Month: September 2015

Back: Richard Mulroney (Coach), Kobe McManus, Tom Mulroney, Daniel Jackson, Beau Allanson, Ty Landsborough, Declan Power, Angus Castley(Assistant Coach)
Middle: Harrison Grattidge, Lucas Walsh, Jack Watters, Gibson Castley, Oakleigh Robbins, Logan Ganza, Natal Zaffino, Robbie Glazier
Front: Matthew Lippiatt, Joseph Kelly, Daniel Rinaldi, Daniel Brown, Cameron Richards, Cheyney Pittorino, Kirell Kickett
Absent: (all Inset) Griffen Collins, Cameron Geaney, Jake Simpson, Jye Trundle

What a great season!! It has been so fulfilling to see the boys grow in confidence, improve skills and show great commitment throughout the year.

This Year we had 25 boys registered and decided to run one large Team rather than to split in two.

The challenge in doing so was ensuing the boys had sufficient game time whilst adopting a strict rotation policy. To this end I sincerely thank the Boys for their patience over the season when their turn came to sit on the bench or play for the opposition side.

We are lucky to have a core group of players who have been together since Auskick and this year welcomed new recruits Robbie Glazier, Kobe McManus & Oakleigh Robbins, all of who have been great acquisitions.

To the boys who played up in the Year 6 sides (Beau Allanson, Daniel Jackson, Kobe McManus, Harrison Grattidge, Joseph Kelly, Gibson Castley, Jack Watters, Tom Mulroney, Ty Landsborough, Lucas Walsh and Cameron Geaney), well done for accepting the challenge and grasping the opportunity with both hands.

As the season progressed, the skills, attack on the ball, overhead marking, leading and working to find space to create opportunities improved and by the end the Boys commitment at training started to pay off.

This year there were some great contests which certainly tested the skills and courage of the boys.

Without a doubt we are looking at some extremely talented young players that will certainly be future rising stars. It was so pleasing to watch the Group gel and listen to some heartfelt renditions of the Mighty Bulldogs Club Song after a great …..draw.

The kids have been a pleasure to coach & are a wonderful reflection on their parents. Watching them grow, develop and try to put in place what we have taught them has been enormously satisfying and fulfilling.

To all the parents, thank you for bringing the kids down to each training session and game day, helping out with the canteen, time keeper, oranges and goal umpiring duties when called upon, it was greatly appreciated.

I would like to make a special mention to the following;

• Karen Ganza and Jade Mulroney for their tireless work as Team Managers
• Lynn Grattidge, Amanda Richards & Emma Walsh for First Aid duties
• John Watters as Team Runner and delivery of clear messaging
• Dick Power & Greg Collins as game day / warm up assistants and
• Angus Castley as Assistant Coach

The success of our side is no doubt due to the skilled group of boys we have but also the off field commitment cannot be underestimated. It certainly makes my job as Coach easy.

Finally thanks to Anthony Doig & the Committee for giving me the opportunity to coach a great bunch of boys and running a well oiled operation this year. To the stars of the show the Year 5 Bulldogs, Well done on another fantastic season – you should all be very proud of what you have been able to achieve as individuals.

Remember to keep the footy close by during summer and look forward to seeing all the boys and a couple of mates next year.

Go Bulldogs!!!
Richard Mulroney (Coach)

Back: Brady Walker, Cameron Ballantine, Anthony Wild, Jackson Thom, Brodie Ridley, Jake Broomfield, Jaiken Vyse, Luke Dharmapana, Henry Napoli, Jesse Switzer
Front: Leo Matthys, Zach Baker, Wesley Robartson, Aidan Mapstone, Skye Saunders, Luke Dorrill, David Bell

The Year 4 Reds brought together a great bunch of young men that we believe sing the club song louder and more passionately than any other in our club!

Our team focus this year was to improve our clearances by getting low to the ground, taking our marks and leading up to the kicker. Every player in our team showed significantly improvement in these areas and towards the latter half of the season we played some wonderful and exciting football.

Some of the highlights for our team was the amazing courage that so many of our players showed regardless of their size or their opposition. Our tackling pressure and strength was fantastic and generally if we got that right then our overall performance was excellent.

We had some very strong players that had many great moments of contested marking, 30+ metre kicking, 30+ possessions and dashing runs off the half back line and we are sure that several will become high level players of the future. But we got more enjoyment and satisfaction from the development and confidence of the players that did not have the same skills or had joined us for the first time after playing another sport.

Well done boy and we look forward to next year.
Warren Wild (Coach)

Back: Charles Casale (Assistant Coach), David Glass (Coach), Mick Strahan (Assistant Coach), Leslie Eddy (Team Manager)
Middle: Cameron Ross, Thorfinn Dunn, Harry Skepper, Jack Alexander, Tom Glass, Douglas Allison, Dalton Eddy, Luke Strahan, Kyle Brestovac
Front: Jimmy Bardill, Sam Hesp, Harry Collins, Matthew Wallace, George Joannides, Jordan Allanson
Absent: Hayden Centa (inset)

I have again had the pleasure of coaching the year 4 Blues for the 2015 season.

