: Hamish Buckley (Old Xaverians)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Premier B

Blues call the tune The noise in pre-season was that University Blues would be the ones to beat in 2014, and so it proved. With 2004 A Section Premiership captain Quinton Gleeson taking over as senior coach, Blues were the best side across the home and away rounds and they didn’t let up until the final siren on Premier B Grand Final Day had them holding up the J.V. Deane Cup to celebrate their return to Premier Section with a comprehensive premiership win. Blues commenced their first season in Premier B for a couple of decades with vigour and aside from three sporadic slip ups against sides that failed to make the finals it was the students then daylight in 2014. Premier B is usually one of the most competitive sections, and if you took Blues out of it, then arguments could be made that this held true. Old Carey were the next best for most of the year but a final round thrashing suﬀered at St Kevin’s saw SKOB pinch the double chance from Old Carey by half a percent, who dropped to third only a further half percent ahead of Old Melburnians in fourth. Old Carey rallied in the finals to win their way back to Premier at their first attempt. Uni Blues and Old Carey became the first set of relegated clubs from the top flight to bounce straight back since Old Xaverians and Alphington in 1962. It

is only the second time in VAFA history that this has happened, making the efforts of both clubs commendable. Former Marcellin premiership player and Woodrow Medalist Glenn Cox had crossed Bulleen Road to coach Old Carey and he can be proud of what he extracted out of this group after such a disappointing previous campaign. Anyone who heard his three quarter time address in the preliminary final will remember it fondly as one of the great ones; extracting one last effort from his players, “like squeezing one last bit from a sponge.” Whilst the Grand Final was tense for the first half, after half time, there was a feeling that Blues were about to be let off the leash at any point. As is so often the case in Premier B, the Panthers had played their grand final a week prior in the preliminary final against St Kevin’s. Blues waltzed

away in style in the final 30 minutes of the year and the final score line whilst not reflective of the closeness of the game itself, is testament to the dominance that Blues demonstrated in 2014. Tom MacKenzie booted six goals to win the Cordner Medal, but the truth is any number of Blues players could have won it such was their spread of performers on the day. St Kevin’s again made finals and again lost both that they competed in. The weight of expectation on the club’s anticipated return to Premier Section building as each year passes. There were positives though, certainly the Daniel Harford system of coaching looked purposeful and their juniors coming through are an exciting prospect. Not least of all, SKOB now have a permanent home. For so long the itinerant club, the new pavilion at TH King is first class and is a credit to all at the club for their work and collaboration with local council. Old Melburnians commenced the year poorly, but once back on track, they were almost unstoppable defeating all finals contenders bar Blues through a mid season purple patch. Their skipper Tom Paule was the catalyst throughout and he subsequently polled competition best and fairest votes in 14 games during the season to claim the GT Moore Medal. Paule’s year also saw him play for the senior Big V twice (against the EFL and AFL Queensland) earning him selection in AFL Victoria’s Metro team that played AFL Vic Country where he won the best on ground in the Metro’s big win. For those that missed the four, AJAX was next best. The Jackers again started the campaign well and whilst they held their list together for most of the year, they still lost some games they shouldn’t have. Josh Ludski was a standout finishing runner up in the Moore as well as playing in the VAFA U23s win over Tasmania. David Faymen incredibly won his fifth consecutive VAFA leading goal kicker award and his third in a row in Premier B. Mazenod, the promoted runners up of Premier C were devastated by injury and, a worrying lack of form early, but they found their mojo to rebound with searching run of form that had them in line for finals. In the end the turnaround proved too much, but they could take some satisfaction from a one point win over the eventual premiers and a fantastic away win at St Kevin’s during that charge to the line.

Tom Paule (Old Melburnians) - Moore Medallist

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Going into Round 18, Caulfield Grammarians were inside the bottom two. The Fields managed to dot enough wins through the season – including a

Premier B Premiership Team: University Blues Marc James (University Blues)

B: HB:

triumph in Round 18 against Uni Blues who rested seven – to avoid the drop. The year would also prove to be legendary coach Tim O’Shaughnessy’s valedictory year too. He can be satisfied he got an incredibly young team, to hang on for another tilt in such a competitive section. Old Haileyburians were mired in the bottom two for much of the latter half of the year and that is where they ended up. Relegated to Premier C for the first time since 1989 when they won they were last in that section as premiers. Michael Meehan was their standout player, but Stewart Lowe’s step up to senior coaching ultimately lasted just one season. From zero to hero and then back again. That is what life has been like for Old Ivanhoe Grammarians over the past three seasons. The Hoes may have bounced back to Premier B with a Premier C flag this year, but an inability to string wins together sends them back a section. A late escape bid was thwarted by a final round loss at Old Haileybury, and the Fields beating Blues. The high point was their round 4 win over Uni Blues. Blues collected the reserve section premiership to mark a fantastic year for the club. The new pavvy at the Melbourne University Oval is the envy of all amateur clubs, next year they will share match days with their equally successful neighbours Blacks, both strong and both in the top section of the VAFA. Andrew Leonard

Llewyn Butler, Jack Watts (C), Matthew Hart Sean Carr, Ryan Eade, Matthew Torney

HF:

Will Cunningam, Paddy Hayes, Marc James

Paddy Gardiner, Tom MacKenzie, Dirk Heinz

Cam Williams, Pete Summers, Jeremy Mugavin

Int: Coach:

Josh Caldow, Marshall Rippon, Riley McMahon, James Van de Pol Quinton Gleeson

Leading Goalkickers Name

Club

Goals

David Fayman

AJAX

67*

Michael Meehan

Old Haileyburians

Jake Lew

AJAX

Cameron Beck

Old Melburnians

40 (41) *Sharpshooter (Including Finals)

GT Moore Medal Player

Club

Thomas Paule

Old Melburnians

Joshua Ludski

AJAX

Marshall Rippon

University Blues

Rory Angiolla

Fitzroy

Cameron Howat

Old Carey

Votes

Scribe Team of the year B: HB: C:

Jack Townley (UB), Andrew Sloane (OC), Dean Heta (OI) Cam Howat (OC) - VC, Jack Watts (UB) - C, Tom Roach (OC) Ben Phibbs (Maz), Jeremy Mugavin (UB) , Rory Angiolella (Fitz)

HF:

Dean Kelly (Maz), Mick Meehan (OH), Pana Karageorgiou (SKOB)

FF:

Cam Beck (OM), David Fayman (AJAX), Warren Steinberg (AJAX)

Cam Williams (UB), Tom Paule (OM), Marshall Rippon (UB)

Int:

Jack Townley (VC), Hugh Vickers-Willis, Angus Nice

Joel Rice (OC), Tom Silvestro (CG), Nick Wood (SKOB), Peter Summers (UB)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Premier B Results PREMIERSHIP LADDER University Blues

For

Agst

PTS

2031

924

219.81

St Kevins

1842

1561

118.00

Old Carey

1757

1496

117.45

Old Melburnians

1524

1302

117.05

AJAX

1419

1449

97.93

Mazenod

1474

1541

95.65

Caulfield Grammarians

1160

1700

68.24

Fitzroy

1239

1600

77.44

Old Haileybury

1402

1788

78.41

Old Ivanhoe

1231

1718

71.65

Premier B Grand Final at Sportscover Arena University Blues

5.7

7.7

12.14

20.22 (142)

Old Carey

3.1

5.5

8.6

10.7 (67)

University Blues Goals: T. MacKenzie 6, P. Summers 2, P. Gardiner 2, R. Eade 2, J. Caldow 1, R. McMahon 1, D. Heinz 1, S. Carr 1, M. Rippon 1, J. Mugavin 1, M. James 1, W. Cuningham 1 Best: J. Mugavin, T. MacKenzie, J. Townley, P. Summers, A. Nice, C. Williams Old Carey Goals: B. Smithwick 3, C. Howat 2, M. Laidlaw 2, J. Reid 1, N. Richardson 1, L. Macleod 1 Best: L. McQueen-Miscamble, A. Stewart-Holmes, J. Rice, B. Smithwick, T. Roach, C. Howat Ian Cordner Medal: Tom MacKenzie (University Blues)

Premier B Preliminary Final Pat Cremean (Old Carey)

St Kevins

0.2

2.11

4.13

7.15 (57)

Old Carey

5.5

5.6

10.9

12.15 (87)

Old Carey Goals: J. Reid 2, T. Roach 2, S. Freemantle 2, B. Smithwick 1, N. Richardson 1, C. Howat 1, C. Jones 1, M. Laidlaw 1, G. Parker 1 Best: R. Bongetti, T. Roach, C. Howat, J. Rice, N. Richardson, J. Joslin St Kevins Goals: C. Gleeson 2, Z. Ginies 2, N. Wood 1, P. Edgar 1, T. Cunningham 1 Best: T. Cunningham, S. Salopek, C. Ring, J. Weber, Z. Ginies, J. Salopek

Premier B Semi Final 1 Old Carey

6.4

7.6

13.9

16.9 (105)

Old Melburnians

3.3

8.7

9.10

11.16 (82)

Old Carey Goals: T. Roach 3, C. Howat 2, J. Reid 2, B. Smithwick 2, N. Richardson 2, L. Macleod 1, H. Moore 1, S. Freemantle 1, R. Bongetti 1, C. Jones 1 Best: L. McQueen-Miscamble, J. Rice, R. Bongetti, C. Crowther, S. Freemantle, J. Murrie Old Melburnians: Goals: T. Hywood 3, A. Armstrong 2, T. Bachet 2, L. Bennett 1, C. Beck 1, T. Marshall 1, J. Beaumont 1 Best: W. Thompson, T. Paule, E. De Fegely, C. Cumbrae-Stewart, T. Hywood, A. Karatzas

Premier B Semi Final 2 University Blues

6.4

7.6

9.11

14.14 (98)

St Kevins

1.3

5.5

7.7

8.11 (59)

University Blues Goals: P. Hayes 3, T. MacKenzie 2, R. Eade 2, R. McMahon 1, P. Gardiner 1, M. Rippon 1, M. James 1, C. Williams 1, P. Summers 1, D. Heinz 1 Best: P. Summers, J. Watts, J. Mugavin, P. Hayes, A. Nice, M. Hart St Kevins Goals: H. Parkes 2, Z. Ginies 2, T. McPherson 1, S. Salopek 1, T. Cunningham 1, B. Kanakis 1 Best: S. Salopek, T. Cunningham, C. Ring, P. Dowd, J. Nash, J. Salopek Marshall Rippon (University Blues)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Premier B Reserves PREMIERSHIP LADDER University Blues St Kevins Caulfield Grammarians Old Melburnians Old Ivanhoe Old Carey Fitzroy AJAX Old Haileybury Mazenod

For

Agst

PTS

18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

17 15 12 10 9 8 6 6 4 3

1 3 6 8 9 10 12 12 14 15

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1980 2016 1328 1518 1134 1275 1056 839 834 720

585 755 932 1180 1368 1305 1388 1387 1935 1865

338.46 267.02 142.49 128.64 82.89 97.70 76.08 60.49 43.10 38.61

68 60 48 40 36 32 24 24 16 12

Premier B Reserve Premiership Team: University Blues B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coach:

Daniel Zambon, Hugo Steinfort, Jack Heinz Ed Long, Angus Ford, Richard Langham Jack Wood, Tom Girdwood (C), Bennett Merriman (VC) Andy Wettenhall, Damien Barton, Will Hartnell Ed Ratcliﬀe, Jamie Mugavin, George Chisholm Tom Foott, Bernie Chomley, Michael Steinbach Jordan Brown, Henry Weddell, Hugh Evans, Alex Schipp Bob Girdwood

Premier B Reserves Grand Final University Blues St Kevins

5.3 1.0

8.3 3.2

12.6 5.8

13.7 (85) 7.8 (50)

University Blues Goals: G. Chisholm 4, J. Mugavin 3, H. Evans 2, H. Weddell 1, A. Wettenhall 1, J. Wood 1, M. Steinbach 1 Best: T. Foott, D. Barton, J. Brown, A. Wettenhall, E. Long, B. Merriman St Kevins Goals: E. Waldron 3, P. Aughton 2, T. McPherson 1, J. Gambaro 1 Best: A. Keely, J. Staﬀieri, E. Waldron, P. Aughton, T. Hickey, N. McArdle Best on ground medal: Julian Staﬀieri (St Kevin’s OB)

Premier B Thirds PREMIERSHIP LADDER Old Xaverians St Kevins Fitzroy Beaumaris Old Brighton Caulfield Grammarians AJAX Old Carey Old Trinity Mazenod

For

Agst

PTS

15 15 17 16 16 15 18 18 15 15

13 11 11 10 8 7 7 7 4 1

1 3 6 6 8 8 11 11 11 14

1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

3 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0

1913 1687 1372 1416 1289 1156 1159 1252 949 493

730 901 913 1413 1314 1339 1296 1524 1443 2193

262.05 187.24 150.27 100.21 98.10 86.33 89.43 82.15 65.77 22.48

66 58 48 40 36 32 28 28 20 4

Premier B Thirds Premiership Team: Old Xaverians B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coaches:

Ben Steedman, Harrison Truelove, Nick Sitch (VC) Nick Gazdowicz, Sam Franklyn, Nathan Drummond Will Ralph, Nick Nunan (C), Darcy Cotchett Ben Lyon, Matt Sitch, Charlie Denton Elliott Pittito, Matt Owen, Nick Sharkey Tim Dillon, James Samartsis, Zebe Haupt Ben Dalbosco, Tim Fenton, Sam Grigg, Sam Maclure, Pat Monti, Anthony Dickinson Shane Healy & Tony Franklyn

Premier B Thirds Grand Final Old Xaverians St Kevins

2.1 1.2

4.3 2.2

5.6 4.3

Old Xaverians Goals: N. Sharkey 1, J. Samartzis 1, W. Ralph 1, D. Cotchett 1, M. Owen 1, B. Lyon 1, M. Sitch 1 Best: D. Cotchett, S. Franklyn, B. Steedman, M. Sitch, M. Owen, P. Monti St Kevins Goals: T. Soultanakis 2, J. Liston 2, N. Marchesani 1, J. Anthony 1 Best: T. Johnston, L. McDonell, J. Anthony, S. Constantinou, T. Soultanakis, A. Fenech Best on Ground Medal: Darcy Cotchett (Old Xaverians)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

7.7 (49) 6.11 (47)

Premier C

Back to back for Rovers Season 2014 had a number of talking points; the unfortunate departure of Banyule after 34 years in the VAFA, the fascinating Vulture resurgence and the Rovers back to back flag heroics. Let’s reflect back on the year to see how the Premier C competition unfolded… The Rovers made it back-to-back premiership wins, defeating Parkdale by 27 points in the Grand Final at Trevor Barker Oval. The Rovers overcame a sluggish start to power home in the second half of the year, sealing a top two finish. The cornerstone to the Rovers resurgence was the strength of their backline led by Adam McNeil oﬀ half-back and Jesse Lovig. Meanwhile Leigh Fletcher was joint runner-up in the Zachariah, Jay Ting was superb all year in the support cast, claiming his second successive grand final best on ground medal. Up forward Ed Turner had a profound impact kicking 59 goals for the year. The Rovers were able to peak at the right time of year. The story of the Grand Final was the performance of playing Coach Guy Martyn, whose six goals helped propel his side to victory, and ultimately secure a spot in Premier B for season 2015. The Rovers will be determined

Jay Ting (Hampton Rovers)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

to make a positive impression in Premier B after they last departed these heights in 2011, they are better placed next. . The Vultures were one of the surprise packets of the season and had garnered a significant following by seasons end with their daring style of football. Five rounds into the year, the Vultures were staring down the barrel of consecutive relegations. However they rallied, and inspired by their round 12 win over Rovers, the Vultures finished the season with renewed confidence. The Vultures fast brand of football exposed a number of their opponents unable to cope with their sheer speed and spread from the contest. They also unearthed two young livewire forwards in Lopo and Papatsanis who both made a valuable contribution and were prominent in the finals series. After failing at the final hurdle against the Hampton Rovers in the Grand Final, the Vultures could be proud of their eﬀorts knowing that they’ll return the Premier B in season 2015 in better shape they when they made the jump to this level two years ago. Marcellin were the most consistent team all year but failed to capitalise on their commanding position when it mattered most. Sitting on top after 18 rounds, the Eagles were left to lick their wounds after a third consecutive finals appearance that failed to yield any results. In a year where few positives could be extracted after such a promising start, Jarrod Carlson provided a highlight finishing 2nd in the Premier C Zachariah medal count, while Dominic Bolger enjoyed a standout year booting 51 goals. The thought of another year in Premier C will be playing on the minds of the Marcellin players as they front up to pre-season, still trying to comprehend how they’d let such an opportunity slip.

