DARYL Thomas copped the wrath of DOVETON senior coach Steve Henwood after the Doves loss on Saturday and Henwood was unrepentant afterwards.
Thomas was sent from the field for abusing the umpire at a critical stage towards the end of the game and Henwood told the experienced defender that he would start in the reserves this week as a result.
“People get frustrated in any sport, just like people get frustrated at work, but you just have to keep composed don’t you?” said Henwood.
“In a game like this when you have 17 teammates working towards the same goal on a footy field, you can’t afford to have someone in the team that just loses the plot and stands there abusing the umpire. It’s happened too often and I’ve had a gutful.”
Can’t be much plainer than that.
THE BERWICK 1973 reserves premiership team, its first ever at reserves level, will hold a reunion on 29 July at the Edwin Flack Reserve starting at noon.
The club is having difficulty locating and contacting a number of past players who were involved on the big day.
Lindsay Adamson, Norm McGuiness, Trevor and Ian Dickson, David Clarke, Keith Downard and Michael McGrath are all being sought to relive the memories and anybody with information on their whereabouts can contact Jim Hower on 0403 317 091 or Tom Watson 0407 333 379.
LANG LANG’s John Simpson played his 150th game against NEERIM NEERIM SOUTH in round 10, but for some reason the Tigers didn’t acknowledge his milestone until his 151st game against WARRAGUL INDUSTRIALS on the weekend.
Simpson has been a loyal Tigers’ servant, having come through the juniors and of the current Lang Lang squad, only Adam Baxter, who has played 170 games and Brad Michie, with 200 games, have played more senior games.
MT ELIZA’s loss was CRANBOURNE’s gain on Saturday when the side from Casey Fields snared a welcome late inclusion in former Redleg and current DANDENONG STINGRAY Matt Lillie.
The youngster was secured after MT ELIZA refused to play him in the seniors when he was available.
With a young side moving forward, Cranbourne coach Brett McMaster was more than happy to give Lillie a go and he repaid the faith immediately by earning a spot among the weekend’s best players.“WHERE’S the respect?!”
That was the indignant reaction of BEACONSFIELD coach and key forward Haydn Robins when TOORADIN coach Dan O’Loughlin gave youngster Travis Boucher the job on Robins after he had lowered Adam Splatt’s colours earlier in the game.
The reason for the chip was the fact that Boucher has a shock of dyed green hair and Robins believed, at this stage of his football life, he at least deserved a ‘normallooking’ opponent.
“I looked at him and said: ‘That’s disrespectful on Dan’s behalf.’ Fancy sending a kid with green hair to me. I should not have to play on blokes that have green hair at this stage of my career,” he snorted.
The ploy obviously had the desired affect.
ELLINBANK appears to have parted company with one of its key forwards in Jason Harwood.
He has infuriated club officials with his regular absence on both the training track and game day, often without notifying the club, and word this week suggested that Banker officials decided to give him his marching orders.
Harwood’s departure is a big blow for Ellinbank’s slim finals’ prospects.
With Harwood, in tandem with Bill Harvey and emerging DROUIN recruit Adam Weeding, the Eagles had the firepower to trouble most teams.
AN interesting statistic from the reserves game between HAMPTON PARK and DOVETON on Saturday showed that every one of the 22 Redback players who took the field had played at least one senior game.
No wonder they’re undefeated.
MUTTERINGS of discontent swept Casey Fields at the end of the reserves game won by CRANBOURNE by one point over BERWICK on Saturday.
The time clock on the new electronic scoreboard told patrons that the tense final quarter went only 20 minutes and 20 seconds.
The Wickers were coming home fast too.
SPEAKING of reserves action, one longterm DOVETON player did not hold back as he and his defeated teammates left the Robinson Reserve on Saturday after going down to HAMPTON PARK.
“Maybe a few of these bigheaded young blokes will start his paying opposition players a bit of respect now. They were told to watch blokes like Shane O’Brien, ‘Budgie’ Egan and Johnny Holden, but they just left them alone and went kick chasing. They’ll make you look stupid every time,” he said.
HEARD word that two AFL sides are keeping a keen watch on 2005 EDFL bestandfairest and now WARRAGUL ruckman Matt Gray, with thoughts of ‘rookielisting’ the 21year old.
