JUNIOR REGISTRATION DAY - SUNDAY 28 FEBRUARY
With season 2010 just around the corner, Registration Day for both Junior Football & Netball is scheduled for Sunday 28 February at the clubrooms. Officials will be on site from 11am through to 2pm to accept registrations - payment accepted by cash, chq or EFTPOS. 
Club clothing will be on display (including new style polo tops) - orders can be made.

Senior players will be conducting a junior clinic on the oval between 12n & 1pm and a free BBQ will be held.

PRACTICE MATCHES
The following practices matches have been scheduled for the pre-season:
 . Sunday 14 March vs West Preston at Anglesea
 . Saturday 20 March vs Darley at Darley
 . Sunday 28 March vs Aberfeldie at Thomson

   
NEW CHANGE ROOMS UPDATE
The new change rooms are progressing well, with the plaster work almost completed and the painting now under way. Building co-ordinator Ash Vincent reports that the project is on track and the rooms should be ready for the first home game of the season.

Once completed, the new rooms will contain a larger gymnasium, a specialised medical room, umpire's facilities as well as spacious change rooms for home and away sides. A new time keepers room will be located at the front and a full length verandah roof will now extend along the front of the entire building.

SITUATIONS VACANT: St Mary's is looking for someone who can video tape senior games in season 2010, it would be ideally suited to a multi media student or someone who is experienced with video taping. We can assist in providing a suitable platform to operate from and can also arrange suitable remuneration - for further details contact Peter Zychla on 0418 312 348. 

PRESENTATION NIGHT:
The annual presentation night was recently held at the clubrooms with the two Senior Best & Fairest awards going to Nick Hosking and Casey Carroll. Trophy winners from both football and netball are featured below. For a full list of award winners
click here.

RESERVES BOW OUT
The Reserves hopes of stringing back to back premierships have ended with a 53 point preliminary final loss to Newtown & Chilwell at Skilled Stadium. The boys gave it their best but were always playing catch up football and couldn't bridge the gap against Newtown. Troy Nolan, Blake McKim & Daniel DeGois kicked two goals each, while Tim O'Donnell, Matt Madden & Matt Cassidy kicked one each. Best players were Ryan Hardiman (pictured at left), Grant Harris, Iain Davidson, Josh McMahon & Cormac Cashin.
 

TWO JUNIOR PREMIERSHIPS:
Congratulations to the U/12's & U/16's after taking out the premiership in their respective competitions.

Gary Biggs coached the Saints Green to a thrilling 5 point win over Bell Park Dragons. The boys only got their nose in front with about a minute to spare, but their persistence paid off. The final score was Saints 5.3.33 to Dragons 3.10.28.

David Stewart's U/16's also had to fight back from a half time deficit to take out the Division 6 grand final. The final score there was St Mary's 8.16.64 to St Joeys 6.6.42.

Well done to both teams and their support crew on a fantastic season.

LEAGUE B&F & RUNNER UP

Congratulations to St Mary's own Casey Carroll for taking out the A-Grade League Best & Fairest award. Casey made history by scoring votes in ten matches to bring her tally to 26 votes for the season, four votes ahead of the runner up. This follows on from her B-Grade League B&F award she won last year. Nicole Dodds was also rewarded for a great season after being named runner-up in the league D-Grade section.
St Mary's was also well represented in the Netball Team of the Year, with Casey Carroll, Kate Lynch & Phoebe Knox all being chosen.
Congratulations also to Ben Lavars who came runner up in the GFL Best & Fairest award for the 2nd year running.

ST MARY'S SHARE IN NAB'S $25,000 AUSKICK ASSISTANCE FUNDING
St Mary's Auskick was one of 25 centres to receive a $1000 "Super Centre Resource Pack" courtesy of the NAB. Due to the high volume of kids participating, the club was finding it difficult to make the existing equipment go around. They will now make great use of the pack which includes tackle, marking & bumping bags, handball targets, whistles, mini air compressor and  field markers.

St Mary's Auskick co-ordinator Chrissie Brice was very grateful for the extra resources which will help promote an healthy lifestyle and encourage further participation.

