Month: September 2015

Back: Craig Hansen (Assistant Coach), Michael Drake, Nathan Dobra, Matthew John, Lachlan Doig, Sam Wharton, Leighton Mansfield, Tom August, Ned Brennan, Tyler Sprunt, Trent Newton, Zyrak Smith, Storme John (Coach), Les Chidgzey (Manager)
Middle: Isaac Cleeman, Jacob Toomath, Jayden Quill, Josh Pearson, Ben Chidzey, Blair Curtain, Keanu Shandley, Lachlan Clark, Matthew Berry, Alex Dickson
Front: Riley Hansen, Riccardo Valentino, Ennis Chinniah, Angus Moyle, Mackenzie Coyle, Brodie Breen, Riley Moretti
Absent: James Bain-Price, Rory Clarke, Peter Neave

Congratulations to the Booragoon Year 11 ‘s for a remarkable year of football.

The year began with 13 new players joining the club from 7 different football clubs.

After 7 rounds, the team had made slow start to the season, languishing second last on the ladder with 2 wins and 5 losses. However round 8 marked the turning point in the season for this team.

After a hard fought win at home against Secret Harbour 6.14 – 6.4 no one would have guessed what was to come.

Travelling to Harcourt Stadium to play Halls Head, the team was about to play what would become a season defining game. Having been defeated by 56 points in round one, Booragoon played arguably their best & most exciting game of the year, winning a hard fought encounter by 13 points. The season was back on track. Tremendous wins against Palmyra and Jandakot over the ensuing 2 weeks set up a much anticipated game against top placed Canning Vale, at home. A stirring victory 11.10 – 5.7 knocked Canning Vale off top spot and Booragoon into the top 4.

Although wins against Leda and Cockburn over the following 2 weeks took the winning streak to 7 consecutive games, the Booragoon Y11’s had to win their penultimate game to guarantee a finals berth, such was the closeness of the competition. Another stirring win, by 5 points 6.10 – 5.11 against a fast finishing Armadale team sealed a final berth. Booragoon not scoring a goal after half time.

A win against Secret Harbour in the last game of the season would secure 2nd spot and an amazing 9 game winning streak. Up by 2 points at ¾ time 5.9 – 5.7, it was game on. A 5 goal to 1 last quarter sealed second spot, a remarkable 9 game winning streak and a date with Halls Head in the Second semi final.

The team lost by 3 straight kicks in the 2nd semi Final in a hard fought battle. The following week, was sudden death against Canning Vale. A resounding win by 58 points 17.7 – 7.9 and the boys were into the Grand Final.

History will show Halls Head won the Grand Final 9.8 to 8.4, however it doesn’t record the amazing game of football we watched. Played at Atom stadium, the game was there for the taking with 5 minutes to go. Down by 10 points, Booragoon peppered the goals late in the game, but the football gods were smiling on Halls Head that day. A remarkable game and amazing effort by the Booragoon boys.

I would like to make special mention of the backline over the season. The backs provided a launching pad for attack and were miserly in defence. Averaging only 48 points against, for the home & away season. They were the backbone of the team. The midfield were hard working and resilient, transitioning from attack to defense and vice versa with damaging efficiency. Pushing back hard to help out in defense , then running thru the lines getting numbers forward to lock the ball in attack. The forwards were efficient and hard working. Once they had entered their 50m, they worked tirelessly to lock the ball into their area.

But what defined the Booragoon y11’s season, was their ability to work as a team, to overcome the challenges put before them by opposition teams and have the belief in themselves and their team mates.

31 boys represented the Booragoon year 11’s this year in the Southern Conference against teams from Peel, South Fremantle and East Fremantle districts. Every one contributed to a remarkable season and every one made the Booragoon y11’s 2015 an amazing Team.

I would like to acknowledge the tremendous support & encouragement the boys have received from parents & friends. As I have mentioned a number of times since the season ended, it is not so much the destination, but the Journey, and the Booragoon y11’s in 2015 have given their team mates, parents and friends an amazing ride this year. Congratulations to you all.

