President’s Mid Season Report
With Round 9 behind us we are officially past the half-way mark of the regular season for 2023. There has been some exceptional football and memorable wins as well as some really tough challenges.
There has also been a huge range of activity off the field, and a number of things to update our great Old Brighton community on.
Football
Our Senior Men’s side started the year red hot, winning the first 4 games over Old Haileybury, Uni Blacks, Collegians and Caulfield.
Since then it has been a challenge.
We lost an arm wrestle with Uni Blues in Round 5, where our skipper went down in the last quarter with a fractured spine. The boys responded brilliantly the following week with a brave win against last year’s premiers in SKOBs. The next three weeks, however, have not gone accordingly with losses against ladder leaders Old Scotch, Old Melbourne and Old Xavier. It is a very tough, even competition and you need to be at your best to win in any given week.
We sit in 6th position (5 wins, 4 losses), and head to Uni Blues on Saturday to start the return games.
Congratulations to the 12 players who have made their senior debut in 2023. Jordan Hayter, Ben Fisher, Luca Macnab, Luke Travers, Sam Flockart, Cam Hathway, Louis Butler, Jamie Hope, Max Benier, Jonah Campigli, Ferg Murray and Tom Howden. We have some great young talent coming through and are excited about what the future holds for this group.
Senior Coach Dan Donati has introduced a new ritual where we have invited past players down to present debutants with their Old Brighton jumper before the game. So far Leigh Hendra, Josh Homann, Marcel Bruin, Jon Perrett, Michael Osbourne, Harry Cannon, Ollie Cavallaro and Ben Gadsden have all spoken to the group about their time at Old Brighton and what the jumper means to them. A real highlight was having Stu ‘Egg’ Murray and Jamie Howden (who played together a few short years ago) present jumpers to Ferg and Tom when they made their debut in that great win against SKOBs.
Women’s Coach Andrew Grant can’t speak highly enough of the group of girls we have representing our club in Division 1 this year. We have welcomed in some fantastic new people to the footy club, including girls who have grown up playing footy and those that are giving it a go for the first time. We have had 15 girls make their Old Brighton debut in 2023 – great to see!
The Tonners sit in 2nd position on the ladder (7 wins, 2 losses) and have played some very exciting football. Inaugural Women’s team members Morgan McGregor, Indi Tait and Sophie Grant have been leading the way, with young guns Charley Hodgson, Tiger Doultree, Daisy Flockart and Lily Tait all having great seasons. We are excited to welcome back co-captain Cat O’Brien this week from a 12 month stint on the sidelines with a knee. Cat is itching to get back out there, having not missed a training, meeting or game throughout her entire time out. Good luck Cato!
We have also entered into an arrangement with the MCC Women’s Football program whereby girls who miss out on selection are able to get a game playing for the MCC. Thanks to the Grant brothers and Dickie Smith for leading this great initiative and making sure our girls are getting a game each week.
Our Reserves started the year with a bang, going 5-0 to start the year off before the injury issues which have plagued the senior group took their toll. Barrel’s men sit in 4th position (6 wins, 3 losses), with the early wins demonstrating the level of football the group can get to. The boys are enjoying playing with and for each other and have a great opportunity to push for finals.
The Under 19s have been a crucial part of our playing group already this season. We have welcomed in a great group of new players from the school, and have some returning “veterans” such as Sam Flockart, Cam Hathway, Tom Burnell and Gus Edgar. Amazingly, 10 Under 19 aged players have played in the seniors this year, presenting a challenge for Boots’ men as we take on the bigger clubs in the top division.
In the face of this challenge the boys have been outstanding. We sit third on the ladder (5 wins, 4 losses) and head to Uni Blues this week (4th place) to try and solidify our spot in the top 4.
Our Thirds and Fourths have mixed some great wins with some tough losses as player availability impacts the side each week. The Thirds are 6th on the ladder (2 wins, 7 losses), with a win against Old Xavs at home in round 3 being the highlight of the season.
The Fourths have played some great footy themselves, sitting 6th (5 wins, 4 losses) and just 1 game outside of the top 4. A win under lights against Old Melbourne has been the highlight, with a big supporter base behind the goals cheering them on!
A special thanks to Harry Osborne and Sam Grose for the fantastic job you are doing coaching these teams.
VAFA Representative Football
The VAFA is bringing back State representative football with a game against the Perth Football League at Elsternwick Park on 15 July.
Tom Fisher, Tom Yorgey, Hamish Dick, Felix Flockart and Sienna Courtney have all been selected in the extended VAFA squads and have the chance to pull on the Big V next month. Congratulations!