2009 SPONSORSHIP INFO    click here for further details (or contact Steve Clark on 0400 560 144)
Also Junior Jumper sponsorship available - contact Steve for details

 ST MARY'S CREW BACK FROM KOKODA

It was great to see the St Mary's crew arrive back safely after taking on the Kokoda Trail in October. After a couple of months of intense preparation the group of thirteen spent 9 days trekking up and down mountains in Papua New Guinea following in the footsteps of our world war II heroes. Although most weren't in a hurry to go back, they all felt a sense of achievement at having completed the gruelling trek.

There were some relieved looks on their faces as they posed for a group photo at the end of the trek.
Back row: Duck Welsh, Scott Hosking, David Batson, Sarf Stewart, Cameron Loftus, Plugga Bath, Tim Zula, Biggsy
Front row: Jane Halloran, Jock McMahon, Jim Henderson, Tracy Dunstan & Jo Bath

PREMIERSHIP DOUBLE!
The Saints created history by winning the 2008 GFL grand final by a record breaking 99 points. And to top off a fantastic day, the Reserves completed the double by defeating Leopold. It's the first time since 1972 that both the Seniors & Reserves have taken out the double premiership.

The seniors broke away after the first quarter and steadily increased their lead from that point onwards. By mid way through the third quarter it would have taken a minor miracle for Colac to get back into the game. With the saints at full strength, they played brilliant footy and kept it going right until the final siren. Full credit to Colac who never gave up, but their young side were not able to match it with the experienced Saints.

The Reserves upset the premiership favourites Leopold and stopped their back to back campaign. It was a tremendous effort from such a young group (with the majority under 23), who fought through to the grand final after a slow finish to the season finishing 4th on the ladder. It was a close game but the boys fought it out to a fantastic 19 point win.

ACTION PIC OF THE WEEK:
This week's action pic features the courageous Colin Sanbrook, who made a miraculous recovery from a horrific leg injury to make it back in time for the finals. Col resumed where he left off with a great grand final performance. He backed it up again on Sunday at the clubrooms winning the St Mary's 100 metre dash, beating Benny Lavars and the two whippets "Nutsy" & "Jimmy the wip".

The "Action Pic of the Week" will feature a photo from one of the games each weekend (courtesy of Advanced Digital Images). The A4 size laminated photo will be on display in the clubrooms for the following week and then awarded to the  featured player.

For more of this season's action pics - check out the
photo gallery.....
 

HALO/PAST PLAYERS/OFFICIALS LUNCHEON - SAT 28 JUNE
The annual Halos/Past Players/Officials luncheon was held on Saturday. It was great to see the rooms packed with players from previous eras, who were entertained by our guest speakers GFC President Frank Costa and AFL Auskick Ambassor (St Mary's No. 1 ticket holder) Robert "Dipper" DiPierdomenico. They are pictured at left with current & former club presidents Adam Rodgers & Don Mathieson.
Special thanks also to MC (and past player) Peter Murrihy.


 

2008 COCONUT CUP
The 2008 "Coconut Cup" campaign is all primed and ready to go. The group of eighteen U/18 boys and fifteen parents will depart for Cairns on Sunday 29 June.

Their itinerary takes them from Cairns to Weipa and then onto Cape York, where they will take on the "Cape Crusaders" in the annual "Coconut Cup" challenge against young indigenous footballers from up north. The boys will be coached by Rob Snowdon & Ross Bath.

If all goes according to plan, it will be St Mary's turn next year to host the talented young footballers on our home turf.

Good luck and a safe trip to all involved.

CLUB MEMBERSHIP
Club membership fees are now due, forms are available at the clubrooms or contact your team manager, nearest board member or Kevin McMahon on 0408 374883 - download a membership form
 

ACTION PHOTOS - NOW FOR SALE
All proceeds go towards St Mary's Juniors.
U/10's & U/12's action pics updated now

Click here.......

 

NEWTOWN LITTLE LEAGUE
Results & draw - website link  ...... CLICK HERE

NO. 1 TICKET HOLDER - DIPPER!
Hawthorn legend Robert DiPierdomenico has been appointed as St Mary's number one ticket holder. Dipper's first official function was a visit to St Mary's clubrooms on Thursday night where he addressed the senior players.
Dipper's current role with the AFL is the Auskick Ambassador. It is hoped that among other things, he'll be able to attend a St Mary's Auskick session before the year is out.