Congratulations to the following award winners:

• Trent Newton Fairest & Best
• Ned Brennan R U Fairest & best
• Zyrac Smith Leading Goalscorer (34 Goals)
• Mathew Berry Most Improved
• Leighton Mansfield Best Clubman
• Lachlan Doig Coaches Award

Congratulations to the following players for their outstanding performances in the finals

• Ned Brennan
• Zyrac Smith
• Ricardo Valentino

And congratulations to these special award winners:

• Riley Moretti – The Golden Stretcher Award
• Leighton Mansfield – The Golden Shank award
• Josh Pearson – Risk it for the Biscuit Award
• Ricardo Valentino – Hard Nut Award
• Tyler Sprunt – Mr Solvol award
• Keanu Shandly – The Wizard
• Alexander “ Dicko” Dickson – Ideas Man

Special Thank you to :

• Craig Hansen Assistant Coach
• Les Chidgz Manager
• Brendan Mansfield & Lee Sprunt Assistant Managers
• Mark Toomath & Matt Hansen Runners
• Janette Hansen & Kath Wharton Interchange Stewards
• James Moyle First Aid
• Lee Sprunt & Michelle Pearson Canteen
• Mark Neave, Ray Breen Martin Drake and others Water Runners

Storme John – Coach

Back: Ian Thompson (Assistant Coach), Gavin Thompson, Matthew Burton, Cameron Cantwell, Noah Wand, Josh Rule, Julian
Velletri, Hayden King, Josh Harrison, Ben Nash, Chad Sims, Khai Heah, Jeff Yeung, Jack Goldrick, Steve Evans (Coach)
Front: Trey Katnich, Shaun Miller, Matthew Francis, Josh Antulov, Max Scott (Captain), Alex Crowhurst, Jordan Decruz, Jack
Cameron, Jude Paulin
Absent: Lachlan Walker, Mac Turner, Montelle Bandy, Tafadzwa Chitete, Jeff Yeung

Our Year 10 2015 team comprised of many talented and promising players, unfortunately though, the season didn’t go as well as expected. Despite the score lines for many of our matches I do believe the players conducted themselves well and showed spirit and courage when required.

I’ve dubbed this team the second quarter specialists! If only the first, third and last quarters had glimpses of the stoutheartedness the players showed in the second. This year started with an off season player drive to boost the player numbers that were starting to dwindle due to exit of chats to the PSA.

We picked up some excellent budding footballers Jeff Yeung, Matthew Burton, Cameron Cantwell, Jude Paulin and Matthew Francis. All the boys put in an exceptional effort and were gutsy on the playing field. I hope to see you back again next year. This year we included a specialist coach with the cameos of Mark ‘Knackers’ Dobson and Mark aka ‘Red’ Barrett. The inclusion of these extra coaches was warmly welcomed and brought a different perspective to the game. Some great story telling and advise fella’s. Thanks to you both for your efforts.
Although there were many memorable plays of the day, as always I’d like to mention a few:

Firstly, to Jack Goldrick. Jack’s ball of fire speed out of the packs was phenominal this season and on many occasions ended with 6 points.

Secondly, Jeff Yeung, coming from a rugby background, Jeff’s attack on the ball was much needed and gave us the upper hand in the middle. For a first year player and usually playing against a much larger opposition, Jeff never stopped at the one tackle but charged at the player for a second, third and often fourth effort.

Thirdly, Ben Nash (the Rock), who had an outstanding season, often played on the field as the last line of defense. Ben took on all the big tasks and players, blasting out of the backline and giving every opportunity to our forwards.

Congrats to the players who hit their 100 game milestones this year, which there are many – Gavin Thompson, Trey Katnich, Khai Heah, Max Scott, Alex Crowhurst, Josh Rule, Jack Cameron, Mac Turner and Matthew Burton, and Chad Sims brought up his 50 this season, a great effort with plenty more to come.

Again we saw a few players hold their own in the development squads this season Chad Sims and Khai Heah, Good luck with the upcoming competition.

The B & F awards was again a closely contested race and this year we brought in 5,4,3,2,1 voting system with potentially 25 votes per game. (5 different voters per week)

I would like to mention a couple of players in particular players, Trey Katnich scoring the perfect 25 votes from 5 different voters in one game. What an effort.

Gavin Thompson, Jack Goldrick and Jeff Yeung scored 23 votes in one game, again a considerable achievement.

Those who are receiving these awards have been well earned and congratulations to all.

