click here to view.......

The Saints had a handy 10 goal win over 2nd placed Bell Park on Saturday as they moved to third on the ladder. The final score was 24.18.162 to 16.8.104. Major goal scorers were Jim Cail 5, Tim McLean 4, Andy McLean 3 and two each to Ben Lavars, Josh Maddox, James Morgan and Matt Dyer. Others to play well were Simon Fletcher, Tom Gilligan & Jai Walton.

The Reserves cemented their spot at the top of the leader board with a convincing 53 point win over Bell Park. Sam Miller was accurate around goals with four majors, whilst Matt Cassidy, Tom Doyle and Damian Hoare kicked two apiece. Damian Cameron, Adam Nolan, Scott Morris & Josh McMahon were also consistent performers.

Unfortunately both U/18's lost in their games against Bell Park and South Barwon.

Colin Sandbrook is pictured marking strongly in defence.

NETBALL RESULTS:
The netballers kept their winning streak alive with wins across all grades, A grade won by 40 goals, B grade by three, C grade by 15, D grade by 35, 17&U by 18, 15&U by 21 and 13&U by 17 goals.

ACTION PIC OF THE WEEK:
This week's action pic features centre half forward Andy McLean kicking one of his three goals in Saturday's win against Bell Park.

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.....

"REPAIRING ST MARY'S" - $1000 DRAW - Week 4 winner: Ray "Digger" Digby
The $1000 draw resumes this Saturday with all funds raised going towards infrastructure improvements and repairs. Tickets are $100 each which covers all ten draws at home games and presentation night. For tickets see Tim Dobbyn, Graeme "Fozz" Foster or John "Chook" Henderson.
 

HALO/PAST PLAYERS/OFFICIALS LUCHEON - 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.

"THE DON" TURNS 88!
The smoke detectors were going off in the clubrooms on Thursday night when the great Don Mathieson OAM blew out the candles to celebrate his 88th birthday.

It was fantastic seeing the spritely Don notch up another year and getting ever closer to reaching the ton.

From all your friends both at St Mary's and also in the Geelong Football League, best wishes and we'll order the cake for next year.

Don followed up his hectic birthday week with being the guest of honour at the inaugural St Mary's Deb Ball. Unfortunately though St Mary's has got another one to add to the injury list - Don did himself a groin injury on the dance floor whilst doing the "hokey pokey" late in the evening!

ST MARY'S 2008 FOOTY TIPPING COMP
Tickets are now available for the 2008 Footy Tipping competition. $50.00 entry puts you in the running for up to $12,250.00 in prizes including $6,000 1st prize.
Tickets are available from the clubrooms or the following people:
Snrs/Res: Ross Bath & Dave McGarry, U/18's: Paul Brennan, Juniors: Jo Jo McMahon, Francis Wright or Sue Welsh, Corporate: Rob Snowdon or Jack Redden

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

ADAM RODGERS - NEW CLUB PRESIDENT

PRE-SEASON TRAINING IN FULL SWING
Training has resumed with a vengeance after the Christmas break. With the St Mary's oval being rejuvenated with new turf, training venues have been rotated through several sites around Geelong. Special thanks must go to the council for making their Skilled Stadium available for a couple of training sessions (see pics below).
 

Coach Daniel Fletcher is pictured taking training.

Luke Bath (at left) is looking fit and raring to go, whilst above the two wild men Pigsy & Hardy were hard at it.
 

The sight of Scott Hosking (above) leaving the training track early with a suspected hamstring injury, has got the coaching panel very nervous for the season ahead! Rumours are already circulating that the club could send him to Germany for specialist treatment, with the hope that he could be back running water by round one!

Meanwhile Peter Zychla fresh from his emphatic win at the Yarrawonga Golf Classic (above right), kept the onlookers enthralled with anecdotes about his playing days on Geelong's hallowed turf. Thankfully failing light eventually signalled the finish of training and an end to the fascinating tales of the champion footballer.

ST MARY'S PRESENTATION NIGHT
St Mary's annual presentation night was a resounding success with 220 in attendance at Buckleys to see Jim Cail & Kate Lynch take out back-to-back B&F's in the senior football and A Grade netball. Other B&F winners were: Josh McMahon (Reserves), Jake Morison (U/18a), Will Saunders & Cormac Cashin tied for the U/18b's, whilst in netball Jess Hyde won B Grade, Shannon Loe (C Grade) & Fiona Biggs (D Grade).

Ray Digby & Mick Holien were inducted into the St Mary's Hall of Fame, whilst Gary Biggs & Ross Bath were both awarded life memberships.

Click here for further awards & pics from the night.


JUNIOR PREMIERS
Congratulations to U/11 Blue and U/9 Green on being premiers in their divisions.


 

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.......

 

BIG WEEKEND AT ST MARY'S
The St Mary's clubrooms were a hive of activity over the weekend. On Saturday number one ticket holder Dipper entertained the luncheon crowd for the Past Players/Halos annual day. It was great to see many of the old familiar faces from years gone by.

On Sunday the rooms were bursting at the seams for the inaugural Reverse Raffle, with $9000 of prizes up for grabs. The $6000 1st prize went to a syndicate made up of Shanon & Brenna Loe along with Narrelle & Darren Schmidt. 2nd prize went to the Ian Wilson syndicate and 3rd prize to Peter Hardiman.

Special thanks must go to the organisers of both events, particularly Jock & Yappa McMahon for the Past Players luncheon and Trevor McLean and his crew for the very successful Reverse Raffle day.

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

FOOTY TIPPING UPDATE ....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-  PLAYER PROFILES ........ click here

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