With the best defensive unit in Premier C, led by Under 23 rep Ben Amberg, the Blues only conceded 1065 points for the season. However to win games of football you need to be able to apply scoreboard pressure at the other end, and this lack of firepower was evident in their first semi final loss. The Blues lost no admirers in their 2014 quest, producing a number of ominous performances that had the rest of Premier C on high alert. None more so than their 133 point demolition of PEGS in round eight. Three losses inside the first five rounds would prove their downfall. After a disappointing end to the year, Timothy McKenzie gave the Blues faithful something to smile about winning the Zachariah Medal. The Blues showed a lot of promise throughout the year but ultimately lost crucial games at the wrong time. The tale of PEGS’ year is one of two halves. Four losses from their last five games ultimately sealed their fate, yet they began the year in emphatic fashion with four wins from their first five games. Perhaps they didn’t have the staying power. They had all the right artillery but they couldn’t perfect their craft on a weekly basis, crippled by inconsistency. After making such a positive start, to miss the finals by one game would have been a bitter pill to swallow. Josh Pound was a driving force in the PEGS midfield brigade, while Livori provided his trademark dash from defence and Forrest was the major focal point up forward. The Krushers will be investing a lot of time in goal kicking practice throughout the pre-season, after they were plagued by inaccuracy all year. The Krushers booted 209 goals and 259 behinds for the year, and consequently lost critical games when they were there for the taking. Capable of dispatching the lower ranked sides, the Krushers struggled to outmuscle those entrenched in the four. Not once did they defeat Marcellin, Hampton or Monash. When their forward line was functioning with Tolongs, Cloke and Paola presenting strongly, they were very diﬀicult to beat. A round 18 score line of 9.27 virtually summed up their year. Despite a rampant start to the year the Pirates’ season never really reached any great heights. Peninsula couldn’t sustain their relentless pressure and pursuit of the opposition jumper as the grounds got heavier. Notching only four wins in the back half of the year cost them greatly. A round 5 win over eventual premiers, Hampton Rovers should’ve been the catalyst to kick start their season, however it only triggered a form slump. Three consecutive losses heading into the half-way point of the year quashed their chances.

A number of players enjoyed breakout years including Tom Feldgen who was impressive from a back pocket while the eﬀorts of Brisbane and Grigg in the midfield proved pivotal. The Wellers will look back on two narrow losses and a draw early in the season as missed chances. A two point loss to PEGS and a five point loss to Parkdale curtailed the Wellers’ initial momentum, and ruined their chance of securing a top four berth. Competitive all year, Old Camberwell struggled to overcome the leading sides, a 90 point round 18 loss to Rovers symbolic of this battle. The Bennett brothers and Rohan Kapoor had stellar seasons, forming the backbone to the OC defence. While big man Robbie Campbell excelled in the ruck and up forward finishing with 23 goals for the year. Their finest performance of the year came in round 8 when they produced stunning football to dismantle Peninsula by 42 points. Undoubtedly the saddest story to come out of Premier C in 2014 was the departure of the Banyule Football Club after 34 years in the VAFA since its inception in 1980. With only three wins and raft of player exits to other paid competitions the club sought options elsewhere; citing survival of the football club as the main reason. It took until round 10 for Banyule to open their 2014 account. And they did so in style beating Peninsula at home by the barest of margins. The Bears’ perseverance couldn’t be questioned, and they were resolute in their fight until the end, almost conquering Rovers. In a fitting farewell the Bears defeated Parkdale in their final home and away match in the VAFA by 23 points. The Monders endured a diﬀicult year, unable to make any real imprint on the competition. Four rounds into the year the Monders would’ve remained optimistic about their prospects with a 2-2 record. Fast-forward to round 18 and the situation was dire. They failed to win another game after round 4, losing 13 of their next 14, only a draw with Old Camberwell to savour. A rare highlight was their win over Monash in round four by 10 points, a result that fails to add up considering Monash featured in finals action. Thomas Buckley was a shining light early in the season, while Jordan Tabakman took over the mantle as the year progressed, finishing with 22 goals.

Premier C Premiership Team: Hampton Rovers B:

Christian Carnovale, Rory Lynch, Josh Schmitz

HB:

Richard Atkins, Jesse Lovig (VC), Adam McNeil

C: HF:

Nathan Smith, Leigh Fletcher (C), Joshua McPherson Matthew Care, Josh Verlin, Jay Ting

Guy Martyn (Coach), Ed Turner, Stuart Burggraaﬀ

Charlie Kelso, Mark Devereaux, Daniel Corp

Int: Coach:

JackToouli, Samuel Clements, Cameron Sharp, Ben Traeger-Haig Guy Martyn

Leading Goalkickers Name

Club

Ed Turner

Hampton Rovers

52* (57)

Goals

Dominic Bolger

Marcellin OC

50 (51)

David Forrest

PEGS

Joseph Cosgriﬀ

Monash Blues

46 45 (48) *Sharpshooter (Including Finals)

L Zachariah Medal Player

Club

Votes

Timothy McKenzie

Monash Blues

Jarrod Carlson

Marcellin OC

Leigh Fletcher

Hampton Rovers

Dermot Cleary

Oakleigh

Robert Campbell

Old Camberwell

Scribe Team of the year B: HB:

Tom Feldgen (POB), Ben Amberg (MB), Rohan Kapoor (OC) Adam McNeil (HR), Jesse Lovig (HR), Jonathon Blanch (MOC)

Tim McKenzie (MB), Jarrod Carlson (MOC) - C, Charlie Dillon (PV)

Parkdale Vultures won the reserves premiership defeating PEGS in the curtain raiser to the senior match at Trevor Barker Oval.

HF:

Adam Barclay (Ban), Trent Skurrie (PEGS), Dominic Bolger (MOC)

FF:

Aaron Cloke (Oak), Ed Turner (HR), Joseph Cosgriﬀ (MB)

Robbie Campbell (OC) - VC, Josh Pound (PEGS), Mark Devereaux (HR)

Ned Hunt

Int:

Dermot Cleary (Oak) Cam Livori (PEGS) Alistair Mccooke (Orm) Stu Grigg (POB)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Premier C Results PREMIERSHIP LADDER P

For

Agst

PTS

Marcellin

1705

1216

140.21

Hampton Rovers

1764

1318

133.84

Monash Blues

1580

1065

148.36

Parkdale Vultures

1601

1384

115.68

PEGS

1475

1538

95.90

Oakleigh

1513

1413

107.08

Peninsula

1425

1638

87.00

Old Camberwell

1527

1643

92.94

Banyule

1383

2147

64.42

Ormond

1256

1867

67.27

Premier C Grand Final at Trevor Barker Oval, Sandringham Hampton Rovers

5.4

10.6

11.7

14.7 (91)

Parkdale Vultures

2.3

4.4

8.8

9.10 (64)

Hampton Rovers Goals: G. Martyn 6, J. Ting 2, E. Turner 2, J. Toouli 1, C. Sharp 1, J. Verlin 1, M. Care 1 Best: J. Lovig, G. Martyn, J. Ting, R. Atkins, D. Corp, L. Fletcher Parkdale Vultures Goals: C. Dillon 5, K. Lopo 3, N. Ng 1 Best: M. Kidner, K. Lopo, C. Dillon, R. Swayn, N. Ng, S. Chapman M. Ritterman Medal: Jay Ting (Hampton Rovers)

Premier C Preliminary Final

Nathan Smith (Hampton Rovers)

Parkdale Vultures

1.3

6.6

8.11

9.15 (69)

Marcellin

0.3

5.4

5.7

7.10 (52)

Parkdale Vultures Goals: T. Boland 3, N. Papatsanis 2, P. Sullivan 2, K. Lopo 2 Best: T. Boland, S. Chapman, L. Platt, S. Chitty, D. Price, K. Lopo Marcellin Goals: A. Viney 2, S. McPherson 2, T. Carlson 1, D. Bolger 1, M. Gasparini 1 Best: S. Gill, A. Viney, P. Hamblin, D. Mc Mahon, J. Antypas, A. Bonato

Premier C Semi Final 1 Parkdale Vultures

1.0

7.4

7.5

13.8 (86)

Monash Blues

6.2

8.3

9.7

11.8 (74)

Parkdale Vultures Goals: N. Papatsanis 3, L. Platt 2, N. Ng 2, C. Dillon 2, P. Sullivan 1, M. Graham 1, D. Glascott 1, M. Ryan 1 Best: L. Platt, C. Dillon, K. Lopo, N. Papatsanis, S. Chapman, P. Sullivan Monash Blues Goals: J. CosgriďŹ&#x20AC; 3, G. Taylor 2, N. Petering 1, B. Amberg 1, D. Hatch 1, G. Smyth 1, T. McKenzie 1, A. Carr 1 Best: D. Hatch, B. Amberg, A. Hickey, N. Petering, G. Smyth, E. Flanagan

Premier C Semi Final 2 Hampton Rovers

6.0

9.3

11.3

16.10 (106)

Marcellin

1.3

4.5

9.12

10.12 (72)

Hampton Rovers Goals: E. Turner 5, M. Care 3, D. Corp 3, S. BurggraaďŹ&#x20AC; 1, J. McPherson 1, S. Clements 1, A. McNeil 1, B. Traeger-Haig 1 Best: C. Carnovale, A. McNeil, J. Lovig, E. Turner, M. Care, L. Fletcher Marcellin Goals: J. Bortolotto 3, S. McPherson 3, J. Carlson 1, P. Millsom 1, J. Antypas 1, M. Gasparini 1 Best: J. Carlson, T. Carlson, A. Beaini, J. Bortolotto, J. Blanch, J. Gasparini

Tom Lancaster (Monash Blues)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Premier C Reserves PREMIERSHIP LADDER PEGS Parkdale Vultures Monash Blues Old Camberwell Peninsula Oakleigh Ormond Marcellin Hampton Rovers Banyule

For

Agst

PTS

18 17 18 18 18 17 18 18 18 16

17 15 12 10 9 7 6 6 5 0

1 2 6 8 9 10 11 12 12 16

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

1589 1615 1168 1504 1363 1088 1245 1123 1106 537

637 871 1046 1006 1127 1288 1524 1256 1167 2494

249.45 185.42 111.66 149.50 120.94 84.47 81.69 89.41 94.77 21.53

68 64 48 40 36 32 26 24 22 0

Premier C Reserves Premiership Team: Parkdale Vultures B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coach:

Max Nixon, Dan Graham, Chris Giosis Tim Kight (C), Robert Meade, James Lay Dan McCarthy, James Le Breten, Dan Atkins Andrew Thompson, Reid Irvine, Tom Mclennan Pat Lee, Claye Tobin, Mark Ferguson Jesse Balic, Sam L’Hullier, Dean Kelly Mitch Tod, Jesse Waters, Stephen Rzek, Chris Welsh Tony White

Premier C Reserves Grand Final Parkdale Vultures PEGS

3.3 2.3

5.4 6.4

7.6 7.6

10.12 (72) 9.8 (62)

Parkdale Vultures Goals: R. Irvine 3, S. L’Huillier 2, P. Lee 1, D. Atkins 1, T. McLennan 1, M. Todd 1, C. Tobin 1 Best: T. Kight, R. Irvine, R. Meade, J. Waters, C. Tobin, J. Le Breton PEGS Goals: J. Barrett 2, D. Podger 2, D. Phelan 1, M. Fahey 1, J. Rogers 1, C. Tzambazis 1, J. Clarke 1 Best: M. Miller, J. Rogers, B. Briggs, A. Baddeley, D. Bianchi, R. Richardson Best on Ground Medal: Ried Irvine

Premier C Thirds PREMIERSHIP LADDER St Kevins St Mary’s Salesian PEGS Old Ivanhoe Parkdale Vultures Marcellin Monash Blues Ormond Hampton Rovers

For

Agst

PTS

15 16 14 15 15 11 16 13 17

15 14 8 9 7 5 5 2 2

0 2 6 6 8 6 11 11 15

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 2 1 1 2 1 1 3 1

2 0 3 0 0 2 1 1 0

2175 1720 1298 919 785 996 808 613 475

344 589 844 843 1162 1189 1255 1393 1819

632.27 292.02 153.79 109.02 67.56 83.77 64.38 44.01 26.11

72 64 48 40 36 32 28 24 12

Premier C Reserves Premiership Team: St Kevin’s Old Boys B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coach:

Dominic Losciavo, Jack Ryan, Darragh Kelly Will Doble, James Betlehem, Nick Ciurleo Jackson Ritchie, Matt Nolan, Daniel Lattanzio Tom Lewin, Dan Kerr, Liam Clancey Dolan Bourke, James Montgomerie, Scott Kaiser Joe Frazer, Troy McMaster (C), Nelson Pryor Jack Murphy-Cruise (VC), Patrick Rhodes, Nick Wald, Mac Edwards, Michael Moore, Jack Howell Jarrod McMaster

Premier C Thirds Grand Final St Kevins St Mary’s Salesian

1.3 1.1

3.9 1.2

7.13 2.3

10.17 (77) 4.5 (29)

St Kevins Goals: D. Kerr 3, L. Clancey 2, N. Pryor 1, T. McMaster 1, M. Nolan 1, J. Howell 1, J. Montgomerie 1 Best: N. Ciurleo, L. Clancey, D. Kelly, M. Nolan, J. Frazer, J. Betlehem St Mary’s Salesian Goals: A. Baird 3, L. Power 1 Best: N. Alexopoulos, A. Castle, A. Bussell, J. Sutherland, F. Ravida, S. Crilly Best on Ground Medal: Nick Ciurleo (St Kevin’s OB)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 1

CY’s reach new heights For much of 2014, the result of the Division 1 season looked

and Matt Wall were amongst the Two Blues’ best.

like a foregone conclusion. Therry Penola either steamrolled

Old Mentonians (5th) were by far the youngest and one of the most exciting teams to watch this season. The Panthers didn’t possess the fourquarter performance needed to secure fourth spot but it sure was a wild ride. The hard running OMFC trumped those below and pushed those above to earn victory, scaring the likes of Therry Penola and Williamstown CYMS. Unfortunately, two losses in the final fortnight of the season ended their hopes of a top four finish. Brad Norton had another blinding season while Darcy Brown and Kyle Conlon stepped up as leaders for Old Mentonians.

most of their opposition or when it got tough, they found a way to win. The Lions ended the home and away season undefeated, but finals football is where stories of yesteryear are re-told and the winning performances celebrated. Williamstown CYMS seized the moment, delivering two knock out blows to Therry Penola in the semi-final then the grand final to steal the premiership, creating their own history. Division 1’s unscripted elation each week surpassed the wildest of expectations. Two combatants rise to the Premier sections two more fall from the section. While four newcomers replace them sparking old rivalries, or creating new ones, as they join those in-between to start it all over again. Melbourne High School Old Boys (10th) had a forgettable year, their reprieve to play in Division 1 masking two tough years for the Unicorns. The Unicorn’s highlights package may be bare with only the solitary win over Bulleen Templestowe this season, but this competition is about finding your level and we know that relegation presents an opportunity to re-learn how to win.

Bulleen Templestowe (9th) will do in 2015 as MHSOB did this year, the Bullants will get a second chance in the section to maintain competition balance thanks to the departure of Banyule. Although during the season they were not to know this and the Bullants did have a late flourish in a bid to extricate themselves from the drop zone. Despite this charge to the line, the injuries at the club had well and truly taken their toll. Whitefriars (8th) narrowly avoided relegation with a sporadic win-loss record. The Friars tallied five wins throughout the season with their best outing coming at home to Prahran Assumption. The pre-season addition of players from the Donvale Football Club who folded in the Eastern Football League, presented the Friars as formidable chance. However perhaps the ongoing administration burden of merger discussions and attempts to integrate with Donvale led to their poor onfield form. With the merger now oﬀ the table, Whitefriars can look to get back to the upper reaches of the Division 1 ladder in 2015. Yarra Valley (7th) made a steady rise through the back half of the year. The Bushrangers made a slow start in Division 1 after promotion from Division 2, but did enough as they also struggled through their own home ground re-location. Chris Beal was a stand out for the Bushrangers at full back, averaging less than two goals against in a losing side.

Jack Gray (Williamstown CYMS) - Pepper Medallist

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Last season Prahran Assumption (6th) secured fourth spot in the final game of home-and-away but struggled this year to maintain ground. The Two Blues were often vulnerable against lower ranked sides, and this cost them the chance to consolidate a top four berth. Prahran Assumption proved it remains a quality team with victories over NOBS/St Pats and eventual premiers Williamstown CYMS. Adam Sleight finished with 38 goals this season while Dan Anglin, Liam Hunt

Old Geelong (4th) made the jump from unpredictable to reliable in 2014. With five consecutive victories on two or more occasions, the OG’s earned the reward of fourth place. Old Geelong proved its worth with a victory over NOBS/St Pats in the 1st Semi-Final before losing to Therry Penola in the Preliminary Final. Captain Callum Wood led the goal tally with 48 for the year while Aaron Bird contributed 28 of his own. Old Geelong could be the team to beat from the remaining Division 1 class of 2014. NOBS/St Pats (3rd) dropped down to Division 1 this year and for the most part it seemed as if they would bounce straight back. Midway through the season they held second spot but NOBs faded in the latter stage. The loss to Old Geelong in the semi-final ended NOBSPC’s season but they should return a stronger side next year. Therry Penola finished minor premiers with an unbeaten record of 18-0. However, its reign over the division didn’t continue into the finals campaign. Therry finished 19-2 as Williamstown CYMS beat them twice during the post-season. Although the Lions couldn’t capture the premiership, it was still a triumphant season in some respects. To go the year undefeated and earn back to back promotions is no easy feat and shouldn’t be underestimated. With Corey and Jarrod Bannister in its side, who tallied almost 200 goals between them, Therry Penola will be more than a handful in Premier C. Williamstown CYMS’ performance at Visy Park in the Grand Final proved to all what a powerful club they are and could be higher up in the VAFA sections. Having been without success since 2008, the CY’s wanted it more than anyone else at the pointy end. The Division 1 best and fairest Jack Gray proved his worth throughout the season and on the big day, while Luke Molan and Captain Ben Gray also played their best footy in big games.