• Best and fairest Gavin Thompson. Gavin is an exceptional leader and puts in every week.
• Runner Up Bed Nash, had fabulous year and was unlucky not to win.
• Most Improved Noah Wand. We welcomed Noah back after having a year off and his efforts were amazing.
• Best Club Man award, Max Scott was appointed captain this year and led by example, never missing a training run and is a deserving winner of the best club man.
• Coaches Award Jeff Yeung, first year player with a great look on life and fearless attack on the ball again could have piled more votes.
• All trophy winners were standouts this season, and are deserving of the votes and accolades received during the year.

Team manager is a role that requires a big commitment and again Michelle Turner put her hand up for it. Thanks Michelle.

Thanks to Ian ‘Thommo’ Thompson for not only assisting with the managing role but also for keeping everyone in the loop via emails etc.

Thanks to all the parents that helped out on game day and to all the parents, family members and friends for the support and encouragement to the squad and myself, throughout the year.

I’ll end with my usual sign off. Greatest thanks go to all my superstars for a great season. I believe that with another year of growth we can turn the tide and be competitive with the other sides. I had a great time coaching as frustrating as it seemed at times, there were many highlights throughout the season and laughs were aplenty!

Let’s make sure we all get back next year to support the Mighty Booragoon Bulldogs.

Steve Evans (Coach)

Back: Tom Atkinson (Coach), Mitch Thomas, Paul Mannix (Assistant Coach), Jason Lewins, Mason Grosse, James Lieschke, Alex Savery, Andrew Trefry, Dylan Veitch, Connor Philpot, Kody Eaton, Juno Bevilaqua, Scott Lieschke (Assistant Coach), Sharyn Rule (Team Manager), Andrew Dwyer (Assistant Coach)
Middle: Cameron Miller, George Wessels, Declan Thompson, Kyle Potter, Conor Mannix, Daniel Brown, Nicholas Steber, Cameron Alexander, Ronan Porter
Front: Lachlan Fitzgerald, Jack Forrest, Adam Rule, Tom Dwyer, Mitch Rudrum, Reed Walker
Absent: Luke Rule, Justin Matthys

2015 has been a fantastic year of transition for the Yr 9’s group. At the start of the year we welcomed a number of new players from nearby clubs which added substantially to our talent and depth. It is a credit to the boys and parents for the way in which these new families were embraced in to the club and Yr 9 team.

As a new coach with a strong coaching team we set out moulding a style of play among the group which proved quite successful during the year, ultimately winning more games than we lost which was certainly a goal coming up from a lower division in 2014.

After finishing 4th at the end of the home and away season we were unlucky to be knocked out in the first week of finals. The boys can be very proud of their development this year and it’s great to say that every player made some great steps in their footballing knowledge and ability during the season.
Congratulations to those who were nominated for development squads, several of whom are experiencing this for the first time, it is indicative of the progress some players made throughout the year.

As a coach without any kids in the team I really have to say a huge thank you to all the Yr 9 parents who took care of all the nitty gritty for me during the year allowing me to focus solely on coaching. I’m certain we have the best Team Manager in the District in Sharyn Rule who could not of been more in control (or at least it seemed that way!) and was always looking to help me out on top of her already long list of responsibilities.

I was also extremely lucky to have a never ending list of Dad helpers, in particular thanks to those who were coaching with me each week- Scott Leischke, Paul Mannix and Andrew Dwyer as well as our Runners during the year Graeme Fitzgerald, Geoff Rule and Brendan Miller. Really I could go through our whole list of parents who were roped into some role or another for the season and didn’t let us down.

As many of you would know I am very passionate about footy at Karoonda, and loved my coaching this year. We have a great bunch of boys, some with real top end talent, and I look forward to being involved again next year and continuing the developmental steps started this season.

Tom Atkinson (Coach)

Back: Lindsay Marley (Coach), Lewis Thom, Josh Harris-Walker, Digby Marshall, Jethro James, Callum Green, Blair Marley,
Kade Burns, Julian Amara, Riley Downey, Joshua Morisey, Mark Downey (Coach)
Middle: Zane Minotti, Connor Ovens, Jerry Kovac, Thomas Schmidt-Wilkes, Daniel Schmidt, Hamish Thomson, Riley Bourne,
Matthew Logothetis, Samuel Ryan, Darcy Cronin, Patrick Fox
Front: Michael Raphael, Jai Thomas, Keldon Wain
Absent: Ben Tyrrell, Jay Adams-Philip, Meegan Bourne (Team Manager), Paul Ovens (Asst. Coach)

Change is inevitable! With this as the cue the Year 8’s started the year with some player and personnel changes. We were extremely fortunate to have 24 Players return from the 2014 season and even more blessed to have Darcy and Jethro join the Yr8 Doggies with both boys adding huge value to an already very competitive squad.