We note that our skippers Harry Hill and Indi Tait were unavailable for selection as they are away for the game, which falls during the July bye. We are biased, but reckon they would have made it!
Upcoming events – save the date!
The club will host two major events for sponsors, members and supporters.
· Mid-year partners event @ The Club - Saturday 12 August – details to follow
· Best & Fairest Dinner @ Carousel, Albert Park on Thursday, 28 September (Grand Final Long Weekend)
These promise to be huge celebrations for everyone involved in the footy club. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible there.
Off-field highlights and updates
Whilst our focus is always on the football, there are a range of other club related matters which we would like to keep our members and supporters updated on.
· We have upgraded the gym! Thanks to Sumo Strength, Park Road Timber & Hardware, Momentum Building and Lighting Options, we have a light, bright space with elite equipment which the players are getting great use out of.
· We have received a $25,000 grant from AFL Victoria to go towards a new scoreboard. We are working through options for a replacement which can withstand the brutalities of the Brighton Beach wind, salt and rain.
· We have welcomed back our Principal Partners Hodges and TLC Healthcare, who provide us with an amazing level of ongoing support. The Marine Hotel, Winnings Group and Trotter Advisory have all recommitted their sponsorship for this season – thank you so much for your support and generosity.
· We are very pleased to welcome 6 new Major Partners for 2023. Lighting Options, InForm Design, CVA Property, Affinity Insurance Brokers, Sumo Strength, Cornerstone HR have all joined as Major Partners. Thank you and welcome on board!
· Tuckeroo Landscapes, Olie & Ari Café, Momentum Building Group, Park Road Timber & Hardware, Tuff Group, Brilliant Group, Transit Systems and Jagger Watches are also sponsoring the club this season. Thanks to each of you for your valued contributions.
· There has been some maintenance work undertaken at the pavilion. Upstairs has received a facelift with new carpet, roof and paintjob as well as a new men’s bathroom. Concrete repair work has been undertaken in the grandstand.
· The Committee is in discussions with Council on agreeing the scope and plans for a new pavilion. Our aim is for the scope to be agreed during the upcoming Financial Year, and for the redevelopment to be included in the following year’s budget. All going well, this would see construction start in 2025 at the earliest. We will keep you updated on this as more information comes to hand.
· We held a successful Mother’s Day Lunch, where 85 women of the Old Brighton community came together and we raised over $3,500 for the Breast Cancer Network Australia (the largest amount raised by any club in the VAFA). Thanks to Katie Flockart and Sheree Reynolds for your amazing work organizing this event.
· Facilitators from the Danny Frawley Centre and St Kilda Football Club ran a session with the playing group on mental toughness. Our players learned some really worthwhile, valuable lessons about mindset and attitude. Thanks to Di Farrow for organizing this great session.
· We launched the Liminal Wellbeing App, with all players receiving a subscription to the app to help give them some tools to assist with their wellbeing. A special thanks to Will Hams from Liminal for sharing his story and Jack Davis for managing the program for the club.
· We have held 5 home lunches so far, the biggest being against Old Xavs in Round 9 where 102 packed into the room and the AFL CEO elect, Andrew Dillon was the guest speaker. Thanks to Woody, Steve Reynolds, Leslie Grigg, Yvonne Gadsden, Rosie Jakobi, Sally Hill, Linda Mentiplay, Leanne Yorgey, Debbie Slater, Al Henderson, John Murchie and Ben Gadsden for making the Tonners Lunches the best in the VAFA!
Fundraiser Raffle
In July the club will hold an online raffle to raise funds for the football club. We are investing in facility upgrades, a new scoreboard, new equipment, additional coaches – all aimed at making the football club the best it can be for our players.
Prizes on offer will include travel vouchers, holiday accommodation, jewelry, dining packages and more.
If anyone has something they can offer up or donate as a prize we would be extremely appreciative. Please contact Katie Flockart via email katie@flockandco.com.au if you are able to assist – thank you!
Thanks to our amazing volunteers
It has been extraordinary to see the incredible work and contributions made by our volunteers so far this season. We are an amateur football club which relies on the generosity of people giving up their time so that we can make our club run and put out 6 teams each week.
Thanks to all of you who have put their hand up to help this year. We have an incredible army of volunteers who: run our incredible home day lunches, cook the BBQ, operate the canteen, time keep, run water, boundary umpire, goal umpire (even field umpire!), team manage, assistant coach, prepare rolls for the canteen, help with afternoon tea, organize events, run our social media and communications, set up and pack up our home games, and even advocate at the tribunal!
The Committee would like to extend a huge and ongoing thank you to everyone who has chipped in, however great or small, this year. THANK YOU!