Their finals form was irrepressible; defeating the undefeated Lions twice in three weeks should be a warning for all in Premier C that the CY’s arrive at this level for the first time in their history with conviction. The last team who held the Division 1 cup aloft (Hampton Rovers) went on to hold Premier C’s up the following year. This feat is not beyond Williamstown CYMS and is one to remember for September next year. Prahran Assumption claimed the reserves flag handing Therry Penola a second loss on Grand Final day, the Two Blues winning their first reserves flag since E South Section in 1997 when the club was Southbank. James Ried

Division 1 Premiership Team: Williamstown CYMS B:

Sean McVernon, Ryan Danaher, Philip Johnson

HB:

Tim Murphy, Ben Gray (Capt.), Fin Adamson

Ashley Heaver, Nic Holdsworth, Robert Chan

HF:

Cameron Oates, Kurt Scown, Jack Gray (VC)

Chris Cini, Luke Molan, Matthew John

Steve Puhar, Daniel Calman-Orr, Tom Johnstone

Int: Coach:

Ryan Joy, Joel Hogarth, Callum Richards, Jason Bencich Mathew Montebello

Leading Goalkickers Name

Club

Jarrod Bannister

Therry Penola OB

100* (109)

Goals

Corey Bannister

Therry Penola OB

80 (85)

Matthew Keown

North Old Boys/St Patricks College

50 (51)

Callum Wood

Old Geelong

45 (48) *Sharpshooter (Including Finals)

LS Pepper Medal Player

Club

Jack Gray

Williamstown CYMS

Votes 22

Jarrod Egglestone

Therry Penola OB

James Musster

Prahran Assumption

Peter Shepherd

North Old Boys/St Pats

Hugh McKay

Old Geelong

Adam Oakley

North Old Boys/St Pats

Scribe Team of the year B: HB: C:

Jarrod Bannister

Brad Norton (OM), Hayden Cotsford (WOC), Liam Hunt (PA) Adam Oakley (NOBSPC), Brenton Egglestone (TP), Ben Trend (YV) Matt Lyons (TP), Jarrod Egglestone (TP) - C, Darcy Brown (OM)

HF:

Nic Holdsworth (WCYMS), Matt Keown (NOBSPC) - VC, Luke Molan (WCYMS)

FF:

Corey Bannister (TP), Jarrod Bannister (TP), Callum Wood (OG)

Peter Shepherd (NOBSPC), Jack Gray (WCYMS), Dan Anglin (PA)

Int:

Kyle Conlon (OM), Harry Voglar (BT), Aaron Bird (OG), Anthony Svirskis (MHSOB)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 1 Results PREMIERSHIP LADDER Therry Penola

For

Agst

PTS

2180

1027

212.27

Williamstown CYMS

1676

1240

135.16

NOBS/St Pats

1767

1491

118.51

Old Geelong

1659

1468

113.01

Old Mentonians

1619

1695

95.52

Prahran Assumption

1698

1522

111.56

Yarra Valley

1432

1768

81.00

Whitefriars

1277

1664

76.74

Bulleen Templestowe

1266

1665

76.04

MHSOB

1137

2171

52.37

Division 1 Grand Final at Visy Park (Princes Park), Carlton Williamstown CYMS

6.1

7.7

13.13

16.14 (110)

Therry Penola

1.1

2.4

4.5

8.6 (54)

Williamstown CYMS Goals: M. John 5, S. Puhar 2, J. Gray 2, C. Richards 2, A. Heaver 1, R. Joy 1, L. Molan 1, R. Chan 1 Best: M. John, B. Gray, R. Danaher, T. Johnstone, T. Murphy, D. Calman-Orr Therry Penola Goals: J. Bannister 3, C. Bannister 3, M. Costello 1, M. Pell 1 Best: J. Egglestone, P. Edwards, M. Marangon, B. Egglestone, B. Harding, M. Lyons J.W. Manton Medal: Matthew John (Williamstown CYMS)

Division 1 Preliminary Final Therry Penola

4.4

9.10

10.13

13.15 (93)

Old Geelong

2.2

6.4

8.8

11.9 (75)

Therry Penola Goals: J. Bannister 5, M. Costello 2, C. Bannister 2, M. Pell 2, J. Egglestone 1, D. Ryan 1 Best: M. Lyons, M. Marangon, P. Edwards, M. Pell, B. Harding, M. Sullivan Old Geelong Goals: C. Wood 2, J. Hoevenaars 2, C. O’Brien 2, R. Kemp 1, A. Bird 1, S. Howard 1, N. Hardie-Grant 1, W. Sharp 1 Best: A. Leahy, C. O’Brien, H. McKay, A. Stewart, J. Hoevenaars, W. Sharp

Division 1 Semi Final 1 Old Geelong

4.2

6.8

8.13

12.19 (91)

NOBS/St Pats

2.4

4.6

5.11

9.13 (67)

Old Geelong Goals: T. Wigan 3, C. O’Brien 2, A. Bird 2, C. Wood 1, D. Andrew 1, A. Leahy 1, J. Hoevenaars 1, P. Tucker 1 Best: J. Forster, J. Hoevenaars, H. McKay, D. Andrew, S. Hughes, R. Kemp NOBS/St Pats Goals: M. Chapman 5, B. Hunt 1, B. Holland 1, M. Keown 1, C. Ryan 1 Best: N. Holt, M. Chapman, P. Shepherd, A. Oakley, J. Nettlefold, D. Tonkin

Division 1 Semi Final 2 Williamstown CYMS

5.1

8.4

12.6

16.10 (106)

Therry Penola

2.5

4.6

7.8

10.10 (70)

Williamstown CYMS Goals: M. John 4, J. Gray 4, R. Chan 2, C. Richards 1, J. Bencich 1, C. Oates 1, L. Molan 1, D. Calman-Orr 1, T. Murphy 1 Best: R. Danaher, T. Johnstone, R. Chan, N. Holdsworth, S. McVernon, T. Murphy Therry Penola Goals: J. Bannister 4, C. Bannister 3, H. Rowe 1, N. Milevski 1, B. Egglestone 1 Best: B. Harding, P. Edwards, M. Lyons, J. White, J. Egglestone, M. Valenti

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 1 Reserves

PREMIERSHIP LADDER Williamstown CYMS Therry Penola Old Geelong Prahran Assumption Yarra Valley Whitefriars NOBS/St Pats Bulleen Templestowe MHSOB Old Mentonians

For

Agst

PTS

18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

14 13 13 13 12 9 7 7 2 0

4 5 5 5 6 9 11 11 16 18

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1697 1637 1703 1381 1390 1195 1305 1058 808 489

880 716 1019 860 1072 1270 1248 1326 1867 2444

192.84 228.63 167.12 160.58 129.66 94.09 104.57 79.79 43.28 20.01

56 52 52 52 48 36 28 28 8 0

Division 1 Reserves Premiership Team: Prahran Assumption B:

Ed Delahenty, Brett Kenny, Tom Matherson

HB:

Adam Hall, Sammy Durnan, Matt Laverty (C)

C: HF:

Brent Field (VC) Joshua Ancrum, Hunter Watkin Michael Bremner, Michael Radywonik, Ash Forbes

Rick Ellis, David Cupples, John Rice

Aran O’Hare, Josh Hogarth, Tim Webb

Int: Coach:

Jayden Williams, Tom Candy, David Quirk, Nicholas Giofre Joshua Ancrum

Division 1 Reserves Grand Final Therry Penola

1.1

2.3

4.5 (29)

Prahran Assumption

1.1

4.5

7.7

9.10 (64)

Prahran Assumption Goals: J. Williams 2, R. Ellis 2, D. Cupples 1, B. Kenny 1, J. Rice 1, T. Candy 1, J. Hogarth 1 Best: B. Field, A. O’Hare, T. Webb, B. Kenny, J. Hogarth, J. Williams Therry Penola Goals: D. Ractliﬀe 1, E. Benson 1, J. Coutts 1, J. Gough 1 Best: B. Budiono, J. Mennuni, E. Benson, A. Ractliﬀe, L. Reynolds, L. Ryan Best on ground medal: Brent Field (Prahran Assumption)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 2

Kew go back to back Depending on the goals set out over the previous summer, and where a club sees itself going forward, success isn’t always defined by wins and losses, but only one club can walk away as premiers, and for the Kew Bears their victory was the of the triumph of the year. After winning the 2013 Division 3 premiership in such a commanding manner, it was clear from early on, Kew weren’t going to buckle under the weight of expectation. The Bears weren’t content with simply being promoted, they had the determination and belief that they could go backto-back and continue their ascension through the VAFA ranks. Their year started flawlessly, Kew picked up where they left oﬀ in 2013. It was an unlikely loss to the lowly Elsternwick, that saw the Bears suﬀer a mid-season slump. It didn’t completely de-rail the season though and they learnt some lessons that would be invaluable later in the year. Their main rival for the flag, St Mary’s Salesian, defeated them comfortably in the second Semi Final, as the Bears barely gave a

yelp. Kew responded a week later to win through to their second successive grand final with a hard fought win over Old Eltham. The re-match that everyone wanted was in place. The Bears relished their new underdog status. They shocked St Mary’s with a blistering first quarter and in what was a spiteful encounter, hung on in the dying moments to record a momentous win. After signing ex-AFL player Jess Sinclair as senior coach over the pre-season, all eyes were on St Mary’s Salesian to see if Sinclair could extract the improvement needed for them to deliver on their promise. For an extremely proud and innovative club, a premiership was well and truly in their sights, and their early season form was devastating. St Mary’s boasted winners on every line, they were resolute and proactive defensively, hard, tough and slick through the midfield and damaging up forward. They also had arguable the best home ground advantage at Ferndale Park, where they were an attacking machine. They’re one Achilles heel however was Kew. The Saints were 1–2 over their three meetings heading into the Grand Final, but seemed to hold the psychological advantage after dismantling the Bears two weeks prior. Unfortunately it all comes down to how you play on the day, the Saints were supreme for two and a half quarters but didn’t take their chances when they presented. I’m sure it will burn over the summer months and drive them to great things in 2015. St

Mary’s Salesian did win the reserves premiership and were also runners up in the Premier C Thirds decider demonstrating the strong position the Saints have worked to be in. Old Eltham will be disappointed with getting so close to a Grand Final berth, but by no means should view the year as a failure. They broke the finals drought and showed that their best was well and truly good enough this year. Consistency in their performance and eﬀort will be the messages drummed into the Turtles over their pre-season to ensure they can take the next step in 2015. Old Paradians find themselves in a similar position to Old Eltham. They showed that they’re more than capable, but didn’t show it for long enough during the season. Having made the finals on the back of some encouraging performances during the year, they hardly fired a shot against Old Eltham in the first semi which was a poor reflection of their year. Depth will be the main focus at Parade College over the summer, too many times, too much was left for too few. The Paul Harris led Ivanhoe should view their 2014 as a success after just missing out on a finals berth. Given the club is in a stage of rebuilding, they took some steps forward this year and have plenty of young talent at their disposal to develop over the pre-season. Big things will be expected at Ivanhoe Park in 2015. St Johns were the “Jekyll and Hyde” side of 2014, they were well and truly capable of matching it with the likes of Kew and St Mary’s, but unfortunately showed that form in spits and spurts. Close early season losses had them playing catch-up but to their credit they never surrendered and were a mathematical chance to make the finals with a couple of rounds to go. Consistency and commitment will be the trigger words at Thomas Carroll next year, with improvement needed in both areas.

Aaron Lendaro (Old Eltham Collegians) - Fullerton Medallist

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

South Melbourne continued to develop during 2014, with promise shown through the form of their young stars. A big pre-season is needed so that those stars continue their development in an upward curve and also build their depth. Elsternwick unfortunately didn’t carry on their 2013 form into this year. A runner up finish to Kew in Division 3, saw the Wick’s struggle with the step up in class of Division 2. They did however have some “out of the box” performances, namely ending Kew’s unbeaten streak but will need to recruit heavily over the summer. Monash Gryphons were saved from relegation for the second year running by the exit of a club from a higher section. Another disappointing season highlighted by a lack of depth needed to compete on a regular basis. Nevertheless the club is well run and it should only be a matter of time. Glen Eira were simply out worked and out classed for the majority of the year. They have fallen from the heights of a 2011 premiership in this section to have suﬀered back to back relegations. The undoubted highlight was their drought breaking win over Elsternwick in round 12, ending a 708 days without singing the song to record a first win since mid 2012. Brenton Mann

Division 2 Premiership Team: Kew B: HB: C: HF:

Tom Leeds, Sam Bishop, Tim Allman Josh O’Bryan, Jeremy Fulthiem, Kyle Margaritas Max Waters, Robert Maibaum, Darcy Spencer

Michael Henderson (VC), Andrew Brazzale (VC), Jett Guerin

Brandon Droessler, Jack Delbridge, Blake Goodwin

Int: Coach:

Paul Brough (VC), Billy Shute, Ned Rhort, Corey Quinlaven Ian Aitken

Leading Goalkickers Name

Club

David Boundy

Old Paradians

Andrew Brazzale

Kew

58 (68)

Sabastian Ciavola

Old Eltham Collegians

54 (57)

Mitchell Lovell

Ivanhoe

Goals 74*

51 *Sharpshooter (Including Finals)

J Fullerton Medal Player

Club

Aaron Lendaro

Old Eltham

Sidney Jones

St Mary’s-Salesian

Luke Barda

Glen Eira

Nicholas Latsas

St Mary’s-Salesian

Andrew Oldfield

Elsternwick

Votes

Scribe Team of the year B: HB: C:

Thomas O’Donnell (Ivan), Tom Leeds (Kew), Sam Bishop (Kew) Ben Ayache (SJOC), Warren Jeﬀerey (OP), Josh Tanner (SMS) Tom Whittle (SMS), Nathan Chalk (SJOC), Chris Kingsford (Ivan)

HF:

Braedon McLean (SMS), Michael Bellitzia (OP), Mitch Lovell (Ivan)

FF:

Aaron Thornton (Elst), Andrew Brazzale (Kew), Sebastian Mahoney (SMD)

Daniel Cattolico (SJOC), Scott Pepyat (OEC), Sam Bradford (SMD

Int:

William Balme, Michael Cochrane (C), Paul Donaldson

Andrew Oldfield (Elst), Luke Barda (GE), Michael Boundy (OP), Aaron Lenardo (OEC)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 2 Results PREMIERSHIP LADDER P

For

Agst

PTS

Kew

1809

1084

166.88

St Mary’s Salesian

2088

1005

207.76

Old Eltham Collegians

1778

1219

145.86

Old Paradians

1593

1214

131.22

Ivanhoe

1643

1337

122.89

St Johns

1705

1393

122.40

South Melbourne Districts

1299

1803

72.05

Elsternwick

1252

2086

60.02

Monash Gryphons

1032

1948

52.98

Glen Eira

888

1998

44.44

Division 2 Grand Final at Casey Fields St Mary’s Salesian Kew

0.3 6.5

3.7 7.7

5.10 7.7

6.11 (47) 8.10 (58)

5.5 4.7

6.6 6.9

11.7 (73) 8.11 (59)

3.5 2.4

6.11 2.4

7.11 (53) 3.12 (30)

2.3 9.6

3.5 10.11

6.6 (42) 13.12 (90)

St Mary’s Salesian Goals: L. Holmes 2, D. Weetra 1, S. Jones 1, B. Mc Lean 1, H. Chipperfield 1 Best: H. Chipperfield, C. Butler, S. Jones, N. Latsas, D. Weetra, B. Mc Lean Kew Goals: S. Bishop 2, A. Brazzale 2, R. Maibaum 2, K. Margaritis 1, J. Guerin 1 Best: M. Waters, J. Delbridge, S. Bishop, T. Leeds, M. Henderson, K. Margaritis A.R. Fellows Medal: Kyle Margaritis (Kew)

Division 2 Preliminary Final Kew Old Eltham Collegians

2.3 3.3

Kew Goals: A. Brazzale 7, R. Maibaum 2, B. Droessler 1, P. Donaldson 1 Best: A. Brazzale, S. Bishop, J. Delbridge, K. Margaritis, P. Donaldson, B. Goodwin Old Eltham Collegians Goals: S. Whiteside 3, J. Laver 1, S. Ciavola 1, T. Woods 1, Z. Tranter 1, M. Hargrave 1 Best: M. Crooks, J. Galvin, S. Whiteside, B. Switkowski, B. Strongman, G. McCracken

Division 2 Semi Final 1 Old Eltham Collegians Old Paradians

0.3 1.0

Old Eltham Collegians Goals: S. Ciavola 2, N. Harper 2, B. Galvin 1, B. Switkowski 1, J. Hall 1 Best: N. Harper, A. Lendaro, B. Switkowski, C. Brown, M. Crooks, B. Galvin Old Paradians Goals: J. Lidyard 1, A. Asdagi 1, J. Kandilakis 1 Best: W. Jeﬀrey, D. Huntley, J. Kandilakis, C. Kandilakis, B. Moylan, M. Simpson

Division 2 Semi Final 2 Kew St Mary’s Salesian

1.2 4.3

Kew Goals: A. Brazzale 3, M. Waters 1, J. Dammenhayn 1, J. O’Keefe 1 Best: N. Rohrt, S. Bishop, P. Donaldson, J. O’Bryan, M. Cochrane, A. Brazzale St Mary’s Salesian Goals: J. Rogers 3, B. Andrews 2, T. Whittle 2, J. Strangward 2, H. Chipperfield 1, N. Latsas 1, A. Dwyer 1, L. Holmes 1 Best: N. Latsas, J. Rogers, J. Strangward, H. Chipperfield, N. Baum, B. Andrews

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 2 Reserves

PREMIERSHIP LADDER St Mary’s Salesian Kew Old Eltham Collegians Ivanhoe Old Paradians Monash Gryphons St Johns Glen Eira South Melbourne Districts Elsternwick