Training started in late February with a regime of interval running and sprint sessions at Karoonda with the occasional weekend beach runs. Training numbers were good from the outset and with a mantra of “Let’s get better” all signs were strong within the group for a rewarding year.

Picking up on last season’s gameplay style with our slow first-half starts, was, as it seems now, a great test of the resilience of the Team. Being able to perform and remain composed under pressure was a trait that would serve us extremely well later in the season.

Our first eight games saw us collect 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss having us sitting 3rd on the ladder. The last eight games of the Home and Away season saw our record extend to 13 wins, 2 losses and the 1 draw. Finishing the year in 3rd position. With Round 11 pitting us against last year’s nemesis, the 2014 Premiers, Applecross. A competitive effort by the boys saw us go down by 33 points. As

I keep emphasising to the Team: you learn more from a loss than you do a win!

Onto the 2015 Premiership Finals. The 1st Semi Final saw us play against a formidable Rossmoyne Team; markedly different from 2014 picking up many Willetton and Rostrata players in the off season). Rossmoyne tested us all the way with a strong breeze certainly favouring one end. Up by 25 points at ¾ time all we had to do was hold out Rossmoyne who were kicking with the aid of the strong breeze. The ability of the boys to hold their resolve was on show, running out winners by 10 points.

The following week, the Preliminary Final, saw us up against the minor Premiers, the Bullcreek Leeming Sharks, who went through the Home and Away season undefeated. Similar conditions from Semi Final week confronted both Teams with a strong wind favouring one end. Kicking into the breeze in the first quarter the boys had their best start of the season and were up by 5 points at the first change. A fairly even tussle in the 2nd Qtr saw us extended the margin by 2 points to be up by 9 at halftime. The wind intensified and after a halftime spray the Sharks came out and held us scoreless in the 3rd whilst piling on 16 points of their own to take the lead by 9 points at ¾ time. Last Qtr – we had the wind and a resolve unmatched during any game during the season and ran over the top of the Sharks with 4 goals to 1 in the 4th Qtr to win the game by 8 points and put us through to a successive Grand Final appearance.

And there we were, back to back Grand Final appearances. Up against our most daunting rival, Applecross; averaging 60 points per game and an average winning margin of 43 points. The Boys steeled themselves for one the biggest defensive pressure game of their short Junior Football careers. Winning the toss Captain Daniel Schmidt went with the aid of the breeze. Our Defense held true holding Applecross to no score. And with limited opportunities up forward we put on 1 goal 2. To be up by 8 at the first change. Applecross hit back and racked up 3 goals 1 for the second quarter to our 2 behinds to see us go into the halftime break 9 points down. The belief in each other was strong and again the Boys recommitted to be relentless in their defence. The 3rd Qtr again saw our defensive stars hold Applecross scoreless and we slotted through 2 Goals 1 behind to be up by four points at ¾ Qtr time.

Last Qtr – all or nothing – against the breeze…this is what the Boys had trained for all season! J. A couple of points to the Doggies and we were up by 6….Applecross goals. Scores were even; 4mins to play! Cometh the hour cometh the man, Julian snapped from the forward pocket and the Doggies were up by 6 points. Hold on for 3 mins! And they did! The sweetest of victories. That’s why we love this game!

Huge “Thank you” to Meegan Bourne our fantastic TEAM MANAGER.  Organising a Team and Coaches and Boundary Umpires and Match Day requirements never easy and can sometime be a thankless task. So we are all truly indebted to Meegan for keeping us on the right path.

To all the parents and “volunteers” Meegan and I THANK YOU….I know we appreciated all of your assistance as I’m sure your boys did. The making of a strong Team and strong club is how much we all chip in and involve the families.

It was a true Team effort. We cannot have a great Club without having parents with great passion volunteer their time and impart their knowledge onto the Boys.

We are all truly indebted to the great Coaching of Lindsay Marley and Paul Ovens and Kingsley Morisey.

Additional thanks to Ian, Heath, Lou and Adrian over the course of the year who helped out with drills and encouragement and support at training and on Game day.