Thankfully after a number of years in the Auskick and Super 8 system, the boys finally had an opportunity to play against opposition teams from the local East Fremantle district on a weekly basis.
We had 17 boys enrolled for our Blue team, all from a variety of schools from around the local area.

Over the course of the year we played on a home and away basis and included a weekly training session on Wednesday night. Their improvement throughout the year was fantastic, to me their teamwork, competitiveness and skill improvement stood out.

Special comments for our players are:

• Harry: Our best tackler for the year, provided a lot of run and loved to compete
• Strahany: Stood tall in the forward line numerous times, taking strong marks and kicking some good long goals
• Jordie: Fantastic season, running hard and kicking the ball off both feet, a great team player……great year Jordie
• Skep: A beautiful left foot kick whose marking improved thoughout the year….keep practising your snaps Haz
• Dalton: The quickest of our boys who loved to get in there and attack the ball, showed great improvement as the year progressed.
• Rossy: Great improver throughout the year, when he played in front he was unstoppable ! A great listener which is so important.
• Jack: Continued to improve as the season went on – a ruckman in the making who loves to snap at goal ! Keep working hard Jack.
• Big George: Smallest on our team but had the biggest heart, loved to get in and get a kick plus not scared to tackle anyone.
• Matty: Found a niche in the back line and continued to improve…..began to attack the ball and dispose of with quick hands, great to watch mate.
• Thorfy: Loved the forward line, and kicked some great goals late in the season, laid some fantastic hard tackles, keep working at it Thorf.
• Kyle: Beautiful passer of the ball by hand and foot, a very solid contributor who kicked some great goals
• Tommy: Loved to attack the ball and play in front, kicking showed great improvement as the year progressed, great season Tommy.
• Douggy: The master of the quick handpass who showed some genuine pace, great improvement throughout the year, well done Douggy
• Jimmy: Loves to run, compete, bounce, kick and play footy, a fantastic year Jimmy.
• Foggy: Played majority of games, however finished early for health reasons, improved throughout the year and most of all was very keen to listen and learn, well done Foggy.
• Hespy: Hard running forward with great skills who gave 100% every week, a pleasure to coach, well done Hespy.
• Big Hayds: As the season progressed so did big Hayd ’s, beautiful big long kick, keep going Hayds.
• To all the parents a huge thank-you for bringing the boys down to each training session and game day, providing oranges, goal umpriring and timekeeping. Special mention to Dennis Brestovac, Jeremy Skepper and Pete Collins who helped out throughout the year at training.

Special thanks to Leslie Eddy, our manager, who volunteered and did a great job organising rosters, pizza nights, correspondence, game day sheets etc. A tough job which you made look easy …..cheers.

Last thanks is to Mick Strahan who pretty much coached the boys alongside me all year…..massive effort at training and on game day, plus while I was away –thanks mate.

Overall it has been a very successful season and also very rewarding as a coach to see the improvement in the players.

We hope to see you all again next year.

Go the Bulldogs !
Dave Glass (Coach)

Back: Robert Butler (Coach) & Mike North (Assistant Coach)
Middle: Mason Cailes-Spence, Maxwell Williams, Logan Burns, Harrison Greenwell-Roberts, Benjamin Bates, Charles Clynk, Will Butler, James Hafford
Front: Lee Symonds, Luke Morey, Kyle North, Hudson Thomas, Darcy McDermott, Oliver Kelly, Byron Johnstone, Ashwin Trehan
Absent: Daniel Newman (Inset), Wendy Clynk (Team Manager)

It was great to see a lot of familiar faces back this year, plus some new ones. Right from the start you could see the boys had been either practicing or watching the big boys on TV and were keen try some new tricks out on the paddock.

Unfortunately Ollie ‘hand out don’t argue’ Kelly had to pull out mid-season with a bad back. However, we welcomed Byron Johnstone to the team, midway through the season.
The team was continually evolving with different players stepping up, showing off some new skill or just having belief in themselves and teammates. After a slow start adjusting to the new tackling in Year 4, they really stepped up the tackling pressure mid-season. Some of the other highlights on display included some great running, leading to space, kicking, handballing and general team work.

One of the weekly traditions the lads embraced was the team song, well sung after each match, with the opportunity to squirt the captain of the day enthusiastically anticipated and carried out.
Huge thanks goes to everyone who helped out during the season. Coaching was made that much easier when you have a great team helping out off the field. Team Manager Wendy Clynk, emails, paperwork, ground report, rosters, team sheets, just to name a few of the tasks Wendy successfully navigated each week. Assistant Coach Mike North, training, player rotation, tactics and pep talks. Parents, Year 4 White’s have a wonderful group supporting their kids and the team. Everyone pitched in with the little extras that often go unnoticed: timekeeping, goal umpire, first aid, canteen, ground setup, bbq, training and the all-important oranges.

Thanks also to the other Year 4 coaches and parents, from the Blue and Red teams, who helped make Wednesday night trainings enjoyable, not only for the young kids but some of the ‘big’ kids reminiscing about their footy and goal kicking prowess.

Look forward to seeing you all next year. Go the Bulldogs!!
Robert Butler (Coach)