For

Agst

PTS

18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

16 15 15 14 8 7 5 5 3 1

2 3 3 4 10 10 12 13 15 17

0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2401 2083 2027 1961 1091 1043 933 722 797 425

601 766 832 803 1336 1562 1614 1557 1784 2642

399.50 271.93 243.63 244.21 81.66 66.77 57.81 46.37 44.67 16.09

64 60 60 56 32 30 22 20 12 4

Division 2 Reserves Premiership Team: St Mary’s Salesian B:

Billy Anderson, Shaun Brown, Cam Rose

HB:

Jake Evans, Tom Gowers, Kyle Duerden

C: HF:

Henry Wong, Anthony Murphy (C), Ananth Patharina Stefan Gusts, Jono McCoy, Divyan Rajkumar

Matt Curtin, Dylan Gook, Scott Gatehouse

Mitch Adam, Kyle Buchanan, Mick Kruze

Int: Coach:

Ben Kelly, Ben Semmler-Farr, Lewis Hawkins, Jason Dickinson Damian Sutherland

Division 2 Reserves Grand Final St Mary’s Salesian

3.4

7.7

10.8

14.11 (95)

Ivanhoe

2.4

5.5

6.6

10.7 (67)

St Mary’s Salesian Goals: S. Gusts 3, J. McCoy 2, A. Murphy 2, J. Evans 2, K. Buchanan 1, D. Gook 1, S. Gatehouse 1, J. Dickinson 1, H. Wong 1 Best: A. Murphy, J. Evans, K. Buchanan, K. Duerden, S. Brown, H. Wong Ivanhoe Goals: P. Walter 2, A. Diorietes 2, B. Grigg 2, B. Zagontinos 1, C. Robinson 1, W. Servinis 1, B. Jackson 1 Best: B. Jackson, B. Fleming, A. Diorietes, A. Dimopoulos, W. Servinis, L. Vaughan Best on Ground Medal: Anthony Murphy (St Mary’s Salesian)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 3

Unstoppable Northern Blues One of the most unpredictable divisions in recent history served up a justified finish as the fleeting Northern Blues overcame their bogey side Richmond Central to trump all-comers and secure back to back premierships. The Northern Blues Amateurs will now have teams in the higher divisions peering over their shoulder after securing back to back premierships in their first two years as a fully fledged senior club. The Blues are six wins from their six contests in the finals under the tutelage of coach George Wakim who continues to have his side playing football worthy of the higher grades. If the Blues can keep their young list together and continue to build their depth it is hard to determine exactly where their ceiling could be. Richmond Central was a tipster’s nightmare during the regular season as a side capable of defeating anyone on their day underwent a midseason slump to forget. Despite faltering to a modest fifth place finish, the Snakes found their mojo again at the pointy end of the year to win seven consecutive games and storm into the Grand Final. Dan Goonan’s men will feel confident

of being able to mix it with the best of Division 2 if they can remedy their 2014 consistency problems. Depth through their senior side was one of their biggest strengths as their reserves finished the year as premiers. Emmaus St Leos are the unluckiest side to remain in the Division after they failed at the final hurdle despite going on a barnstorming 11-game winning streak during the season. The Animals lost in straight sets in the finals to the eventual grand finalists, going down by one-point in a heart-wrenching defeat to Northern Blues in the Preliminary Final. If they can keep their core group of players including Ryan Harding, Chris Beluszar and Paul Baranello together they should feature prominently again in 2015. Captain Nick Morrison-Storey dragged his side Aquinas into contention with a fantastic campaign that saw him finish second in the competition best and fairest behind Emmaus’ Captain Paul Baranello. The Bloods were eliminated in the preliminary final - one step closer than their 2013 qualifying final finish - and under the guidance of Russell Barnes will be hoping to be one of the sides fighting it out on the final day of September next season. Swinburne University were unlucky to fall victim to the dreaded seeding system of the top six Division 3 finals, bowing out after their loss to Aquinas and following Richmond’s underdog defeat of Emmaus. The Razorbacks have plenty to build on in 2015 following their surge up the ladder this season after finishing ninth in 2013. Their best performers throughout the campaign were Ashley Woodhead who provided plenty of consistency through the midfield and Nick Mauran. It wasn’t the fairytale story Albert Park were hoping for after a seven game winning streak secured them the last place in the finals. The Falcon’s began the season slowly going 1-6 through their first seven games of the season before they eventually hit their straps. They hit the roadblock of a strong Northern Blues side in the first final, going down by a disappointing 67-points. Stuart Maunder and Neil Sjostrom posed a serious threat when paired together in the forward line before

Maunder suffered a season ending injury late in the year. That pair could form a one-two punch to look out for in Division 3 next year. Ant Voyage’s Power House missed out on the top six on percentage after flirting inside the finals picture all season. The team will feel like their poor start is to blame after losing their first three games of the year. Power House had trouble securing wins away from home all season winning just three matches on opposition territory. The Vultures were expected to be one of the front-runners in contention for the flag before a plethora of off-season departures due to work and injury left them struggling for consistency throughout the year. Coach David Wallace will need the off-season to continue to groom his contingent of players brought in through the universities’ affiliation and get his side back among Division 3’s elite. A disappointing year for the X-Men was symbolised by their dismal record against Division 3’s top four. Last year’s competition best and fairest Dimitri Dimakopolous steered his side to just one win against the competition’s best teams as they fell short of their lofty expectations. Ben Spencer and Joel Lenders battled hard all season. A fast start to the year had many thinking that Eley Park were a serious contender for the premiership before a raft of injuries sent their season off-track. With captain Matt Costorphin and spearhead Noel Bahnsen among the injured players, it looked as though the Sharks were destined for a return to Division 4 before wins in their last two contests resurrected their season. In a dramatic finish for the Trobers, a draw in their final game of the season left them an agonizing two points behind Eley Park in 11th position. Jake McMeel thrived in a forward line starved of opportunity – 11th for points for – kicking 58 goals for the year. Jordy O’Brien was another stand

Paul Baranello (Emmaus St Leos) - Hutchinson Medallist

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

out player all season for La Trobe who will get a reprieve to stay in Division 3 courtesy of Banyule’s exit from the competition in a higher section. It was never going to be easy for South Mornington after a challenging oﬀ-season left them struggling for numbers and depth. Despite not being able to muster up a win for the year, the club’s ability to persevere under the circumstances has to be admired and is a testament to the character of players such as Jason Wilson and Andrew Hamilton. Kris Neil

Division 3 Premiership Team: Northern Blues B: HB: C: HF:

Daniel Wakim, Reed Jepson, Ty Lehmann Sean Towers, Olsen Clarke, Dean Calcedo (C) Jordan Hull, Matthew Holmes, Damon Marcon Lachlan Holmes, Tony Napolione, Mark Ciganua

Todd Beames (C), Nathan Parkes, Lachlan McRedmond

Paul Sansonetti, Jay Phealan, James King

Int: Coach:

Sam Maatouk, Alex Campbell, James Warwick, Nicholas DeAndrade George Wakim

Leading Goalkickers Name

Club

Christopher Beluszar

Emmaus St Leos OC

Goals 67* (70)

Rhys Kirk

UHS-VU

Jack McMeel

La Trobe University

64 58

Ryan Harding

Emmaus St Leos OC

56 (58) *Sharpshooter (Including Finals)

P Hutchinson Medal Player

Club

Paul Baranello

Emmaus St Leos

Votes

Nicholas Morrison-Storey

Aquinas OC

Sam Confait

Power House

Dean Calcedo

Northern Blues

Tony Vuwai

Northern Blues

Scribe Team of the year B: HB: C:

Stuart Ward (RC), Sam Buultjens (PH), Nicholas Morrison-Storey (AOC) Damon Marcon (NB), Paul Baranello (ESL) - C, Sam Confait (PH)

HF:

Jack McMeel (LTU), Jai Perrett (AOC), James King (NB)

FF:

Rhys Kirk (UHSVU), Chris Beluszar (ESL), Stuart Maunder (AP)

Dane Roy (RC), Dean Calcedo (NB) - VC, Dimitri Dimakopoulous (SFX)

Int:

Asher Kirk (UHSVU), Nick Mauran (SU), Anthony Ballard (ESL)

Noel Bahnsen (EP), Ivan Davies (SM), Tyson Cattle (AP), Ashley Woodhead (SU), Reed Jepson (NB), Nic Robin (ESL)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 3 Results PREMIERSHIP LADDER Northern Blues Emmaus St Leos Aquinas Swinburne University Richmond Central Albert Park Power House UHS-VU St Francis Xavier Eley Park Sharks La Trobe University South Mornington

For

Agst

PTS

18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

14 13 12 12 11 9 9 8 8 6 5 0

4 5 6 6 7 9 9 9 10 12 12 18

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2096 2089 1769 1632 1846 1557 1325 1362 1315 1376 1243 461

1343 1118 1255 1198 1349 1363 1305 1476 1478 1560 1379 3247

156.07 186.85 140.96 136.23 136.84 114.23 101.53 92.28 88.97 88.21 90.14 14.20

56 52 48 48 44 36 36 34 32 24 22 0

Division 3 Grand Final at Garvey Oval Northern Blues Richmond Central

3.7 3.4

7.10 7.5

11.16 9.6

14.18 (102) 12.6 (78)

Northern Blues Goals: T. Vuwai 3, L. McRedmond 3, D. Marcon 2, N. Parkes 1, A. Campbell 1, J. King 1, J. Phelan 1, S. Maatouk 1, T. Beames 1 Best: D. Calcedo, T. Vuwai, J. King, O. Clark, P. Sansonetti, D. Marcon Richmond Central Goals: L. Carland 3, A. Fiske 2, W. Bucci 1, S. Bugeja 1, P. Holland 1, S. Demeo 1, D. Roy 1, C. Pullen 1, R. Costanzo 1 Best: S. Brown, T. Thurwood, L. Carland, K. Schoenmaekers, T. Baker, N. Anstey V.B. Zanin Medal: Damon Marcon (Northern Blues)

Division 3 Preliminary Final 1 Northern Blues 3.3 8.11 11.14 Emmaus St Leos 4.2 8.3 13.6 Northern Blues Goals: T. Vuwai 3, L. McRedmond 2, M. Cigagna 2, J. King 2, D. Marcon 1, J. Warwick 1, N. Parkes 1, J. Phelan 1 Best: T. Lehmann, D. Wakim, L. McRedmond, J. Warwick, P. Sansonetti, N. De Andrade

13.17 (95) 14.10 (94)

Emmaus St Leos Goals: P. Baranello 3, D. Hill 3, A. McDougall 2, R. Harding 2, C. Beluszar 2, B. Ellis 1, L. Virgo 1 Best: N. Robin, T. Thorn, P. Baranello, L. Glover, D. Hill, A. Ballard

Division 3 Preliminary Final 2 Aquinas 3.4 6.8 10.9 12.10 (82) Richmond Central 1.5 5.8 9.12 11.25 (91) Aquinas Goals: M. Kershaw 2, J. Perrett 2, S. Williams 2, M. Jess 1, N. Morrison-Storey 1, L. Toomey 1, P. Jurkovsky 1, T. Niezen 1, C. Cormack 1 Best: M. Jess, L. Toomey, M. Kershaw, L. Barnes, N. Morrison-Storey, J. Morrison-Story Richmond Central Goals: W. Bucci 5, T. Thurwood 1, S. Ward 1, S. Bugeja 1, P. Holland 1, A. Fiske 1, S. Brown 1 Best: R. Costanzo, S. Brown, K. Schoenmaekers, T. Thurwood, D. Holland, W. Bucci

Division 3 Qualifying Final 1 Northern Blues 7.3 10.4 21.7 21.12 (138) Albert Park 2.3 3.5 5.7 10.11 (71) Northern Blues Goals: T. Beames 5, L. Holmes 4, C. Paterson 3, M. Cigagna 3, J. Warwick 2, L. McRedmond 2, J. Hull 1, D. Calcedo 1 Best: C. Beaty, A. Campbell, C. Paterson, J. Thompson, S. Towers, T. Vuwai Albert Park Goals: J. Brick 3, D. Lyne 1, N. Sjostrom 1, H. Turner 1, T. Cattle 1, C. Blizzard 1, J. Antenucci 1, S. Campbell 1 Best: J. Brick, S. Campbell, R. Schneider, N. Cattle, C. Blizzard, J. Antenucci

Division 3 Qualifying Final 2 Emmaus St Leos 2.5 9.7 Richmond Central 2.3 6.7 Emmaus St Leos Goals: D. Hill 4, B. Ellis 2, A. McDougall 1, P. Baranello 1, A. Smith 1, A. Ballard 1, C. Beluszar 1 Best: D. Hill, A. Ballard, L. Virgo, M. Lalor, T. Ahern, L. Glover

9.8 11.15

11.13 (79) 12.18 (90)

Richmond Central Goals: S. Bugeja 3, P. Holland 3, T. Thurwood 2, T. Baker 2, S. Demeo 1, K. Schoenmaekers 1 Best: L. Carland, S. Bugeja, T. Baker, T. Thurwood, S. Ward, R. Costanzo

Division 3 Qualifying Final 3 Aquinas 6.4 9.4 16.10 19.16 (130) Swinburne University 1.3 6.7 7.9 11.13 (79) Aquinas Goals: J. Perrett 5, S. Williams 3, B. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Loughlin 2, P. Jurkovsky 2, M. Kershaw 2, M. Niezen 1, L. McDonald 1, T. Niezen 1, M. Cull 1, M. Jess 1 Best: M. Jess, L. Toomey, P. Jurkovsky, J. Perrett, A. Meagher, L. Barnes Swinburne University Goals: J. Bunge 4, Z. Scrase 2, B. Higgins , R. Lugg , T. Kennedy , A. Woodhead , G. Peter Best: Z. Scrase, J. Bunge, A. Woodhead, M. Hodgson, J. Bradley, A. Hyman

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 3 Reserves

PREMIERSHIP LADDER Richmond Central UHS-VU La Trobe University Power House Aquinas Swinburne University Eley Park Sharks Albert Park Emmaus St Leos St Francis Xavier Northern Blues South Mornington

For

Agst

PTS

18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

16 14 12 11 11 11 10 9 5 5 4 0

2 4 6 7 7 7 8 9 13 13 14 18

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1873 1712 1639 1468 1170 1280 1551 1489 979 911 1072 595

777 1036 862 933 1027 1223 1090 1041 1660 1692 1600 2844

241.06 165.25 190.14 157.34 113.92 104.66 142.29 143.04 58.98 53.84 67.00 20.92

64 56 48 44 44 44 40 36 20 20 16 0

Division 3 Reserves Premiership Team: Richmond Central B: HB: C: HF:

Chris McCluskey, Joseph Shaw (C), David Ballock Jamie Fenech, David Panaho, Eoin Cotter Mitchell Turner, Tim Nunn, Alex Shopov Jordan Ruwoldt, Joshua Sharp, Beau McGoldrick

Andrew Fraser, Jake Munro, Nicholas Cannon

Trent Woodberry, Ben Zelencich, Matthew Skinner

Int: Coach:

Travis NoďŹ&#x20AC;ke, Stephen Bohan, Rory McCaughey, Mathew Croker Joshua Sharp

Division 3 Reserves Grand Final Richmond Central

1.2

3.4

6.7

11.8 (74)

UHS-VU

1.0

5.1

7.4

9.5 (59)

Richmond Central Goals: J. Munro 5, N. Cannon 3, E. Cotter 1, A. Shopov 1, A. Fraser 1 Best: S. Bohan, J. Shaw, E. Cotter, J. Munro, D. Ballock, M. Turner UHS-VU Goals: R. Dickson 3, M. Sweeney 2, W. Smith 1, H. Lovell 1, S. Parker 1, S. Cracknell 1 Best: W. Smith, S. Cracknell, A. Thomasse, A. Bossie, M. Roberts, C. Certo

Adam Collett (Power House)

Best on ground medal: Stephen Bohan (Richmond Central)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 4

West Brunswick delivered on the day As the clocks across Victoria were wound forwards, there is, in this humble scribe’s opinion no better time to wind the clock back on the year that was. ‘No expectations, no disappointments’ - a fitting mantra for the year that was in ‘The People’s Division’. Season 2014 was a year of new coaches, new players, new clubs and new challenges for Division 4. So who stood out, who sat back and how did they settle? Chadstone: The appointment of Ken Schwab as senior coach in the pre season perpetuated an atmosphere hope out Chadstone way. Despite showing plenty of heart throughout the season, unfortunately the Synners were unable to register a win. Stand out players this season were the Farrugia brothers and Nick Boothman who was the club’s only representative in the Team of the Year. North Brunswick finished well below where they could have, had injury not constantly decimated their list through the season. A top six in 2013 could not be replicated and the wounded Bulls finished 2014 one from the bottom. Simon Mair and Kenny Zuidema led the charge and were well supported by plenty of determined youngsters who will be better for their run in the senior side next season. Strong wins over the Synners and

Dragons were the highlights of 2014 for North Brunswick, but their resilient attitude and a host of close results demonstrated the culture that will serve them well going into next year and beyond.

their last eight to oﬀer a fighting chance at finals footy. Unfortunately, lacklustre early season form came back to bite them as they finished equal fourth, but missed out by 1.05 percentage points.

The Dragons second season in the VAFA was a real mixed bag. Some weeks they surprised everyone as they blitzed opponents, whilst others they just could barely muster a challenge. Wins over Box Hill North, Manningham Cobras and surprise packet Westbourne Grammarians prove that at their best the Dragons were a dangerous team, but unfortunately from their perspective those performances were few and far between. Sadly after only two seasons the club has decided to leave the VAFA and return to the SFL.