As the game gets quicker and the players get bigger the role of the First Aiders becomes more important. So I would like to sincerely thanks Kate Fox and Marie Schmidt for all of their professionalism and diligence rendering aide over the season. It is always a good sign when they have a quiet day.

Thank you also to Paul Logothetis. Week in week out Paul “ran” the Interchange for the Team. With a full list on Game days and the requirement to manage game time this is a very important roll. Thanks Paul.

Thanks to Fynn Gardner and Samuel Grattidge for playing up; it was great to see the immense talent coming through the Bulldogs ranks.

Congratulations to Daniel Schmidt for a top 5 finish in the District Fairest and Best. Additionally, huge congrats to Daniel and Joshua Harris-Walker (East Fremantle), and to Julian Amara (South Fremantle) for their selections to the respective District WAFL 14’s Development Squad Programs.

A very rewarding year in skill development and game understanding.

Well done to everyone involved.
Mark Downey (Coach)

Back: Craig Flowers (Coach), Mark Casey (Runner), Dylan Parker, Cameron Paterson, Cameron Birkholz, Sam Grattidge, Riley
Spinks, Max Kite, Lochlan Oversby, Andrew Spinks (Manager), Michael Webb (Mentor)
3rd Row: William Goodlet, Nick Yeo, Rhys Doig, Trent Pagnoni, Matthew Flowers, Sam Collins
2nd Row: Jacob Lippiatt, Max Farrow, Michael Price, Luke Miller, Peter Collins (Coach)
Front: Fynn Gardner, Oliver Leonard, Ryan Sinnott, Tom Casey, Ethan Richards
Absent: Khephren Trehan (inset), Michael Hardie (inset)

Craig and I started the year with a new look outfit with the bulk of our existing group and several new player’s welcomed to the blues as a result of three teams merging into two teams. We lost a couple of our stars from last year and one notable absentee was the long serving Blues Coach, Michael Webb.

The coaching staff knew that this year was going to be tougher than previous years with notable physical growth, increased speed and refined skills evident within the group. However we had a new mix of team members and our main priority was to bring this new group together and introduce them to the Blue’s culture.

Our first three games provided mixed results and we were off to a slow start. Parents had been informed of our game day strategy and so were the players however the Blues were not seeing results on the scoreboard. Plan B started at training with the aim of assisting our young boys to become more mature footballers. Plan B consisted of game based training drills and the consequences of training mistakes were push up’s, and plenty of them. The boys responded and approached training with the intensity that we were after and with no complaints.

The Blues won the last 10 games of the season, beating everyone above and below us on the ladder. The players bought their intensity at training to the games and dominated contested possession. Parents were happy, players were happy, but more importantly the Blues as a whole were enjoying themselves.

Unfortunately we didn’t progress any further than the first week of the finals after having high expectations of further success.

The 2015 season was a very successful year for the players of the Blue team; Craig and I were very proud of the way the players competed and conducted themselves during the year.

We would like to thank Andrew Spinks our team manager, Andre Parker who assisted Andrew during the year and Mark Casey for being our runner as well as all the parents that helped during the year in various roles. We would also like to thank Anthony Doig and the Booragoon committee for the fantastic support and club structure which affords us the opportunity for the boys and supporters to enjoy the game we all love.

Go the BLUES !
Peter Collins & Craig Flowers (Coaches)

Back: Heidi Cook (Manager), Ethan Lewins, Jake Thygesen, Steve Dropulich (Manager), Bet Chamnan, Charles Casale, Leigh Wardell-Johnson (Assistant Coach), Lachlan Ballantine, Graeme Fitzgerald (Coach), Thomas Gerovich, Nick Casale (Assistant Coach), Andrew Gerovich, Kyle MacDonald, Paul MacDonald (Assistant Coach)
Middle: Stacey Collier, Hamish Wardell-Johnson, Connor Fitzgerald, Declan Ryan, Jad Dropulich, Cameron Webb, Lachlan Wild, Alex Marchese
Front: Liam Barnett, Jackson Halse, Ryan Leong, Luke Frampton, Daniel Davison, Lochlan Irwin, Ethan Cook, Oliver Reed
Absent: Troy Irwin (Assistant Coach)

The season started with the creation of two year 7 teams from the previous year’s three year 6 teams. This meant we had good numbers of around 23-24 in each team which gave us great depth when people were away on holidays or kids were off sick or injured.

