Year 5

Back: Rob Butler (Asst. Coach), Mike North (Coach), Claire Greenwell (Team Manager)
Back: Logan Burns, Byron Johnstone, Mason Cailes-Spence, Maxwell Williams, Will Butler, Cyrus Roberts, Daniel Newman
Middle: Benjamin Bates, Lee Symonds, Jack Fairclough, Tyler Kirkby, Leo Mathys, Harrison Greenwell-Roberts
Front: Darcy Mc Dermott, Oliver Kelly, Kyle North, Luke Morey, Hudson Thomas and Ashwin Trehan

The Year 5 Wites had a season of trying to improve skills and understanding of the game while having fun as well.  The intensity level obviously went up from Year 4 and while it took a while for some (many?), to adjust to this and not hang back too much, others clearly reveled in it.

Our up and down form was often linked to how switched on the boys were – it was a learning experience for the coaches as well – by the end we were starting to learn a few tricks to get them switched on more often.

Towards the end of the year there were some games with great passages of team and individual play, linked handballs/kicks, players running past or from behind and even switching of the play across the ground into space.

Apart from continuing to work on kicking and handballing (especially on the run or under pressure), the boys are now at a stage where they need to combine good skills with intensity at the ball and understanding of the game to be effective players.  Leading, positioning, bodywork, run and carry together and clearing from congestion all become critical with Year 6 footy (smothering, shepherding allowed) going up in intensity again.  Hopefully all the boys can practice and have someone give them some tips while watching the AFL to start learn more about the game in the off-season.

Rob and I had fantastic help from our manager Claire and I look forward to seeing as many boys as possible back next year.

Mike North and Rob Butler (Coaches)

Back: Warren Wild (Coach), Jesse Zwitser, Oliver Beasley, Miles Renkema, Jaiken Vsye, Anthony Wild, Brodie Ridley, Jackson Thom, Cameron Ballantine, Willem Dorril, Matt Ridley (Asst. Coach)
Front: Brady Inferrera, Brady Walker, Jake Broomfield, Zach Baker, David Bell, Aidan Mapstone, Wesley Robartson, Luke Dharmapala
Absent: Rod Thom (Coach), Skye Saunders

Bulldogs Year 5 Reds had a fantastic year showing significant improvement in our skills and competitiveness from last year.

We focused our players on improving their marking, running and kicking this year and were pleased that we played some of our best football in the lightning carnival on the final weekend with the boys maintaining their concentration and effort all year.

Some of the highlights and improvements for each of our players were:

• Aidan ‘Aido’ Mapstone – our most consistent ball winner and hardest worker. Just need to teach him how to use his left foot and will be unstoppable;
• Anthony ‘Antman’ Wild – daring running off half back and ferocious tackling particularly in the first half of the year and loves to sell some candy;
• Brady ‘Infa’ Inferrera – in his debut season kicked a bucket load of goals and always showed toughness around the hard balls. His left opened up the game and is the mirror image of Aidan.
• Brady ‘Tex’ Walker – the ultimate team man whose encouragement is only matched by his willingness to take the game on in the air and on the ground;
• Brodie ‘BJ’ Ridley – really shone in the second half when he started to back himself and break away from contests using his speed and superior kicking skills;
• Cameron ‘Cambo’ Ballentine – really shone in the second half of the year especially when playing in the midfield when his second and third efforts won plenty of the ball
• David ‘Belly’ Bell – when he is focused there is no one better at throwing himself at the ball and his kicking started to improve in this final stages of the year;
• Jackson ‘Jacko’ Thom – got better every week and was one of our best players over the final 6 weeks. Wonderful kick and electric in the backline and fondly remember the 40m intercept he made at full speed.
• Jake ‘Stringer’ Broomfield – winning our beep test at the start of the year confirmed Jake as one of our fittest players and finished the final month of the year taking amazing pack marks.
• Jaiken ‘the Missile’ Vyse – one of our quickest runners and loved breaking away from the contest and developed his game to turn this into kicks for goal and by the end of the year had kicked quite a few
• Jesse ‘Roo’ Switzer – one of our most athletic players launching higher in the air than any other player and took some fantastic marks. Really pleased to see his kicking improve and will really go places next year.
• Luke ‘Browny’ Dharmapala – our most courageous player that loves backing into a pack and giving a few ‘don’t argues’ as he wheels onto his right for a goal
• Miles ‘the Swimmer’ Renkema – the prodigal son returned after a year in soccer and we loved his marking, aggression and long kick. Always finished with a red face and we are tipping to really dominate next year
• Ollie ‘Bones’ Beasley – another debut player and wins our most broken bones. We are still amazed at how many marks and goals he kicked in his first year of footy
• Wes ‘Wally’ Robartson – a big improver from last year and showed us glimpses of what he can do in keeping his feet and fighting for the ball. Keeping working on the drop on your kick!
• Will ‘Priddis’ Dorril – Amazing year. Listened and learnt every week and his footy just grew and grew. Speed, kicking and contest were top shelf and his goal breaking a tackle from 30m out in the lightning carnival made us dance.
• Zac ‘big Z’ Baker – a born midfielder with a booming right kick and hard tackle, Zac really developed his footy skills this year and we saw his confidence grow to take strong chest marks.
• Skye Saunders – started the year with the team but wasn’t able to continue with us for the rest of the year. We missed Skye’s smile and questions during the quarter time breaks!