Manningham Cobras: A month out from the finals it seemed as though Manningham had a lock on fourth spot. However a late charge from Westbourne and a shock loss to the Dragons almost saw them blow it. They snuck in but didn’t hang around long as they went down in a tight snake fight against Canterbury. Dylan Wolfgramm was a tower of strength for Manningham, kicking a swag of goals which earned him a seat in the Team of the Year Forward line, but it was gun recruit Tom Bell that stole the show in Division 4, taking home the Meehan Medal as the best and fairest in the section.

Point Cook FC had a horror start to the season losing their first five. This made things hard for the rest of the year, but eventually the boys at the kennel got the best out of themselves. They weren’t able to knock oﬀ a big scalp this year, generally speaking they produced convincing results against those equal to or lower than them on the ladder. Robert Milne and Ben Cox were kept busy in the back half all year. They were equal to the challenge and rewarded with starting positions the competition’s best side for 2014. Box Hill North held firm this year as they finished roughly where they did the year before. A capable side that ended up where their level suggested – the best of the rest. Toby Manning was rewarded for hard work with as he earned a guernsey in the Team of the Year.

Tom Bell (Manningham Cobras) Meehan Medallist

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Westbourne Grammarians: The newly branded club enjoyed an exciting first year. After starting well, an incredible form slump consumed the middle of their 2014 campaign. Many wrote Westbourne oﬀ midyear, however an astonishing back end of the season, saw them win seven of

Canterbury: After 132 years of history in various competitions, Canterbury Cobras joined the VAFA in 2014 and they wasted little time making themselves at home. An incredible season saw them account for almost every team in the competition and regularly push the two competition front-runners. Walmsley, Eckersley and Baker were names that regularly appeared in the side’s best and they are sure to feature again next season. After a stellar first year in the VAFA, there’s no reason Canterbury can’t add more silverware to their grand old cabinet in 2015. Hawthorn: It was a shame in many ways that the Hawks stumbled at the final hurdle of their golden run. Their star-studded line up went the entire home and away season, plus a second semi final undefeated. McNeil, Tremewen, Gold, Ince and Kennedy (to name but a few of their near impossible match ups) struck fear into the hearts of opposition players and coaches on a weekly basis. New coach Luke Mathers will be proud of what his team achieved this season, but there is

no doubting the Hawthorn faithful will be sore that once again, their champion team left 2014 empty handed. Solace can be taken from their reserves pinching a flag against the previously unbeaten West Brunswick, but the senior flag was one that got away. Hawthorn will return to Division 3 without a flag, but considering the eďŹ&#x20AC;ort to get back there after an eventful few seasons, it is well deserved promotion.

Division 4 Premiership Team: West Brunswick

West Brunswick: The Mapies found their groove at the right time to be crowned well deserved premiers of Division 4. Having lost on three previous occasions to the all mighty Hawks, the Pies went into the Grand Final as underdogs. Those who followed them all year however, knew that they were getting closer to their rivals and if things went their way a boil over could be on the cards. Simpson, Hulm and Bull all featured in the Team of the Year, whilst there were a host of others who were simply squeezed out due to Hawthornâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s utter dominance at the time of selection. West Brunswick were rarely challenged through the season, unless they tackled Hawthorn, but the casual observer could still identify steady Magpie improvement. In the end, it was their constant willingness to improve and achieve what few thought they could that saw them mark the year with a flag.

Leading Goalkickers

Ryan Goodman

B: HB: C: HF:

Nick.Mitchell, Jake Taylor, Toneka Costa (VC) Chris Germon (VC), Mitchell Simpson, Anthony Gibson Matt Holmes, Pat Carroll, Michael Handscombe

Dylan Muscat, Jack Nulty, Zac Tisdale

Jarrod Sandow, Louis Martin (C), Jack Taylor

Int: Coach:

Richard Benjamin, Adam Ross, Luke Buckler, Jim Forbes Angus Hamilton

Name

Club

Jason Ince

Hawthorn

Goals 88* (92)

Sam Gold

Hawthorn

Andrew Baker

Canterbury

55 (59)

Thomas Lowden

Dragons

51 *Sharpshooter (Including Finals)

OJ Meehan Medal Player

Club

Thomas Bell

Manningham Cobras

David Tremewen

Hawthorn

Cameron Liston

Box Hill North

Dylan Wolfgramm

Manningham Cobras

Votes

Scribe Team of the year B: HB: C:

Corey Bull (WB), Ben Cox (PC), Simon Mair (NB) Robert Milne (PC), Kade Pargeter (Haw), Toby Manning (BHN) Justin Johns (WG), Matt McNeill (Haw), Tom Bell (MC)

HF:

Tom Lowden (Drag), David Tremewen (Haw), Rohan Walmsley (Can)

FF:

Dylan Wolfgramm (MC), Jason Ince (Haw), Tom Eckersley (Can)

David Kennedy (Haw), Sam Gold (Haw), Scott Hulm (WB)

Int:

Corey Bull, Raphael Touzel, Warwick Baker

Nick Boothman (Chad), Andrew Baker (Can), Kenneth Zuidema (NB), Mitchell Simpson (WB)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 4 Results PREMIERSHIP LADDER P

For

Agst

PTS

Hawthorn

2480

874

283.75

West Brunswick

2089

1115

187.35

Canterbury

1834

1590

115.35

Manningham Cobras

1600

1329

120.39

Westbourne Grammarians

1820

1525

119.34

Box Hill North

1679

1821

92.20

Point Cook

1379

1553

88.80

Dragons

1165

1747

66.69

North Brunswick

1449

1629

88.95

Chadstone

701

3013

23.27

Division 4 Grand Final at Meade Reserve (Clayton) West Brunswick Hawthorn

2.3 6.3

11.4 8.5

13.10 10.9

18.13 (121) 12.11 (83)

West Brunswick Goals: D. Muscat 5, J. Nulty 3, N. Mitchell 2, M. Handscombe 2, P. Carroll 1, A. Gibson 1, M. Simpson 1, R. Benjamin 1, Z. Tisdale 1, M. Holmes 1 Best: Z. Tisdale, J. Taylor, D. Muscat, L. Buckler, R. Touzel, M. Simpson Hawthorn Goals: R. White 3, S. Stormonth 3, J. Ince 2, D. Tremewen 2, G. Edmond 1, S. Gunn 1 Best: R. White, P. Avery, S. Gunn, N. Raiti, K. Pargeter, L. Chapman A.K. White Medal: Zac Tisdale (West Brunswick)

Division 4 Preliminary Final West Brunswick Canterbury

2.3 3.2

6.7 5.5

7.7 8.7

11.12 (78) 8.8 (56)

West Brunswick Goals: J. Nulty 3, C. Germon 1, Z. Tisdale 1, N. Mitchell 1, P. Carroll 1, A. Gibson 1, M. Simpson 1, M. Handscombe 1, J. Taylor 1 Best: R. Touzel, W. Baker, J. Nulty, Z. Tisdale, L. Martin, J. Taylor Canterbury Goals: T. Eckersley 3, L. Chapman 2, A. Baker 2, B. Johnson 1 Best: R. Walmsley, H. Giles, T. Nichols, B. Peel, J. Gillen, M. Higgins

Division 4 Semi Final 1 Canterbury Manningham Cobras

2.2 0.2

4.7 4.2

7.8 7.4

10.14 (74) 10.7 (67)

5.6 4.5

8.9 8.7

11.15 (81) 10.7 (67)

Canterbury Goals: T. Eckersley 3, A. Baker 2, B. Johnson 2, D. Gates 1, B. Hui 1, M. Peel 1 Best: T. Eckersley, H. Giles, R. Walmsley, T. Nichols, B. Peel, N. Stogdale Manningham Cobras Goals: M. Muller 5, S. Fisher 2, K. Hawker 1, A. Pianto 1, D. Wolfgramm 1 Best: M. Muller, G. Murphy, A. Pianto, C. Terpsinis, T. Bell, P. Wood

Division 4 Semi Final 2 Hawthorn West Brunswick

3.2 3.3

Hawthorn Goals: J. Ince 4, R. White 2, G. Edmond 2, S. Stormonth 2, A. Beaton 1 Best: J. Campbell, P. Nunan, A. Beaton, M. McNeill, J. Ince, D. Pritchard West Brunswick Goals: J. Nulty 2, M. Holmes 2, Z. Tisdale 2, L. Buckler 1, C. Germon 1, R. Benjamin 1, M. Simpson 1 Best: L. Buckler, C. Germon, W. Baker, R. Touzel, J. Sandow, L. Martin

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Division 4 Reserves

PREMIERSHIP LADDER P

For

Agst

West Brunswick

2944

322

914.29

PTS 72

Hawthorn

2416

529

456.71

Westbourne Grammarians

1308

1021

128.11

Manningham Cobras

998

1141

87.47

Canterbury

1283

1588

80.79

Box Hill North

1176

1507

78.04

North Brunswick

1131

1764

64.12

Chadstone

884

2232

39.61

Point Cook

904

1848

48.92

Dragons

606

1698

35.69

Division 4 Reserves Premiership Team: Hawthorn B: HB:

Sam Rickard, Johnny Stapleton, Jono Downie (C) Pat Clancey, Nick Martin (VC), Kayne Davies

Adam Morse, Callum Gough, James Perks

HF:

Nick Loutit, Steve Wintle, Paul O’Callaghan

Dan Lauletta, Jason Jackomos, Matt Laing

Xavier Hallam, Andy Loke, Michael Jones

Int: Coaches:

Serge Moussi, Shaun Howson, Tom Bowler, Jarrod Ward Paul O’Callaghan & Jarrod Ward

Division 4 Reserves Grand Final West Brunswick

2.2

3.2

3.3

8.3 (51)

Hawthorn

2.4

3.9

6.12

7.13 (55)

Hawthorn Goals: S. Wintle 2, D. Lauletta 1, P. O’Callaghan 1, J. Jackomos 1, N. Loutit 1, M. Laing 1 Best: S. Wintle, C. Bilton-Gough, J. Perks, X. Hallam, A. Loke, K. Davies West Brunswick Goals: T. Crabtree 2, B. Shepherd 2, R. George 2, P. Healey 1, P. Walpole 1 Best: M. Graham, P. Walpole, J. Tassone, T. Crabtree, V. Townsend, R. George Best on ground: Steve Wintle (Hawthorn)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

The Big V in 2014 Seniors The VAFA commenced the season in fantastic fashion defeating the powerful Eastern Football League by 46 points to win the new AFL Victoria Metro Championships to be officially crowned as the best community football competition in Melbourne. An arm wrestle until three quarter time gave no indication of the game breaking open the way it did, a dominant VAFA win. VAFA coach Simon Lethlean mentioned Cherry Street (it’s Cherry Road) - where the majority of the EFL’s squad and their coach ply their trade for Balwyn - in his half time address to the VAFA team, reminding the players that “we are fitter than them, we play on bigger grounds, use our run, use our class”. Whilst it didn’t make the difference in the third term, the seeds were sown and they eventually bore fruit in the final quarter as Murphy Ambrose, Brendan Goss (both Old Xaverians) and Tom Paule (Old Melburnians) were on the end of VAFA counter attacks or EFL errors to kick goals that first became breathing space but ended up becoming a rout. Murphy Ambrose won the best on ground medal for the VAFA for his three goals, consistent run and moments of brilliance. Goss was a concern for the opposition from the get go. At one point Goss had the entire VAFA score before a goal to Paule on half time gave the VAFA an 8 point buffer at the main break.

Earlier Tom Roach displayed what a good pick up he will be for Old Carey whilst a Matt Handley (Old Xaverians) chase the length of the wing, resulting in a turnover was just one example of many fantastic pressure acts that the VAFA put on the EFL. The performances of Tom Caven (St Bernard’s), Jack Townley (University Blues) and Will Tardif (Collegians) in thwarting the EFL attacks were magnified by their willingness to take the game on and run the ball out of defence. There were no passengers in a mighty performance for the Big V. The final margin may

have been flattering considering the close nature of the contest to three quarter time but is was no more than the VAFA team deserved. The pressure and tackling, particularly in the forward half of the ground, was magnificent. Paule, Joel Rice (Old Carey), Brendan Iezzi (Old Trinity), Matt Fieldsend (De La Salle), Trent Zimbachs (Collegians) and Ben Smithwick (Old Carey) hunted their opponents in packs. Lach McQueen-Miscamble (Old Carey) was awarded the Best VAFA Player Award from the EFL coaching panel and Tom Paule was awarded the Spirit of the Big V Award from the VAFA panel.

VAFA Seniors vs Eastern Football League VAFA Seniors

0.1

3.3

5.8

12.8.80

Eastern Football League

2.1

5.3

5.4.34

VAFA GOALS: B. Goss 5, M. Ambrose 3, T. Paule 2, M. Handley 2. BEST: M. Ambrose, T. Paule, B. Goss, B. Mahon, T. Roach, W. Tardiﬀ. EFL Goals: L. Barker 2, D. King, L. Williams, S. Tregear Best: S. Taylor, T. Gilchrist, S. Tregear, S. Kemperman, J. Chirgwin, L. Barker VAFA’s Best Player: Murphy Ambrose (Old Xaverians) Spirit of the Big V: Tom Paule (Old Melburnians) EFL Best VAFA Player: Lachlan McQueen-Miscamble (Old Carey)

VAFA SENIORS V EFL

Back row: Jack Bull (Old Scotch), Bede Mahon (University Blacks), Sam Willliams (De La Salle), Will Tardif (Collegians), Simon Hogan (University Blacks), Brendan Goss (Old Xaverians), Brendan Iezzi (Old Trinity), Ben Smithwick (Old Carey), Joel Rice (Old Carey), Matt Fieldsend (De La Salle). Third Row: Luke Gladman (Assistant Coach), Jack Townley (University Blues), Tom Caven (St Bernards), Lachlan McQueen-Miscamble (Old Carey), Tom Mentiplay (Old Brighton), James Jorgenson (Collegians), Anthony Lynch (St Kevins OB), Matthew Handley (Old Xaverians), Murphy Ambrose (Old Xaverians), Thomas Roach (Old Carey), Mick Overman (Team Manager), Ian Wheeler (Trainer). Second Row: Alistair Parton (Assistant Coach), Chris Waller (Old Xaverians), Trent Zimbachs (VC) (Collegians), Simon Lethlean (Head Coach), Adam Bentick (C) (St Bernards), Thomas Paule (Old Melburnians), Anthony McDonald (Assistant Coach), Kylie Da Fonte (Trainer). Front Row: John Robinson (Timekeeper), Ryan Colbert (Runner), Lex Vasdekis (Runner), Neeraj Kochhar (Physio).

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

VAFA SENIORS V AFL QUEENSLAND

Back row: Courtney Hylton (Collegians), Harry Croft (Collegians), John Shaw (Old Xaverians), Cameron Williams (University Blues) and Tyson Kruse (University Blacks). Third Row: Murphy Ambrose (Old Xaverians), Nick Wynne (Old Xaverians), Neeraj Kochhar (Physio), David Lepair (Umpire), Sam Confait (Runner), Tom Caven (St Bernards) and Jack Townley (University Blues). Second Row: Thomas Roach (Old Carey), Sam Williams (De La Salle), Andrew Scott (Collegians), John Robinson (Timekeeper), Kylie Da Fonte (Trainer), Nikki Phillips (Trainer), Mick Overman (Team Manager), Will Tardif (Collegians), Joel Rice (Old Carey) and Patrick Kean (St Bedes/Mentone Tigers). Front Row: Thomas Paule (Old Melburnians), Tom Overman (St Bernards), Luke Gladman (Assistant Coach), Lachlan Mcqueen-Miscamble (VC) (Old Carey), Simon Lethlean (Head Coach), Cameron Howat (C) (Old Carey), Andrew McDonald (Assistant Coach), Mathew Handley (VC) (Old Xaverians), Andrew Leoncelli (Assistant Coach), Mathew Fieldsend (De La Salle) and Trent Zimbachs (Collegians)

The VAFA defeated the Queensland AFL by 83 points at Burpengary, Queensland. The VAFA were never troubled as they kicked the first six goals of the game. Matt Handley (Old Xaverians) was the recipient of brilliant midfield work, kicking eight goals for the day. Tom Paule (Old Melburnians) kicked four goals of his own in a fantastic forward display, whilst Harry Croft presented all day and was awarded the Spirit of the Big V for his performance at centre half forward. The VAFA commenced in the best possible fashion as skipper Cam Howat kicked a long running goal from out side 50 to get the ball rolling inside the first minute of the match. The VAFA then kicked a goal every two minutes for the first 10 minutes of the match to establish a commanding lead, holding the Queenslanders to just one behind for the term.

Queensland responded well in the second term and held the VAFA to just two goals for the term, nevertheless the margin was still 44 points at half time.

Simon Lethlean still wanted more pressure and the VAFA responded to his half time request to pile on seven goals in the third term to lead by 82 at three quarter time.

Tom Roach and Joel Rice (Old Carey) were winning plenty of ball through the midfield and Jack Townley (University Blues) and Nick Wynne (Old Xaverians) were dominant across half back.

With the game well and truly done, Queensland kicked a couple of late goals but not before Handley took his tally to eight for the afternoon with three final quarter goals.