Dipper is pictured at left with Don Mathieson, AFL Development Manager David Matthews and St Mary's Football Director Peter Zychla.



 

2007 COCONUT CUP COMES TO GEELONG
St Mary's have welcomed the boys from Cape York in the return bout of the "Coconut Cup". Following on from the successful U/17 tour to the Cape York Peninsula last year, it is now our turn to play host to this talented group.  St Mary's took advantage of their home turf to wrestle the Coconut Cup back from the Cape Crusaders in a close encounter. The spectators were treated to some spectacular footy with the boys from the north showing regular glimpses of brilliance. The Crusaders finished strongly and were not far from snatching a come from behind victory.

The visitors have a full itinerary booked for their four day stay, which has already included an AFL match at the MCG. As well as experiencing the surf at Torquay, they will spend a day at the Adventure Park on the Bellarine Peninsular, a Civic Reception and a tour of Skilled Stadium.

 

PAST PLAYERS 50TH ANNIVERSARY DAY

The clubrooms were packed for the 2006 Past Players Day, which held special significance this year as it was the 50th anniversary of St Mary's first senior premiership. The old brigade were entertained by guest speaker Jason McCartney. Jason proved himself to be a very polished performer and impressed everyone with his honest open manner. He touched on a variety of topics ranging from his early days at Collingwood, through to football under Dennis Pagan as well as commenting on Wayne Carey's fall from favour. He also gave a graphic account of his tragic experience after the Bali bombing.
An auction was held for a framed replica jumper inscribed with the names of the original premiership players as well as the current senior team. The day was an outstanding success thanks to the organisers Jock and Paddy McMahon. Special thanks also to MC Peter Murrihy and Annette & Sue in the kitchen for the catering.

CULTURAL EXCHANGE TOUR RETURNS

The St Mary's Cultural Exchange tour to Weipa has been hailed a great success with the weary travellers returning to Geelong on the weekend. The group of twenty three U/16 & U/18 boys along with eleven adults initially flew to Cairns where they played against a local indigenous team. They then set off on a two day 4WD trek to Weipa, stopping along the way doing football clinics with Aboriginal primary school students. Once at Weipa they played another match against the locals boys (pictured above). Organiser Anne McGarry, said the tour was a fantastic experience for everyone involved. The boys really bonded as a group and acquired a great appreciation for their northern neighbours. They soon developed a close relationship with the local boys to the extent that there is even a possibility of a reciprocal trip to Geelong in 2007. There will be a slide show presentation showing highlights of the trip, at the Performing Arts Centre at St Joseph's College on Friday 21 July at 7.30pm.

JOHN KENNEDY - HALOS LUNCHEON GUEST SPEAKER
The 2006 Halos Luncheon continued it's tradition of offering quality guest speakers, with a former Hawthorn player and coach John Kennedy offering his services.
The packed clubrooms were entertained by the unique style of John recounting his experiences from both Hawthorn and North Melbourne during his years at the coaching helm. John made it quite clear that he is no fan of the modern "possession style" game preferring his favourite catch cry of "kick it long".
He was regarded as a tough uncompromising coach who took no prisoners. To qualify for selection on a Saturday, players competing for a spot often had to prove themselves at a competitive training session on Tuesday nights. This fierce competition often involved players in physical clashes that sometimes ended in injuries that made way for upcoming players into the side. He conceded that that style of selection would not be popular with club administrators today, with players on $300,000 contracts being sidelined due to training drills!

Special thanks go to organisers Brian Gaylard and Kevin McMahon and also our catering ladies Annette McCurdy and Sue Gaylard who put on a beautiful meal. Much appreciation also to our MC for the day Peter Murrihy.
 

CLUBROOMS FOR HIRE
St Mary's clubrooms are available for hire
and are regularly booked for a variety of
functions from 21st birthdays to weddings.

For further details.......


 

YMCA Little League see "Results" page or - click here