Thanks boys for an entertaining and enjoyable year and to the parents for letting us coach and push your boys.

Warren, Matt and Rod (Coaches)

Back: Charles Casale (Assistant Coach), Jeremy Skepper (Assistant Coach), David Glass (Coach), Mick Strahan (Assistant Coach), Leslie Eddy (Team Manager)
Middle: Thorfinn Dunn, Harvey Leonard, Luke Strahan, Hayden Centa, Harry Skepper, Thomas Glass, Jack Alexander, Tyson Nolan, Douglas Allison
Front: Jordan Allanson, Ned Hollick, Harry Collins, George Joannides, Dalton Eddy, Matthew Wallace, James Bardill, Cameron Ross,Kyle Brestovac

Well its been another enjoyable season on and off the ground for the mighty Year 5 Booragoon Blues.

We commenced training earlier this year with a squad of 18 players, inclusive of 3 new players, Tyson , Ned and Harvey. We had 4 solid weeks of pre season training before the first game which got us cherry ripe for our first hit out.

Throughout the season our boys have continually improved in all facets of the game – the greatest strength of the lads however has been the teamwork. The sharing of the football by either hand or foot has really come on in leaps and bounds. The boys have learnt to take the game on and more importantly learnt that sometimes you need to dig a bit deeper as a group to be successful.

We finished our season with the usual carnival where we came up against some quality opposition, but the boys played some fantastic football in very tough conditions to finish the season on a great note.

I have a long list of thank you’s as the great thing about this group of kids and parents, is that everyone chips in and does their part.

Firstly a huge thank you to Leslie our manager who again does her role with no fuss and gets the job done, thanks heaps for organising pretty much everything.

Secondly, to Strahany and Skep, who coached the boys with me, thanks gents for all your time, we all loved doing it and having plenty of fun.

A special mention to Charles Casale who attended every game and was our team runner, plus assisted in coaching and in actual fact coached the boys for a game at the carnival  – thanks mate, the boys love having you involved.

Our goal umpires of Danny Nolan and Sam Collins also did a fantastic job every week – cheers gents !

Out first aiders, being Kate Collins and Skep, also did another great job and were always ready to go if needed.

Overall, I would just like to thank all parents for your assistance, whether it be at training or on game day, because everyone has chipped in.

Lastly a huge thank you to every player who ran out for us this year, the effort that was displayed was outstanding, and that’s all you can ask for as a coach !

Dave Glass (Coach)

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)

Anthony and I returned this year for another season to coach the mighty Year 5 whites. We embarked (woof!) on an early start to the preseason and the young Doggies were very happy to get off the couch and down to Karoonda to have a run and kick the footy.