VAFA Seniors vs AFL Queensland VAFA Seniors

6.5

8.7

15.12

18.16.124

AFL Queensland

0.1

1.5

2.8

5.11.41

VAFA GOALS: M. Handley 8, T. Paule 4, C. Howat 2, T. Zimbachs, J. Rice, H. Croft, P. Kean BEST: T Roach, M Handley, J Rice, N Wynne, H Croft, S Williams QAFL Goals: M Trewhella 2 J Hackett 2 R Power. Best: M Trewhella P Shelton M Logan M Derrick N Kinch A Boon. VAFAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Best player: Tom Roach (Old Carey) Spirit of Big V: Harry Croft (Collegians)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

VAFA U23 After a slow start the VAFA U23 side powered away to a 56 point win over the Tasmanian Under 23s at North Hobart Oval. Nick De Steiger from Old Melburnians, Vice Captain Tom McKinley (Old Scotch) and Jake Lew (AJAX) led the goal kickers for the visitors with three goals each.

VAFA U23 vs Tasmania U23 VAFA U23

4.2

7.7

9.14

16.19

Tasmania U23

1.5

4.6

4.9

8.11

VAFA GOALS: N. De Steiger 3, T. McKinley 3, J. Lew 3, A. Scott 2, T. Penberthy , M. Rippon , G. Hamilton , H. Lahy , J. Hunt BEST: T. Penberthy, T. Garside, M. Rippon, N. De Steiger, T. McKinley, J. Skene VAFA’s Best player: Tom Penberthy (Collegians) Spirit of Big V: Jarryd Skene (Old Xaverians)

Tassie jumped out of the blocks with the first goal then a series of missed chances before the VAFA started to get on top. Tasmanian forward Tom Bennett was proving a handful though and he ended the day with six goals. Despite holding a 35-point lead at three quarter time, VAFA coach Andrew Hayes implored his players to finish the job in the last. As the players tired from both sides, the game opened up and goals were kicked at both ends. However the VAFA were again dominant booting six goals to four in the last to finish 56 points clear. Tom Penberthy (Collegians) was best for the VAFA but he was assisted by many others including Tom Garside (St Bedes/Mentone Tigers), the skipper Marshall Rippon (University Blues) and Nick De Steiger. Jarryd Skene (Old Xaverians) was awarded the Spirit of the Big V Award.

VAFA PREM B – D4 AFL Victoria Country Number 2 side continued their unbeaten run against the VAFA’s Premier B-Division 4 side in emphatic fashion, however the final margin of 80 points was only achieved

VAFA U23 vs Tasmania

Back row: Mark Tomlinson (Physio), Greg Meredith (Assistant Coach), Gabriel Hamilton (Old Trinity), Peter Gleadhill (Old Hailebury), Jack Hunt (Old Trinity), Jarryd Skene (Old Xaverians), Tom Garside (St Bede/Mentone Tigers), Josh Cowan (Mazenod), Anthony Scott (Old Trinity), David Kinsella (Assistant Coach). Middle Row: Nigel Credlin (Board), Campbell Ross (Fitness Advisor/Runner), Jack Gray (Williamstown CYMS), Simon Thomas (University Blacks), Ben Amberg (Monash Blues), Tom Russell (St Bernards), Nick De Steiger (Old Melburnians), Jake Lew (AJAX), Simon Caven (St Bernards), Ned Hunt (Old Trinity), Sean Scully (Property Steward). Front Row: Brian Woodhead (Team Manager), Fiona Jacobs (Trainer), Sam Levin (Umpire), Michael Barnes (St Bedes/Mentone Tigers), Tom McKinley (VC) (Old Scotch), Andrew Hayes (Coach), Marshall Rippon (C) (University Blues), Harrie Lahy (VC) (University Blacks), Joshua Ludsky (AJAX), Jason Salopek (St Kevins OB), Brad Berry (Assistant Coach).

VAFA PREM B – D4 vs AFL VIC Country 2 AFL Victoria Country 2

3.6-24

9.7-61

12.14-86

19.21-135

VAFA (B - D4 Grades)

2.2-14

4.5-29

7.6-48

8.7-55

VIC Country GOALS: Fowkes 5,Poholke 4, Davies 2, Lavars 2, Cosson 2, Collins, Baskaya, Wade, Bosward. BEST: Bosward Collins Baskaya Davies Poholke Burke

through a 10 goal final term from the Country in

VAFA GOALS: Meehan 3, Mugavin, Molan, King, Bishop, Karageorgiou, BEST: Livori, Amberg Puhar, Boundy, Bishop, Meehan

their clash at St Albans Reserve in Geelong. Despite

VAFA’s Best player: Cam Livori (PEGS)

the final quarter flurry, Country increased their

Spirit of Big V: Steven Puhar (Williamstown CYMS)

lead at every change to post a commanding 19.21 (135) to 8.7 (55) victory. The VAFA made a rally in the early stages of the third term to reduce the deficit to three goals, but a couple of late goals before the end of the quarter meant the Country had a five goal buﬀer over the VAFA at the final change. With early goals to the Country in the last term, the game was beyond the reach for Brett Voss’ men and as the skies worsened over head, so too did the final margin. Mitch Bosward was named best afield for the Country side with his pressure around the packs inspiring. For the VAFA, Cam Livori (PEGS) was awarded the best player medal whilst Steven Puhar (Williamstown CYMS) was presented with the Spirit of the Big V for his four-quarter display.

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

VAFA B-D4 vs Victoria Country

Back row: Bernie Lazaro (Assistant Coach), Peter McBrearty (Assistant Coach), Tim Mckenzie (Monash Blues), Robert Mann (Mazenod), Samuel Bishop (Kew), Ben Amberg (Monash Blues), Leigh Fletcher (C) (Hampton Rovers), Brett Voss (Head Coach), Steve Puhar (Williamstown CYMS), Jeremy Mugavin (University Blues), Gus Patti (Mazenod), Mick Meehan (Old Haileybury), Hamish McLauchlan (Old Haileybury), Cameron Livori (PEGS), Jarrod Egglestone (Therry Penola), Ben Phibbs (VC) (Mazenod), Luke Mahoney (Assistant Coach), Cameron Taylor (Assistant Coach), Brian Goodman (Team Manager). Front Row: Dave Murphy (Runner), James King (Northern Blues), Dermot Cleary (Oakleigh), Paul Florance (Bulleen Templestowe), Dimitri Dimakopoulos (St Francis Xavier), Dave Boundy (VC) (Old Paradians), Panayioti Karageorgiou (St Kevins OB), Luke Molan (Williamstown CYMS), Warren Steinberg (AJAX), Adam Weekes (Old Haileybury).

VAFA U19 vs AFL U19 VIC Country

VAFA U19 AFL Victoria Country’s U19s were too strong for the VAFA’s U19 side as they reclaimed the Brian Molony Cup winning by 106 points at St Albans Reserve in Geelong. The contest appeared to

AFL Victoria U19 Country

2.3

6.9

12.16

18.19.127

VAFA U19

3.1

3.3.21

AFL Vic Country GOALS: Bell 4, Doyle 3, Keegan 3, Youl 2, Hayes 2 Egan 2, Russell 1, Cary 1. BEST: Neagle, Nelson, Atkins, Hayes, Egan, Bell

in the first term was causing the Country to turn

VAFA GOALS: T. Johnstone, C .Haley, M. Malt BEST: A. Scott, T. Silvestro, O. Armstrong, M. Malt, M. Bowden, A. Sloan

over the ball regularly. Despite kicking into the

VAFA’s Best player: Anthony Scott (Old Trinity)

breeze, the VAFA led the Country at quarter time

Spirit of Big V: Mitchell Malt (Whitefriars)

be an arm wrestle early as the VAFA’s pressure

by four points. However, that was where the fun stopped for the VAFA as the Country asserted their authority on the contest. The VAFA were held scoreless in both the second and third quarters whilst the Country kicked 11.12 in the same period. The VAFA side struggled to adjust to the extraordinary length of the St Albans ground. It didn’t get much better in the last. Restricted to just one behind, the VAFA couldn’t stop the margin blowing out to over 100 points as the Country team were relentless. Anthony Scott (Old Trinity) was deemed the best VAFA player on the ground whilst Mitchell Malt (Whitefriars) was awarded the Spirit of the Big V for his eﬀorts over the four quarters.

VAFA U19 vs AFL U19 VIC Country

Back row: Sam Confait (Football Operations Oﬀicer), Chris Mathieson (Assistant Coach), Jack Cowell (Bulleen Templestowe), Jordan Tabakman (Ormond), Andrew Sloane (Old Carey), Duncan Moore (Old Trinity), Braydon O’Toole (St Bedes), Tom Tyquin (St Bedes/Mentone Tigers), Michael Henderson (Old Xaverians), Alex Polidoros (Old Trinity), Brandon Droessler (Kew), Lachlan Howes (Beaumaris). Second Row: Billy Kanakis (St Kevins OB), Michael Bowden (Caulfield Grammarians), Mitchell Malt (Whitefriars), Liam Hard (Oakleigh), Charley Haley (De La Salle), Sam D’ Andrea (St Bedes/Mentone Tigers), Jack Grange (Beaumaris), Oliver Armstrong (Old Haileybury), Brian Goodman (General Manager – Football & Umpire Operations), Thomas Johnston (Williamstown), David Kinsella (Assistant Coach), Mark Tomlinson (Physio). Front Row: Caroline Ray (Trainer), David Gately (Head Coach), Thomas Silvestro (VC) (Caulfield Grammarians), Gerard Gleeson (C) (St Kevins), Anthony Scott (VC) (Old Trinity), John Raﬀle (Team Manager), John Robinson (Timekeeper).

Joel Rice (Old Carey)

Thomas Paule (Old Melburnians)

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

VAFA U18 Tour of New Zealand The VAFA embarked on our sixth U18 tour to New Zealand departing Melbourne on Friday, 3rd October and returning from Auckland on Monday, 6th October. The tour consisted of 22 players from 14 VAFA clubs. Owen Lalor coached the side with the leadership team of captain Brandon Droessler (Kew), and Jordan Tabakman (Ormond) and Ryan Malt (Whitefriars) as vice captains. Game 1 Facing the New Zealand Haka for the first time and a pre-game fire up from coach Owen Lalor had our boys jumping out of their skins in the first few minutes as 22 VAFA individual players became one, leaping to a 46 point lead at the quarter time break. Jordan Tabakman and Ryan Malt led from the front whilst Johnny Ross matched the Kiwi’s hardness gathering plenty of inside ball. Zac O’Hallon and Callum Cusack providing first use in ruck as well as both converting up forward. The third quarter displayed something special

VAFA U18 v New Zealand

Back row: Sam Confait (Tour Manager), Broadie Meadows (Williamstown CYMS), John Humphrey (Therry Penola), Billy Shute (Kew), Brenden Miller (Westbourne Grammarians), Daniel Wiles (Mazenod), Matthew Sier (Mazenod), Ryan Malt (VC) (Whitefriars), Craig Sterling (Parkdale Vultures), Stephen Forster (Mazenod). Second Row: Mark Tomlinson (Physio), Michael Caven (St Bernards), Brandon Droessler (C) (Kew), John Tabakman (VC) (Ormond), Corey Peele (Parkdale Vultures), Will Considine (St Bernards), Zach O’Halloran (St Bernards), Callum Cusack (Beaumaris), Ben Dickson (Beaumaris), Anthony Edmonds (Umpire), Brian Goodman (Team Manager). Front Row: Kylie Da Fonte (Trainer), David Kinsella (Assistant Coach), Ezubalew Ramsay (UHS-V), John Cayhan (St Bedes/Mentone Tigers), Owen Lalor (Head Coach), Johnny Ross (Old Melburnians), Francis Palleschi (Mazenod), Patrick O’Brien (Westbourne Grammarians), David Gately (Assistant Coach), John Robinson (Timekeeper).

Game 1 at Parrs Park, Auckland

from Brenden Millar, slotting an unbelievable

VAFA U18

7.6

11.9

19.12

24.15.(159)

boundary line goal as our boys continued their

New Zealand U18

0.0

0.4.(4)

dominance in blustery conditions, heeding the coaches’ direction on using the open side of the ground. Craig Sterling, Jack Touli and Ben Dickson were all prominent. The St Bernard’s boys Will Considine and Michael Caven ensured the Kiwis were restricted to just

VAFA GOALS: J Tabakman 4, R Malt 3, C Cusack 3, J Cahan 2, C Peele 2, Z O’Halloran 2, F Palleschi 2, B Droessler 2, E Ramsay, J Toouli, B Miller, C Stirling Best: J Tabakman, R Malt, W Considine, J Ross, J Toouli, B Dickson NZ Goals: Nil Best: T Kopa, T Thomas, W Baker

the 4 points whilst Brodie Meadows showed class

Best on Ground Medals: VAFA: Ben Dickson (Beaumaris) and Jordan Tabakman (Ormond)

rebounding oﬀ half back.

Game 2 at Parrs Park, Auckland

Game 2 The New Zealand Hawks made a strong statement in the 2nd match restricting a flat VAFA side to one behind until the fifteen minute mark of the first quarter. Their pride and enthusiasm provided a glimpse of the future of AFL in New Zealand but they were unable to convert on the scoreboard. A spark from Ryan Malt kick started a dominant

VAFA U18

4.2

11.4

14.8

19.15.(129)

New Zealand U18

0.1

0.2

0.2.(2)

VAFA Goals: J Cahan 4, B Dickson 3, J Tabakman 3, J Toouli 2, C Peele 2, E Ramsay 2, B Meadows, R Malt, F Palleschi Best: R Malt, J Ross, J Cahan, J Toouli, M Caven, B Dickson NZ Goals: Nil Best: J Copeland, C Blackie, W Baker, K Brunel, C Donnell-Brown VAFA Best on Ground: John Cayhan (St Bedes/Mentone Tigers) and Ryan Malt (Whitefriars)

25 minutes that saw the VAFA score 11 goals. The VAFA clicked into gear withstanding the Kiwi’s pressure and physicality to regain the form of game 1 with clean outside use. A half time message directing all players to finish the tour with pride and respect instilled a determination to continue their hard work that resulted in a quality second half performance. Jack Touli and Ben Dickson continued their form from Game 1 whilst John Cayhan again chipped in with 4 majors rewarding him with a Best on Ground Award. Corey Peel and Ezza Ramsay booted 2 majors a piece yet it was Brandon Droessler proving why he was selected Captain, displaying acts of courage and leadership applauded by the entire touring party.

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Big V Club Inductees

JAMES DUNCAN ANDERSON

MICHAEL BLOOD

ANDREW RAMSDEN

BIG V CAREER

•

8 games for the Big V (1950-54) including AAFC Carnivals in 1951 & 1953

•

10 games for the Big V (1994-1999)

•

13 games for the Big V (1998–2005)

•

3 x Best on Ground in Big V matches

•

Big V Captain 2002-2005 (5 games)

•

2 x Australian Amateur games in 1954

•

Big V Captain 5 games (1997-1999)

•

Big V Vice Captain 2000-2001

•

3 x Australian National Football Council games for ACT 1958

•

Chairman of Selectors (2008-2011)

•

3 x AAFC (Australian Amateur Football Council) ‘Team Of The Year’ (2002, 03, 04)

•

Represented the VAFA in the Olympic Demonstration match in 1956

•

AAFC All-Australian Captain 2004

CLUB CAREER Old Xaverians

CLUB CAREER

•

6 x A Section Premiership player (1995-2000)

University Blues and Old Melburnians

•

4 x Premiership Captain (1997-2000)

•

A Section Premiership player at University Blues 1952 (Vice Captain)

•

2 x Jock Nelson Medalist (1995 & 1997)

•

Kicked 10 of the 20 goals Blues kicked in the Grand Final win over Ormond

Woodrow Medal 1997 (A Section Best and Fairest)

•

Club Captain 1997-2001

•

Uni Blues Captain /Coach 1953 (Runners Up)

•

4 x Club Best and Fairest winner

•

Won A Section Goal kicking five years in succession, every year he played. Duncan is the only player to ever do that.

•

212 Games

•

OXFC Life Member

•

1950 -75 goals at University Blues

•

1951 -128 goals at University Blues

•

1952 -72 goals at University Blues

•

1953 - 115 goals at University Blues

•

1954 - 75 goals (left to move to UK in August)

•

In Dec 1954 played alongside Bob Hawke (Rhodes Scholar for WA) for Oxford and was BOG in annual Oxford v Cambridge Australian Rules game

•

80 Games for University Blues and 16 games for Old Melburnians

•

Named as full forward in the MUFC team of the modern era

CLUB CAREER Old Trinity •

3 x B Section Premiership player (1994, 1996 & 1999)

•

Woodrow Medal 2005 (A Section Best and Fairest)

•

G.T. Moore Medal 1999 (B Section Best & Fairest)

•

Old Trinity Senior Co-Captain 2002 & Captain 2003-2007

•

6 x Old Trinity Best & Fairest

•

5 x Old Trinity Runner-Up Best & Fairest

•

Old Trinity ’50 Year Team’ 1954 - 2003

•

Old Trinity Leading Senior Goal kicker 2008-2013

•

Played 348 games for Old Trinity (club record)

•

Old Trinity Life Member (2004)

•

VAFA Leading Premier B Goal kicker 2009

•

VAFA Leading Premier Goal kicker 2010 & 2012

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Juniors MEGT U19 Premier For the first time since its inception the MEGT U19 Premier Section consisted of just eight teams. This decision was made in pre-season in a progressive move by the VAFA to enhance the competitiveness of the section. Unfortunately for Old Melburnians and 2013 premiers St Bedes/Mentone Tigers, this left them facing some severe losses throughout the season as both sides managed just two wins each and each side forfeited once. If one club has dominated U19 football in recent times, it is De La Salle, but the perennial finalists and winners of six of the past ten premierships at this level also struggled winning just four games for the year. Old Scotch were the best of the rest with a respectable nine wins and nine losses to just miss the four. Beaumaris played finals but were no match for Old Xaverians in the first semi. In the other semi final St Kevin’s upstaged the more fancied St Bernard’s to earn a week’s respite. St Bernard’s were pushed all the way by Old Xaverians in the preliminary final before the drew away from Xavs to earn a re-match with SKOBs. The Grand Final was all one way traﬀic at Trevor Barker Oval. St Bernard’s stretched their lead at every change to win their first flag at this level since 2003. Jeremy Hannan from Old Xaverians completed a rare double winning both the Newbury Medal for the section best and fairest and the competition’s leading goalkicker with 80 goals for the season.