Our season was a tale of 3 parts with the first 1/3rd of the season being about building momentum while the kids started to enjoy playing footy together. The middle 1/3rd was our most successful part of the season where we played some excellent team footy and saw us become the first team to defeat Applecross who went on to win the year 7 premiership. The latter 1/3rd of the season saw us have less wins, yet the kids got to play off for the Plate Final and participate in two finals which was a great experience for them.

This is my 10th year coaching at Booragoon and I am very fortunate to be surrounded by some fantastic people which makes the task of coaching very easy. Thanks to Paul “Macca” McDonald for always being there and a great pillar of support – I don’t think Macca has ever missed a training or game over the years. Thanks to Nick “up there” Casale for being a great Board man and shuffling the troops on and off through their rotations. Thanks to Troy “Tank” Irwin for being in charge of our defensive unit and tackling as well as nick names. Thanks to Leigh “Leroy” Wardell-Johnson for being our skills man and adding a “sense of humour” during all the serious times. The kids are very lucky to have Leigh available to assist in their skill development.

Well done to Heidi and Steve for being fantastic managers. Steve for game day and getting us all sorted and keeping a sensible lid on the coaching crew during the “heat” of the game. Heidi for coordinating all the rosters and jobs plus putting out an awesome weekly newsletter to the whole team. You are both an inspiration to all aspiring team managers.

Great work to all our parents for your support through the year. It’s not always easy and can be at times quite frustrating watching your son or daughter play footy and I appreciate your patience in allowing us to coach your children to the best of our abilities.

Now the team

• Razza – tough as nails and loves a close physical contest. Very reliable player.
• Jake – Had a tough season with injury. Takes a great mark, listens intently to his coaches and is great to coach.
• Stace – First girl to notch up 50 games as a Booragoon Bulldog. Well done! Terrific skills and running player.
• Machine – Played his best footy off half back this year. Loves to tackle. Will run all day.
• Wildy – Given a job to do most weeks. A fierce competitor and hates to be beaten. Terrific to coach.
• Dec – Back after a year in the Basketball wilderness. In our best 3 players and has the surest hands in the game. Reads the game like a book. Great to have you back Dec.
• Jacko – A season robbed by sickness and injury. A tough competitor and valuable member of the team. The team missed his input at the end of the season.
• Gero – Voted most improved player in the team. Has enormous talent and with his size is fast becoming one of team’s best players.
• Olly – Enjoys his footy and being with the kids. Great little left footer who loves to get out in the open in space.
• Ballas – returned after 6 weeks in the Baseball Wilderness and enjoyed the rest of the season. Was injured for a lot of the games but is a tough kid who soldered on and never gave up.
• Al – Very talented player on both sides of his body. Loves to kick a goal. Has plenty to say, ask heaps of questions and loves being part of the team.
• Bet – Fastest and one of the most athletic kids in the team. Can blow open a game with his pace and can play in attack or defence.
• Kebabs – Fast developing into a terrific ruckman. Good leap and can also run all day. Like his Dad – very dependable.
• Davo – Always smiling and seems to be enjoying himself. Played his best footy on the wing.
• Hammer – Along with Dec voted the best Team man. Always willing to praise his team mates. Will always try and hit a target and has got great skills.
• Frammo – Mr Dependable down at full back. Never complains but just gets on with the job. Has a raking left foot kick and hits a target on most occasions.
• Gingers – A much improved player. Set up a lot of forward play with quick skilful handball. Good running ability.
• Dropo – Beautiful left foot kick. Much harder at the ball this year. Played his best footy on the wing this year.
• Cam – joined us for the first time this year. Highly skilled player and loves “selling candy”. Was a terrific addition to the side.
• Gero 2 (Thomas) – Fantastic mark. Kicked some great goals. Very strong and well and truly held his own with the older boys.
• Liam – Loves a good contest. Enjoys the physical side of the game. Prepared to bump and tackle hard.
• Cookie – Missed 6 weeks with a broken wrist. Once returned got better and better each week. A very talented player who reads the play well and gets to a lot of contests.
• Chucky – Teams strongest player. Terrific tackler, takes a great mark and on field leader for the other players.
• Fitzy – Talented player with great speed. Always hits a contest at pace and uses both side of his body with his less dominant foot being used more than the dominant side.