Before training even commenced, Assistant Coach Doig and I decided to go on a preseason recruiting campaign. It was wildly successful, with five outstanding young pups welcomed to the Whites kennel. Four new Bulldogs Chris, Jai, Lachlan and Max, with Laken transferring from the Reds. Along with 15 boys returning, this brought our team to 20 enthusiastic young players ready to take on Season 2014.

The step up from year 4 to 5 was hard at first, but the boys soon realised (after a bit of early tough love and a few good old fashioned bakes!!) what was required of them, and quickly took on board what they needed to do. Their endeavour saw great development in our focus areas of moving the ball on quickly, making and honouring leads, finding space or manning up, and all importantly starting to learn the difference. The amount of times our fullbacks remained in the goal square while the opposition flooded the midfield and were able to stop goals on the line was great to see. It was exciting to see a desperate chase, as an opposition player sped away, seemingly unstoppable, before a Bulldog brought them down with a ferocious tackle. The boys found out that if they apply enough pressure, and never give up a chase, they were usually rewarded with the ball. Another pleasing development was the realisation that it takes more than one player to kick a goal the number of coast-to-coast goals were a prime example of a whole team working together to get a score on the board. At such times hearing the cheers from our proud parents on the sidelines was fantastic.

It was good to see that we had more positive than negative draws this season, with only a couple of disappointments all part of the experience, with the boys learning to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. As the season progressed, the skills, the voracity, the attack on the ball, working to find space and create opportunities all started to gel across the team. By the end of the season, the boy s teamwork, kicking, marking, handballing, and tackling were awesome to watch albeit often scary for their opponents!

The Year Five carnival demonstrated just how far we had come this season a valiant effort by all the boys showed that when we played as a team and were all switched on we were unbeatable. The carnival proved to us that if everyone went hard, a team effort rather than individual effort won matches. We were very unlucky not to make the carnival Grand Final (missing out by one pesky point!), despite a tough draw with 4 games and no breaks. No complaints from the boys just enthusiasm to keep playing. Just like the Dockers we showed we were ready to play anywhere, anyone, anytime no excuses!

Special thanks to Anthony our sensational Assistant Coach the true quite achiever who quite seriously takes on too many tasks to mention. Training, planning and running our bench and team rotations like a well-oiled machine; his exceptional organisational skills contributing so much, not just to our team but to the club as a whole.

Big thanks to Alysia, again taking on the often thankless task of Team Manager, and once again doing a fantastic job she made it all look easy! Their hard work and support throughout the season made my year as coach very enjoyable.

Our parents are second to none. Their loud, proud support of our team always fired the boys up to do their best. Their willingness to take on the game day jobs helped everything run smoothly. Many of our parents not only contributed to our team but were involved at a club level.

Last but not least, thanks as always to the coaches and players of the year 5 Reds and Blues, our great training mates all year. Our clashes in the year 5 Derbies give us a lot of hope for the future of our awesome club as the combined year 5 teams come up through the ranks in the years ahead.

Can t wait for next year! GO BULLDOGS. Woof Woof!
Heath Schmidt (Coach)

Coming in to the new season, the 2013 Year 4 Reds lost a number of players for various reasons. To ensure we could still field a team we drafted in a number of 2014 Year 4 s who were either part of the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Auskick program in 2013 or who were keen to play Friday nights. Once again, the Year 5 Reds played all their games at Karoonda Oval on a Friday night. This is great for the players who are given an opportunity to play where they may not have otherwise been able to play on Sunday mornings and also great for the club to be able to have a third Year 5 team. It does, however, present a challenge for parents and volunteers, who are required to set up and pack up the grounds, staff the canteen and be responsible for Goal Umpiring, Timekeeping and First Aid every single week. The parents of the Year 5 Reds team should be commended for their willingness to support the team and the club in these activities.

We had a new Team Manager this year in Janine van der Kooy who did a fantastic job in keeping parents informed and updated, together with ensuring the paperwork always got completed, the referees paid and the volunteers organised. Frank van der Kooy also stepped up into an Assistant Coach role this year which was really helpful at both training and at games to assist in all of the player s development, but also helpful in managing a group of 17 ten year old boys.