At about sixfootfourinches in the old scale, Gray may be a little short for a genuine ruckman, but his mobility would hold him in good stead if he can learn to hold down a key position.
ONE coach and his assistant have developed an interesting relationship this year, judging by words overheard coming from the coaches’ box recently.
The mentor referred to his man as his ‘Little Hobbit’!
No names with this one, but the reference was made in an affectionate way, to the chuckles of those within earshot, and the side involved is starting to look pretty slick, so obviously their teamwork is developing as effectively as their humour.
GRAHAM Ablett, 49, the second oldest of the Ablett clan behind Len and that includes younger brothers and former high profile AFL stars, Gary, Geoff and Kevin, came out of a long retirement to pull on the boots for BUNYIP reserves last Saturday.
Ablett, who has been training with the Bulldogs to keep fit, had his passion for footy reignited after watching his sons, Ray, Royce (in the seniors) and Alf (in the reserves) strut their stuff recently.
MEMO to the MPNFL: print more Footy Records for Casey Cardinia League clubs.
That’s the overwhelming feedback coming out of home clubs.
With an increase in crowd numbers this year, many patrons who roll up for the senior game are missing out on a record because the limited number of publications have already been distributed to reserves and under18s supporters earlier in the day.
The problem has been rife at PAKENHAM, BERWICK, DOVETON and HAMPTON PARK recently and it’s time that the big games were identified by the clubs involved and supplied with extra records, which are advertised by the league as included in the $9 entry fee.
WGLFL general manager Chris Soumilas did not hold back in a stinging rebuke to VCFL state selectors last week.
Soumilas reacted strongly to the fact that five GEELONG league players were selected in the squad, despite the league pulling out of the VCFL Country Championships.
Soumilas said the fact was that the players did not play in the championships and their inclusion would have been a shock to even them.
“The thought that five players could not be found through the rest of Victoria that are equal to the players selected from Football Geelong is amazing. I can’t and won’t believe that assumption,” he said in the document sent to all on the WGLFL mailing list.
AN investigation into the alleged use of onfield walkietalkie communication by a suspended person has been initiated by the SOUTHERN UMPIRES ASSOCIATION.
The incident was alleged to have happened during BERWICK’s under18 clash with ROC in round eight.
If proved, the Wickers could lose the points from the game and the Kangaroos may earn their first win and only win of 2006 off the field.
LIGHTNING struck twice for POOWONG’s Rohan Best and BUNYIP’s Ryan Ablett on the weekend.
Both having returned from a month’s absence with hamstring injuries, they obviously came back too soon and neither lasted longer than 10 minutes before hobbling to the interchange bench.
MAFFRA was disappointed that 18yearold SALE CITY and former HEYFIELD player Daniel Stubbe, who impressed on debut with five goals against MORWELL, did not get a permit to play this week.
Stubbe was selected at fullforward, but had to withdraw from the team.
The Eagles are keen to lure the talented goalsneak and eager to see if the youngster can measure up in this week’s blockbuster against SALE.
INJURYprone, but talented, WARRAGUL utility Xavier Gargan is set to make a return to the seniors in the upcoming weeks, having completed his second reserves match unscathed.
Gargan, a 2003 premiership player with the Gulls, has height and mobility and can pose matchup difficulties for all comers.
Gargan would likely be a certain selection, except that this week the Gulls will need to find space for its four GIPPSLAND POWER boys and this may keep the ‘Xman’ in the dewkickers again.
BERWICK held its annual ball at the Dandenong Grand Hotel on Saturday night and had a very special guest, according to witnesses.
Up the stairs and into the ballroom walked NARRE WARREN coach Aussie Jones who was looking for a Magpies function and was told the ‘footy club turn’ was at the venue.
The word is that Jones would have been welcome to stay, but sheepishly declined the invitation.
COUNTRY is the word at NAR NAR GOON and that is underlined by a couple of prizes on offer in the club’s special effort raffle this year.
Each ticket boasts that: ‘They can rob us, but they won’t break us’ and informs the buyer that should they win third prize, they’ll receive 12 tonnes of crushed rock and if they run fourth there’s one tonne of redgum firewood on offer.
Rock and redgum now that’s true country football.