U19 Section 2 Caulfield Grammarians and University Blacks held up the table with three and four wins respectively. Collegians, fielding two junior teams also struggled at times throughout the year but still managed a respectable six wins. Mazenod and Old Brighton both showed glimpses through the home and away year, but were still four wins short of being in contention for finals. Fitzroy, so successful over recent seasons at junior level were strong but not quite strong enough to make the four, missing on percentage to Parkdale Vultures. The Vultures faced up to an Old Trinity outfit in the first semi and fell short of the T’s who had held a top two spot for most of the year. In the other semi, University Blues were far too good for 2013 premiership side Whitefriars out in Donvale. It was a tough break for the Friars who had home ground advantage in the final and had finished the season as minor premiers. It got tougher for Whitefriars who succumbed to Old Trinity in the preliminary final to exit the series in straight sets. After a change in day and venue, the Grand Final took place in splendid conditions at Bulleen Park. Old Trinity got on top early and maintained their

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

advantage all day on their way to a resounding win. Alex Polidoros won the Miles Medal for his six goals and best on ground performance. The other major individual honour of the season was shared. Ryan Malt (Whitefriars) and Will Blakey (University Blues) tied on 14 votes for the McTaggart Medal, with Blakey also tying with teammate Daniel Bartarillo for the leading goal kicker award.

Jordan Stanton – the man who tied Wooldridge

U19 Section 3

locked for large periods of the final quarter. In

Eight teams competed in Section 3 and unfortunately St Mary’s Salesian lost too many of their top age players to follow up last year’s premiership success, only managing the one win for the year. Old Camberwell and Old Xaverians both finished on a respectable six wins each with AJAX the best of the rest, securing a record of 9-9 from the home and away rounds. The final four sides could hardly be separated, Marcellin (4th) won the first semi final across Bulleen Road at Old Carey (3rd) to send the Panthers packing. Old Carey had been in the top two for large parts of the season so it was a disappointing end, however they did have the joint winner of the I.A. Brown Medal for the section best and fairest in Toby Wooldridge. If anything Old Ivanhoe were the standout side of the section. However they were made to earn their second semi final win over Williamstown CYMS and with their captain

supporters into raptures in a tough season for the

for the Brown Medal on 17 votes – in the side, the Hoes were too strong for Williamstown CYMS in the second semi final. Marcellin sealed the fate of the CY’s in the prelim, a straight sets exit not great reward for such a strong campaign. The Grand Final was a sensational game, the Eagles and Hoes going goal for goal and the scores were the end, Old Ivanhoe triumphed sending their club.

U19 North Therry Penola and Northern Blues moved into the North Section from Section 3 after five rounds, but only Therry Penola were able to capitalise. Blues after such a dominant period in the junior sections, finished the season on the bottom. Whitefriars number 2 side were the other side that struggled, whilst Yarra Valley and PEGS each had moments, their seasons had too many inconsistencies. La Trobe University were half a game outside the four with Banyule creeping into fourth spot. The Bears fell an agonising two points short of Wyndham Suns in the knock out first semi final. Ivanhoe had been the powerhouse side all year only losing one game from their 18 home and away matches. They defeated St Bernard’s by 10 goals in the second semi to book a grand final berth. St Bernards ended the Suns season in the preliminary final to earn a second crack at Ivanhoe. However this Hoes group of youngsters, were on a mission and they duly saluted with the club’s first premiership of any kind since 1987. There was an unprecedented four way tie for the Harry Harisiou Medal with four players all polling 14 votes.

U19 South MHSOB were the backmarkers in 2014, registering just one win. Collegians and Old Haileybury had percentage separate them from ninth and eighth with the Bloods winning that battle. Marginally ahead were Monash Blues before a gap emerged to the mid table Peninsula who left the 2014 season with a 50% record. Peninsula’s James Moignard was the runaway leader in the section best and fairest. Beaumaris missed the four by a couple of games and in reality the gap to the finals positions was significant. In the first semi final Hampton Rovers defeated De La Salle at the Dairy Bell to earn a prelim spot. The second semi saw ladder leaders Ormond comprehensively win their way through to the Grand Final, defeating Oakleigh by 12 goals. Rovers were on a roll and they ended Oakleigh’s run of five consecutive years of winning a junior premiership by knocking them out in the preliminary final. The scene was set, two local rivals facing oﬀ in the South Grand Final. Ormond had been the best side all year, yet Hampton Rovers were in form at the right time. Rovers defied expectations and won the premiership from fourth spot to kick start a memorable day for the club.

VAFA Colts There was a change to the make up of the U18 compeition this year. To secure the competitiveness of the section, the competition became the VAFA Colts with University Blues, Old Paradians and Westbourne Grammarians moving into the section from U19 North after round 3 as South Melbourne Districts disbanded through a lack of numbers. Uni Blues and the combined UHS-VU/Flemmington struggled the most in the section but still managed to win a few games. Old Paradians finished sixth before a sizable gap to Williamstown CYMS in fifth. The CY’s missed the four on percentage to Point Cook. Westbourne Grammarians and St Bernard’s were clearly the best chasing down an irrepressible Mazenod who for the first eight games looked destined for an undefeated season. Alas the Nodders lost their round 9 clash at Westbourne, but then didn’t lose another game for the year on the way to a dominant premiership win. Mazenod proved too strong for St Bernard’s on Grand Final day in a one sided match. Pat O’Brien won the section best and fairest for Westbourne polling in 10 of the 13 games played in the Colts.

Leading goalkickers Goals

Player

Club

MEGT U19 Premier

75* (80)

Jeremy Hannan

Old Xaverians

Under 19 Section 2

49* (57)

Daniel Batarilo

University Blues

49* (55)

William Blakey

University Blues

Under 19 Section 3

79* (81)

Mitchell Nixon

Old Carey Gr.

Under 19 North

52* (54)

Josh Stephens

Wyndam Suns

Under 19 South

VAFA Colts

52 (65)

Cambell Jones

Hampton Rovers

54* (58)

Jack Meeking

Ormond

71* (77)

Kieren McKeogh

Mazenod OC

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

MEGT Under 19 Premier PREMIERSHIP LADDER St Bernards St Kevins Old Xaverians Beaumaris Old Scotch De La Salle St Bedes / Mentone Tigers Old Melburnians

For

Agst

PTS

18 17 17 18 18 18 17 17

16 13 12 10 9 4 2 2

2 3 3 7 9 14 15 15

0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

2320 1934 1942 1625 1301 1262 857 506

783 911 976 1292 1432 1822 1917 2697

296.30 212.29 198.98 125.77 90.85 69.26 44.71 18.76

64 58 56 42 36 16 8 8

MEGT U19 Premier Grand Final St Bernards St Kevins

4.5 1.3

CR Newbury Medal 5.5 2.6

9.9 2.7

12.10 (82) 4.13 (37)

St Bernards Goals: G. Zoccali 2, E. Sibbald 2, Z. O’Halloran 1, M. Hughes 1, P. Romano 1, J. Sullivan 1, T. Doody 1, J. Hedley 1, B. Ronke 1, H. Wade 1 Best: G. Zoccali, W. Considine, T. Doody, M. DeLeur, T. Delzoppo, S. Piantella St Kevins Goals: R. Stagg 2, W. Ostrowsky 1, M. Roberts 1 Best: S. Doyle, M. Spence, N. Fletcher, N. Meehan, T. Sullivan, M. Smart T.A. Johnson Medal: Giacomo Zoccali (St Bernard’s)

Player Jeremy Hannan Luke Sabato

Club Old Xaverians St Kevin’s Old Boys

Votes 21 17

MEGT Under 19 Premier: St Bernard’s OC B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coach:

Stefan Piantella, Will Considine, Thomas Riley (C) Marcus DeLeur, Michael Caven, Sam Woods (DVC) Giacomo Zoccali, Harry Wade, Nick Larkin Mitchell Hughes, Edyn Sibbald, James Riley Ben Ronke, Darren Colaco, Pat Romano (VC) Zachary O’Halloran, Josh Hedley, Tom DelZoppo Anthony Dillon, Tristan Doody, Rhyen Woods, Jed Carey, Edward Connelly, Jeremy Sullivan Rocky Iannello

Under 19 Section 2 PREMIERSHIP LADDER Whitefriars University Blues Old Trinity Parkdale Vultures Fitzroy Mazenod Old Brighton Collegians University Blacks Caulfield Grammarians

For

Agst

PTS

18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

14 14 13 11 11 7 7 6 4 3

4 4 5 7 7 11 11 12 14 15

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1665 1683 1460 1553 1412 1114 1011 726 834 965

942 1141 979 1137 1281 1227 1358 1269 1567 1522

176.75 147.50 149.13 136.59 110.23 90.79 74.45 57.21 53.22 63.40

56 56 52 44 44 28 28 24 16 12

Under 19 Section 2 Grand Final University Blues Old Trinity

1.2 3.5

GW McTaggart Medal 5.5 8.9

8.11 10.13

10.12 (72) 17.17 (119)

University Blues Goals: D. Batarilo 5, W. Blakey 3, T. Coburn 1, W. Langley 1 Best: D. Cumming, D. Batarilo, W. Blakey, W. Langley, M. Roche, L. Cameron Old Trinity Goals: A. Polidoros 6, T. Kerkvliet 4, S. Joyce 1, L. Aikman 1, D. Moore 1, H. Tyson 1, S. Nicolosi 1, D. White 1, D. Land 1 Best: A. Polidoros, J. Spassopoulos, H. Aikman, W. Cooper, S. Emerson, H. Tyson J.A. Miles Medal: Alex Polidoros (Old Trinity)

Player Ryan Malt William Blakey Kurt Lopo

Votes 14 14 13

Under 19 Section 2 Premiership Team: Old Trinity B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coach:

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Club Whitefriars O.C. University Blues Parkdale

Will Cooper, Andy Bennett, Mac Brown Hugh Boyle, Nick Roberts, Simon Emerson Nathan Valkanis, Jamie Spassopoulos, Harry Aikman James Nitsopoulos, Duncan Moore, Seb Nicolosi, Sam Joyce, Alex Polidoros, Darcy White Alex Gebert, Hugh Tyson, Christos Manoussakis Lachlan Aikman, Danny Land, Matt Lasorko, Zac Aarons, Tom Kerkvliet, Mitch Bourke Speros Beasley

Under 19 Section 3 PREMIERSHIP LADDER Old Ivanhoe Williamstown CYMS Old Carey Marcellin AJAX Old Xaverians Old Camberwell St Mary’s Salesian

For

Agst

PTS

18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

15 13 13 13 9 6 6 1

3 5 5 5 9 12 12 17

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1819 1743 1765 1535 1405 1155 1054 1042

1058 1169 1202 1113 1300 1487 1487 1977

171.93 149.10 146.84 137.92 108.08 77.67 70.88 52.71

60 52 52 52 36 24 24 4

Under 19 Section 3 Grand Final Old Ivanhoe Marcellin

2.2 5.0

IA Brown Medal 5.4 7.3

9.5 9.4

13.6 (84) 11.7 (73)

Old Ivanhoe Goals: M. Kirwan 4, T. Deane 2, M. Broughan 2, D. Pierri 1, J. Kandiliotis 1, S. Tsanoudakis 1, N. Marshall 1, T. Kellock 1 Best: T. Deane, N. Marshall, M. Kirwan, D. Inglese, T. Crouch, S. Tsanoudakis Marcellin Goals: X. Burns 5, D. Tomat 3, J. Robertson 2, K. Mahoney 1 Best: D. Tomat, X. Burns, K. Mahoney, J. Robertson, P. Lunn, J. Edwards T.M Lyon Medal: Tyson Deane (Old Ivanhoe)

Player Toby Wooldridge Jordan Stanton Cameron Wallace

Club Old Carey Gr. Old Ivanhoe Gr. Old Carey Gr.

Votes 17 17 13

Under 19 Section 3 Premiership Team: Old Ivanhoe B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coach:

Dominic Inglese, Matthew Broughan, Jake Erman Josh Begeman, Jordan Stanton (C), Jackson Lee Will Gough, Stephen Tsanoudakis, Tim Fidler Tom Kellock, Liam Oliver, Adam Meikle James Kandiliotis, Max Kirwan, Damien Pierri Chris Jowett, Trent Crouch, Nick Marshall (VC) Alex Bacskos, Tyson Deane, Patrick Walsh, Ross Echersley, Dylan Buttifant, Nick Christo Brad Shadbolt & Brad Low

Under 19 North PREMIERSHIP LADDER Ivanhoe St Bernards Wyndham Suns Banyule La Trobe University Therry Penola PEGS Yarra Valley Whitefriars Northern Blues

For

Agst

PTS

18 18 18 18 18 13 18 18 18 13

17 12 11 10 10 7 8 6 2 2

1 4 7 7 8 6 10 12 15 11

0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1740 1506 1459 1379 1214 1134 1328 1335 840 767

876 1199 1135 1073 1080 823 1403 1507 1793 1429

198.63 125.60 128.55 128.52 112.41 137.79 94.65 88.59 46.85 53.67

68 52 44 42 40 32 32 24 10 8

Under 19 North Grand Final Ivanhoe St Bernards

Harry Harisiou Medal 1.1 0.3

4.7 0.5

6.10 1.7

Ivanhoe Goals: J. Scardamaglia 3, M. Rees 1, L. Jacob 1, J. Schaﬀert 1, W. Emerson 1 Best: F. Orsag, D. Ioannou, L. Kennedy, D. Jones, D. Treloar, J. Scardamaglia St Bernards Goals: J. Notaro 1, P. Comerford 1 Best: W. Baird, J. Holland, M. Satterley, M. Farrant, D. Parkes, W. Isaacs P.J. Harris Medal: Danny Jones

7.14 (56) 2.9 (21)

Player Daniel Jones Brendan Lee James Vovos Brenden Wilson

Votes 14 14 14 14

Under 19 North Premiership Team: Ivanhoe B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coach:

Club Ivanhoe Yarra Valley PEGS Wyndham Suns

Liam Kennnedy Cameron Bath Sam Batterton Dylan Treloar David Ioannou Alex Griﬀiths Patrick Lagreca Ruben Blackmore-Moore James Schaﬀert Jake Scardimaglia Mathew Bullen James Lagreca (C) Ben Mcgrgeor Liam Jacobs Will Emerson (VC) Mark Cochrane, Max Post, Daniel Jones (C) Mitch Rees, Charles Doman, Feinan Orsag, Nathan Zervides, Will Martin, James Obrien Bill Emerson

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Under 19 South PREMIERSHIP LADDER Ormond Oakleigh De La Salle Hampton Rovers Beaumaris Peninsula Monash Blues Old Haileybury Collegians MHSOB

For

Agst

PTS

17 16 17 18 17 18 18 18 15 18

15 13 12 12 9 9 6 5 5 1

2 3 5 6 8 9 12 13 10 17

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

1843 1624 1538 1510 1733 1444 1108 985 709 724

831 761 996 1066 1250 1350 1543 1639 1652 2089

221.78 213.40 154.42 141.65 138.64 106.96 71.81 60.10 42.92 34.66

64 60 52 48 40 36 24 20 20 4

Under 19 South Grand Final Ormond Hampton Rovers

Under 19 South Best and Fairest Medal 0.3 3.2

3.7 5.3

4.7 12.8

6.12 (48) 16.12 (108)

Player James Moignard Adam Tanzimat Callum Carothers

Ormond Goals: J. Meeking 2, D. Gregg-Mantle 2, N. Curwood 1, M. LaGreca 1 Best: D. Gregg-Mantle, M. Kerstens, M. LaGreca, N. Edwards, L. Adlington, N. Houghton

Club Peninsula Beaumaris Ormond

Votes 22 14 14

Under 19 South Premiership Team: Hampton Rovers

Hampton Rovers Best: C. Clarke 4, C. Jones 4, H. Hodges 3, M. Robertson 1, L. Cairns 1, H. Hill 1, J. Elston 1, T. Fisher 1 Best: T. Fisher, H. Hodges, C. Clarke, H. Hill, R. Fogarty, J. Campion

B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int:

J.S. Simpson Medal: Harry Hodges (Hampton Rovers)

Coach:

Luke Morcom (C), Mathew Oswald, Cameron Cullis Ryan Fogarty, Jack Campion, Tom Fisher James Benjamin, Jack Stewart, Conor Clarke Harry Hill, Sam Care (VC), Joshua Elston Harry Hodges, Campbell Jones, Lachlan Cairns Petrus Olivier, Joel Ballegi, Mackie Robertson David Broadstock, Corey Jones, James Short, Zachary Donald, Jack Zaina, Jack Daley John Cesario

VAFA Colts PREMIERSHIP LADDER P

For

Agst

PTS

Mazenod

1573

377

417.24

St Bernards

1411

682

206.89

Westbourne Grammarians

1044

637

163.89

Point Cook AFC

1021

1025

99.61

Williamstown CYMS

929

1188

78.2

Old Paradians

701

1134

61.82

UHS-VU / Flemington

699

1261

55.43

University Blues

596

1518

39.26

VAFA Colts Grand Final Mazenod St Bernards

4.4 0.0

10.10 1.1

15.14 2.3

21.18 (144) 3.4 (22)