Once again it took some time for the team to gel together as they had not played as a team before. Even when the team started to work toger, we often got off to a slow start. We were also set back by the loss of 3 players, Robert Lewis, Lachlan Speijers and Cooper Stewart, throughout the season for long stretches due to broken bones. However our thanks must go to the Year 5 Whites team, especially Heath Schmidt, who helped us out when we were short of players due to injuries, sickness and holidays.

Thanks must go to Cas Pearson who was our First-Aid officer for most games and had her share of injuries to deal with. Thanks also to Thomas Vickridge who helped out in the canteen on most Friday nights.

The Year 4 boys who played with us this year (Ethan Douglas, Angus Duff, Jentezen Lee, Robert Lewis, Roy Pearson and Edward Woolfenden) must be congratulated for their efforts and their improving skills. Without mentioning every boy in the team, there were several who put their heads over the ball week in and week out and worked really hard in almost every single game. They should be commended for their performance and their commitment. Congratulations go to Joel Baverstock, Connor Matthys and Jeremy Clarke for their performance this year.

It has been another rewarding season and hopefully with improved skills and another year of maturity, 2015 will bring further opportunities and improvement for a great bunch of boys.

Michael Vickridge (Coach)

What another great year it has been and I think that the future of the BB-Dogs looks bright, if our team is any indication. The boys achieved a berth in the grand final of the Year 5 Carnival again this year which superseded my expectations! I am so proud of the level that this awesome group of lads has reached as a team this year. Hardly a game slipped by us and on no occasion did I ever think we would not be competitive, even when we found ourselves challenging matches. Such is inherent tenacity of the Year 5 Blues.

So I acknowledge the unit that is the BB-Dog Blues sounds like a rap song I need to write! The team would not have lift-off without the parents who support their boys and the BJFC each week and especially, those who step up to do the important jobs which keep the team on the paddock. Thank you firstly goes to Team Manager Tony Wong for his humour, brilliant match reports and attention to detail each week. You are a great achiever Tony.

To my assistant coach Olly Standing who subbed in too many times for me to mention this season, a big THANK YOU.

Thank you to Brendan “Doc” Miller for his rapid responses to our wounded and keeping them hydrated when they weren t.

Lastly, I must make mention of Reg Bourne and Kurt Davies, dads who kept stepping up to help me out at training most weeks. (It must have been a good experience as Reg has agreed to take the mantle of Team Coach and Kurt will be the Team Manager for 2015. Thank you both and to Andre Parker for stepping up as Assistant Coach for 2015. It is fantastic to know that the team will be in great hands and have a solid starting point for the New Year. Make sure you all sign up again boys!) I couldn’t have managed without you all, so I owe you all a debt of gratitude.

As I step down and reflect about any given Sunday, I know my boys made their presence felt this season across the East Freo district. They were a force to be reckoned with and if I had to put the team in their future superstars positions, this is my BB-Dog Blues rap:

• Forward pocket posse Chaser B, Harry E-Go, Jimmy-D Mott, Jack Pisk-O
• Homeboy goal snatchers Riley Stand-On, Luke Yo, Jayan T-Man, Josh B-Dog
• Mid-field spankin boys Myles Gun-More, Olly Cass, Joel Mill-R, Dom D-Rock, Cam He-Fox n
• On the deck rappers Jack P-K-R, James Saw-Noff, Stevie M-Dog
• No cheap shots backcrew Elijah Wit-E, Kristian H-Rod, Michael S-Fish, Joel F-Ramp

I feel that I was The Lucky Coach of the Nike kids because the lads Just do it .they love a good game of footy and want to be first to the ball. I have loved the last two years coaching the lads of the Booragoon Blues.

Thank you again to all the mums, dads and significant others who came along each week to cheer, support and encourage active participation in footy as opposed to couch potato. Onward and upward for these lads, I predict there will be some All Australians amongst them in a few years time!

Dale Edgar (Coach )