Bring on the 2016 season!
Fitzy

Back: Kurt Davies (Manager), Andre Parker (Ass Coach), Saxon Keyt, Dominic Davies, Jame Speechley, Jack Piscioneri, Cameron Fox, Jackson McManus, Joel Miller, Reg Bourne (Coach)
Front: Luke Yeo, Joshua Bates, Chase Bourne, Kobe McManus, Jack Parker, Liam Mudd, James Saunders, Joel Frampton
Absent: Myles Gilmore (Inset), Jamie Dymmott (Inset)

Firstly I would like to thank the players and their parents for making this year very enjoyable. Thanks to Kurt our manager and Andre our Assistant Coach who have been instrumental with the running of the team. Thanks to all the parent helpers, you have done a great job fulfilling your rosters and getting the kids to training and to the games each week.

Taking over as coach I already new we had a group of boys that were tenacious ball getters and that we only had to refine their skills and gamesmanship in order to be successful. This year has seen the boys really gel as a team, they have shown a good level of discipline particularly with their training and their willingness to improve as footballers. The boys have come to rely on one another, they play well as a team and protect each other on the field. They’ve always shown great sportsmanship and solidarity which has helped to increase their success on and off the field.

The boys have grown as individuals within the team environment, they are respectful of one another and have demonstrated great leadership qualities throughout the season. This group of boys have an indomitable mindset, they are focused on getting the job done, they’re always giving us their feedback, whether it be at training or at a game, they’re a responsible group of boys that contribute to the decision making process, all of which adds to their enjoyment and love of the game.

The boys have great aptitude for the game often demonstrating advanced structures, skills and discipline generally seen with older age groups. Quite often they will string together effective and intelligent passages of play which is fast becoming second nature to this group of boys. At times their marking and effective disposals is second to none, they successfully demonstrate these skills in most games highlighting how diverse their skill have developed this year. Another area of improvement which is executed very effectively is their 1%’ers, displayed every week it has become an integral part of their game and has been rarely matched this year.

The boys have had a great season with many highlights, they have been successful against some very tough opposition and they have won the prized Booragoon Year 6 Lightning Carnival.

I have thoroughly enjoyed coaching this year, we’ve had a great bunch of kids and a great bunch of parents. The boys have shown the coaches and manager respect at all times, they have been enthusiastic at training and have learnt a lot this year. I believe they have a great future as a team and encourage everyone of them to return next year to be part of the great Y7 Blues team in its first year in the premiership league.

Reg Bourne (Coach)

Back: Anthony Doig (Assistant Coach), Kingsley Morrisey (Coach), Heath Schmidt (Assistant Coach), Denise Bardill (Team Manager)
Middle: Luc Latino, Andrew Morrisey, Levi Jensen, Jack Peel, Max Larson, Alex Doig, Jamie King, Lachlan Garvey
Front: Harry Schmidt, Jayven Morey, Jason Scott, Lucas Clarke, Laken Wain, Chris Bardill, Devin Wilson-Bandy, Alex North

This team represented the Booragoon Bulldogs with pride and a great work ethic. I would firstly like to thank Heath and Anthony for giving me the opportunity to coach at Booragoon again. The season in review was a great success that came with ups and downs but finished strongly on a positive upward trend.

This team was very competitive across the season, which was the main aim. Whilst you don’t keep scores you always like to know as an indicator how the boys are tracking. The season started strongly with five excellent performances and then as the season went further, the boys got tired and started deviating from the new game style that was being developed. The last six games were the best to watch these boys develop as young footballers. The team regained it’s confidence and went back to the game style and the difference was even better than the start of the season. The movement of the ball was fast and the style the team played at was unrelenting towards the opposition.

The main focus of the coaches for this team:

1. Contested ball 100% of the time, being air or ground
2. Overhead marking at all costs
3. Spread , time and space, creating for ourselves, and closing down the opposition
4. Hitting Targets with our handball and kicking

Did we accomplish that? Yes we did with more improvement to come.

Boys, thank you for the year I thoroughly enjoyed it and was really pleased the way every player improved and the way you embraced what was being taught.

Special Thanks to:

• Assistant coaches Heath Schmidt and Anthony Doig once again thanks for the opportunity.
• Team Manager Denise Bardill for the time and effort for the admin side without this no game can be played.
• First Aid Marie Schmidt
• Runners Gary Peel and Alan Scott, thanks for your assistance on the day.

Last, you the parents, thanks for the opportunity to develop your sons football, I hoped they gained a lot from the season.

Kingsley Morrisey (Coach)