Mazenod Goals: J. Welsford 4, J. Swainston 3, K. McKeogh 3, J. Winn 2, M. Sier 2, S. Mier 2, J. Webster 1, E. Van Rensburg 1, G. Lok 1, M. Consolmagno 1, F. D’Alfonso 1 Best: E. Van Rensburg, G. Lok, M. Sier, D. Wiles, K. McKeogh, T. McKenna St Bernards Goals: M. Zammit 2, C. Vague 1 Best: D. Kennedy, J. Comito, M. Jaggard, T. Howard, C. Vague Harry Overman Medal: Kieren McKeogh (Mazenod OC)

VAFA Colts Best and Fairest Medal

Player Patrick O’Brien Esubalew Ramsay Cody Day Elijah Van Rensburg

Votes 28 21 17 16

VAFA Colts Premiership Team: Mazenod B: HB: C: HF: F: R: Int: Coach:

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Club Westbourne Grammarians University High School-Vic Uni Point Cook Mazenod OC

Billy Campbell, Daniel Wiles, Ben Riley (VC) Daniel Mydaras, Jacob Bucella, Tom Patterson Sam Mier, Tom McKenna (C), Sam Deegan (VC) Goy Lok, Kieren McKeogh (DVC), Jeremy Welsford Fabio D’Alfonso, Josh Swainston, Jake Winn Elijah Van Rensburg, Matt Sier (DVC), Mark Consolmagno (DVC) Lachlan McEniry, Jack Carroll, Josh Webster, Matt McLellan, Tim Johnson, Nathan Beovich Paul Deegan

Club XVIII

New and old names on top The Club XVIII season again saw three sections although there were less teams in 2014 as each section was made up of only of six teams each. Four new entrants joined the competition: Mt Lilydale (back from Division 4) went into Section 1: whilst La Trobe University, North Old Boys/St Patrick’s and Melbourne High School Old Boys all entered teams into Section 3. Whilst there was contention about playing six team competitions with four sides in each competition destined to play finals, certainly each club relished the prospect of the 66% chance of playing at the pointy end of the season. Hawthorn and Richmond Central both jumped a section oﬀ the back of their premierships in 2013 and both clubs immediately made an impression. The Hawthorn’s Spartans sent shockwaves through the Club XVIII world when they handed perennial competition heavyweights Old Xaverians a significant loss in the early rounds of Section 1. Richmond Central’s Snakes were also racking up early wins in Section 2 and new club La Trobe Uni were the pacesetters in Section 3. In Section 1 Masala, in their second year as a club and keen to move up through the sections with ambitions of becoming a senior club found the going a little tougher but they did sneak a win against Old Geelong late in the year that was rich reward persistence. Old Geelong had a poor year. OG’s were promoted from Section 2 last year having finished runner up, but the loss of players and another year older for their veterans made the year a tough one at Como Park.

Mt Lilydale commenced their VAFA odyssey in Club XVIII back in the 1990s and whilst this return was not what they would have envisaged, they held high hopes heading into the year. However, expectations were not met for the Rams who ended the season by losing the first final to finish fourth. Prahran Assumption fought their way to a preliminary final and gave the Spartans the fright of their life. Ultimately though the Two Blues were just a peg or two below what Hawthorn and Old Xaverians had produced in 2014. The Spartans had beaten Old Xaverians twice during the season on the smaller Rathmines Road Reserve but proceeded to lose both their Round 15 and second semi-final clashes against the Crocs at the larger Sportscover Arena. Hawthorn may have won the minor premiership with only that round 15 loss to Xavs against their record but the feeling was the Crocs were here to play in finals. So it proved to be, with Old Xaverians comfortably claiming the Section 1 flag, defeating Hawthorn for a third straight time to show they are the kings of this section. Tim Silk won the King-Landrigan Medal despite nine goals from Dan Rush in the

Grand Final whilst the section best and fairest was claimed by Anthony Marguccio of Hawthorn. In Section 2, Richmond Central claimed back to back premierships, coming from third place winning three finals in the most competitive of the three sections. Emmaus St Leo’s topped the charts after 15 rounds, but lost both their finals to exit in straight sets. The Snakes Sam Hartmann was the best on ground in their grand final win over Williamstown CYMS. Mark Pietryk of Emmaus St Leo’s won the section best and fairest for the second year in a row, however he along with leading goal kicker Robert Hughes would have traded their medallions in for a premiership medal no doubt. Therry Penola were the best of the rest but in reality were no match for the top three. Therry beat Eley Park to the final spot in the four, the Sharks acquitting themselves reasonable well up a section after their runners up performance in Section 3 last year. Bulleen Templestowe battled through the year without a win, the Bullants regularly had players taken from them to fill their injury ravaged senior and reserve sides. In Section 3, La Trobe University took all before them on the way to a barnstorming premiership win. North Old Boys/St Pat’s looked of much of the season like they would be the side best placed to challenge the Uni outfit, but on preliminary final day, Melbourne High School Old Boys found something to make it through to the Grand Final. La Trobe held the Unicorns goalless for three quarters of the Grand Final but never really put the game beyond doubt. Despite a late rush of goals, MHSOB were too far back and La Trobe claimed a much treasured flag for the club. Kew finished fourth whilst the Dragons and UHSVU scrambled a handful of wins between them to miss out on the finals

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Club XVIII Results Club XVIII (Section 1) Premiership Team: Old Xaverians B: HB: C: HF:

James Glenn, Jeremy McDonnell, Nick Silk Nick Larkins, Edward Maas, Tim Silk Tim O’Meara, Dominic Quinn, Michael Scanlan Nick Corcoran, Matthew Green, James McDonnell

Andrew Barrett (C), Dan Rush, Sam Chester

Nick Bye, Corey Slater, John Raﬀaele

Int: Coach:

Andrew Nolen, Tom Lee, Hugh Lyons, Rob Dillon, Will Molony, Jeremy Pytel, Darra Conlon, Max Parasol Joe McGrath

Club XVIII (Section 1) Grand Final Old Xaverians Hawthorn

PREMIERSHIP LADDER Club XVIII (1) Hawthorn Old Xaverians Mt Lilydale Prahran Assumption Old Geelong Masala

P 15 14 15 15 14 15

W 14 12 8 7 2 1

L 1 2 7 8 12 14

D 0 0 0 0 0 0

B 0 0 0 0 0 0

FF 0 1 0 0 0 0

For 2075 1804 1292 975 709 663

Agst 711 866 1155 1341 1565 1924

% 291.84 208.31 111.86 72.71 45.30 34.46

PTS 56 52 32 28 8 4

6.2 3.0

10.4 4.3

14.5 5.4

18.7(115) 7.5(47)

Old Xaverians Goals: D. Rush 9, M. Green 3, T. Silk 2, N. Corcoran 1, N. Bye 1, J. McDonnell 1, T. O’Meara 1 Best: D. Rush, T. Silk, N. Bye, M. Green, J. Raﬀaele, M. Scanlan Hawthorn Goals: A. Mitropoulos 4, A. Brizzi 2, M. Dabab 1 Best: S. Zito, A. Marguccio, A. Mitropoulos, M. Dabab, J. Rieve, A. Brizzi David King / Tony Landrigan Medal: Timonthy Silk (Old Xaverians)

Club XVIII (Section 2) Premiership Team: Richmond Central B:

Peter Tierney, Sam Holsman, Clint Collins

HB:

David Logan, Caleb Nontapan, Peter Iser

C: HF:

Guy Cartwright, Charles Logan, Daniel Buckthorpe (VC) Todd Nolan, Nathan Rice (VC), James Stevenson

Anthony Pruscino, Matt Sandilands, Luke Cartwright

Sam Hartmann, Mark McCabe, Robert Nolan (C)

Int: Coach:

Josh Little, Jesse Malloy, Andrew Godfrey, Thomas Evans, Lachlan McKenzie (VC), Joseph Chen, Linton Neilson, Andrew Read Tim Pritchard

Club XVIII (Section 2) Grand Final Williamstown CYMS Richmond Central

PREMIERSHIP LADDER Club XVIII (2) Emmaus St Leos Williamstown CYMS Richmond Central Therry Penola Eley Park Sharks Bulleen Templestowe

P 15 14 15 15 15 14

W 12 10 10 6 5 0

L 3 4 4 8 10 14

D 0 0 1 1 0 0

B 0 0 0 0 0 0

FF 0 1 0 0 0 0

For 1431 1202 1069 1039 903 597

Agst 714 1046 762 1075 1137 1562

% 200.42 114.91 140.29 96.65 79.42 38.22

PTS 48 44 42 26 20 0

0.2 2.4

1.8 2.8

6.8 7.10

9.11(65) 13.11(89)

Williamstown CYMS Goals: D. Whiteoak 3, C. Fennell 2, M. Ferrie 2, J. Farley 1, B. Gatt 1 Best: J. Farley, D. Whiteoak, B. Gatt, J. Streets, M. Ferrie, D. O’Keeﬀe Richmond Central Goals: M. McCabe 3, T. Nolan 3, R. Nolan 2, N. Rice 2, J. Stevenson 1, J. Chen 1, C. Logan 1 Best: S. Hartmann, P. Iser, R. Nolan, P. Tierney, M. McCabe, T. Nolan. Best on ground medal: Sam Hartmann (Richmond Central)

Club XVIII (Section 3) Premiership Team: La Trobe University B: HB: C: HF:

James Anderson, Luke Russell, Mitch Mackenzie Brad Van Ooi (C), Daniel Parry, Paul Russell Rylie Garland, Scott Pickett (VC), Zane Curwen-Walker Brendan Jordan, Adam Hughes, Ben O’Brien

Dale Sidebottom, Shannen Johnstone, Seabastien Di Girolamo

Mark Sturges, Brant Laidlaw, Kristan Jeﬀery

Int: Coach:

Josh Eltringham, Tim McPhan, Bryce Cameron, Tyler Cameron, Mark Erskine, Rob Clifton, Chris Bright, Christian James Dale Sidebottom

Club XVIII (Section 3) Grand Final La Trobe University MHSOB

PREMIERSHIP LADDER Club XVIII (3) LA TROBE UNI NOBS / St Pats MHSOB Kew Dragons UHS-VU

P 13 14 14 15 11 15

W 12 12 6 6 3 2

L 1 2 8 9 8 13

D 0 0 0 0 0 0

B 0 0 0 0 0 0

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

FF 2 1 1 0 0 0

For 1712 1486 918 879 483 772

Agst 416 653 1096 1185 1650 1431

% 411.54 227.57 83.76 74.18 29.27 53.95

PTS 56 52 28 24 12 8

2.2 0.0

3.6 0.1

5.9 0.1

8.11(59) 4.4(28)

La Trobe University Goals: S. Johnstone 2, S. Digirolamo 1, R. Garland 1, K. Jeﬀrey 1, D. Parry 1, S. Pickett 1, J. Anderson 1 Best: D. Parry, S. Digirolamo, M. Sturges, M. Mackenzie, B. Laidlaw, B. Van Ooi MHSOB Goals: L. Meyer 3, R. Coxon Best: J. Quarmby, D. Grantham, L. Meyer, D. Bird, T. Doer-Tolhurst, R. Coxon Best on ground medal: Sebastien Digirolamo (La Trobe University)

Leading Goalkickers - Club XVIII (1) Name

Club

Ari Mitropoulos

Hawthorn

Antonio Brizzi

Hawthorn

Goals 63* (67) 45 (47) *Sharpshooter (Including Finals)

Stephen Mason Medal Club XVIII (1) Player

Club

Marguccio, Anthony

Hawthorn

Votes 16

Trigwell, Neil

Mt Lilydale OC

Hickey, Samual J

Mt Lilydale OC

Leading Goalkickers - Club XVIII (2) Name

Club

Robert Hughes

Emmaus St Leos OC

Goals 46

Joshua Brown

Eley Park Sharks

Section Best and Fairest Club XVIII (2) Player

Club

Votes

Mark Pietryk

Emmaus St Leos

Charles Logan

Richmond Central

Benjamin Walters

Emmaus St Leos

Leading Goalkickers - Club XVIII (3) Name

Club

Goals

Todd Macleod

North Old Boys/St Patricks College

Louis Meyer

Melbourne High School Old Boys

37* 33 (36) *Sharpshooter (Including Finals)

Section Best and Fairest Club XVIII (3) Player

Club

Votes

Brenton Lawty

North Old Boys St Patricks College

Louis Meyer

Melbourne High School Old Boys

Dale Sidebottom

La Trobe University

Sebastian Digirolamo

La Trobe University

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Rising Star Winner Anthony Scott – Old Trinity Congratulations to Anthony Scott from Old Trinity

Scott’s early season form saw him play well in Old

who is the winner of 2014 VAFA Club Warehouse

Trinity’s senior practice matches before being

Rising Star.

selected for his debut in round 1 against St Bernard’s where he played well and made a solid

Scott, 19, beat oﬀ stiﬀ competition from a number

contribution to the win. Scott was exceptional

of talented youngsters in their first year of VAFA

on the wide wings of Sportscover Arena against

football. He was voted as the winner by a panel

Old Xaverians in round 2, running both ways to

for his consistent season playing on the wing

win plenty of possessions and continued to be

for Old Trinity. Scott is the second player from

hard at the contest and demonstrated his clean

Old Trinity to win the Rising Star award after his

skills when in space. It was this performance that

current skipper Brendan Iezzi won the award in

won him the nomination for the Club Warehouse

2007. Scott played every game in his first year at

Rising Star Award. When not playing football in

Old Trinity having been a member of the first XVIII

the green and gold, Anthony is studying Arts at

at the school where the school team won one

Melbourne University.

and lost one AGS Grand Final. Whilst performing consistently over the course of the season – he

Once again from everyone at the VAFA and Club

was named in Old Trinity’s best on six occasions,

Warehouse congratulate Anthony Scott on

Scott was recognised for his outstanding play in a

winning the 2014 Rising Star Award. Scott will be

number of matches, his classy left foot finishing

presented with his award at the Woodrow Medal

seeing him feature on the highlight reel a number

and VAFA Awards Night next Wednesday at Crown.

of times. Scott also played 8 games at the Oakleigh Chargers last year and upon his arrival at Old Trinity in the preseason he immediately impressed all with his silky skills and hardness at the contest.

Winning Edge Club Championship Seniors

VAFA ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Reserves

U19/U18

Thirds/Club XVIII

Total

University Blues

144

St Bernards

142 133.5

Williamstown CYMS

10.5

St Kevins OB

129

Therry Penola OB

6.5

128.5

Ivanhoe AFC

121

Old Xaverians

40.5

14.5

120

Marcellin OC

118

Hawthorn AFC

118

Parkdale Vultures

113

Highlights 2014 •

Andy Evans joined the Board as a Board appointee.

•

Simon Costello was inducted as a Life Member of the VAFA.

•

Christian Burgess and Sam Confait joined the Football Operations department in January and April respectively. Olivia Crowe moved to the new position of Umpire Operations Oﬀicer. Ally Handley joined as the new Finance and Administration Assistant in April. Brian Goodman became General Manager of Football and Umpire Operations in February. Tim Noonan left the position of General Manager of Football Operations to return to the education sector in January.

•

The VAFA held a stand alone Woodrow Medal Count at Crown’s River Room, counting all 18 rounds live in the room. The other senior sections were all counted on radio station 96.5 Inner FM.

•

Brendan Iezzi of Old Trinity win his second Woodrow Medal to go with his two Moore Medals.

•

The VAFA Premier Coaches MVP was awarded for the first time and won by Harry Tinney of Old Trinity.

•

The senior VAFA representative side defeated the Eastern Football League in AFL Victoria’s Metro Championships at Visy Park by 48 points to be crowned the number one community football competition in Melbourne.

•

The senior representative side defeated AFL Queensland by 83 points in Burpengary, Queensland.

•

The VAFA U23 representative side defeated the U23 Tasmanian side by 56 points in Hobart.

•

The VAFA U19 and VAFA Premier B-Division 4 sides both lost to AFL Victoria Country representative sides at St Albans Reserve in Geelong.

•

Canterbury and Westbourne Grammarians became the VAFA’s two newest senior clubs commencing in Division 4.

•

Collegians hosted the first Premier Section senior match in a Friday night game for points, defeating Old Brighton at Harry Trot Oval.

•

University Blues win the Winning Edge Club Championship.

•

University Blacks win their 14th Premier Section senior premiership and their first in the top section of the VAFA since 1974 when they beat Collegians by 44 points.

•

University Blues defeated Old Carey by 75 points to win the Premier B Grand Final for their first senior premiership in 10 years.

•

University Blues and Old Carey become just the second pair of teams in history and the first since Old Xaverians and Alphington in 1962, to be relegated from the top section then win promotion back the following year.

•

Hampton Rovers won back-to-back premierships defeating Parkdale Vultures by 27 points at Trevor barker Oval, Sandringham to win the Premier C Grand Final.

•

Williamstown CYMS upset Therry Penola twice during the finals to win the Division 1 premiership at Visy Park, Carlton by 56 points. The CYs earning promotion to Premier C for the first time in their history. Therry Penola had not lost a game all home and away season.

•

Kew won back-to-back premierships for the first time in their history when they defeated St Mary’s Salesian by 11 points in the Division 2 Grand Final at Casey Fields.

•

Northern Blues won back-to-back premierships when they defeated Richmond Central by 24 points to win the Division 3 Grand Final at Garvey Oval.

•

West Brunswick upset Hawthorn to win the Division 4 premiership at Meade Reserve, Clayton. The loss was Hawthorn’s first loss all year.

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