CRANBOURNE has lost classy midfielder and 2008 vice-captain Ryan Davey to CORA LYNN in a move that has shocked Eagles officials and teammates.
Davey proved that he was more than capable of matching it with the best that the Casey Cardinia League had to offer last year and finished third in the club’s best-and-fairest count.
With the club on the rise under second-season coach Doug Koop, he was expected to play a major role on the push for a long-awaited finals appearance and his departure to play at district league standard has puzzled many at the club.
It is believed that his brother Matthew is also tossing up whether to follow suit and dump DEVON MEADOWS to join his sibling at the Cobras.
AS widely predicted around the traps, former DOVETON and TOORADIN coach Tom Hallinan has signed with NAR NAR GOON.
The Goon went from eighth position in 2007 to finish on top of the table after the 2008 home-and-away season, before bowing out of the finals in straight sets.
With a wealth of talent coming through the junior ranks, the Goon appears well placed to make a premiership assault with the addition of a quality and experienced midfielder.
The arrival of Hallinan has seen the club fulfil some of its off-season recruitment plan.
Nar Nar Goon hopes to retain almost all of the last season’s list, the exceptions being 2009 EDFL best-and-fairest winner, Andrew Oldmeadow, who will play with VFL team CASEY SCORPIONS, and fleet-footed forward Spencer Noonan who is expected to go overseas and may not be available.
Clint Williams has been reappointed coach and will again be supported by former ROC premiership teammate Brad Jones.
The Goon will play a practice match against CRANBOURNE on 28 March and, if all goes to plan, it will be at Casey Fields.
AFTER last week’s report that some of the HAMPTON PARK faithful were very unhappy with the recruiting policy at PEARCEDALE, a Panther spy contacted Footy Shorts and wanted it known that there was no poaching of Redback players involved.
He said his club had been the beneficiary of tension between some Redback players after a pre-Christmas incident that had nothing to do with football and which had led to some players walking away from the Booth Reserve.
He said it was unfair to blame former Hampton Park coach, now Pearcedale mentor, Jason Chapple, because the players had rung him, not the other way around.
MELBOURNE may be training in the heart of Cranbourne at Casey Fields, but that obviously means little to many of the younger generation in the district if events at a recent Primary School are any indication.
After addressing a group of students at the Cranbourne establishment, one Demons player decided to test the group with surprising results.
When he asked ‘who is the coach of Melbourne?’ one bright spark shot his hand up and answered knowingly, ‘Kevin Rudd!’
Plenty more PR required by the Demons in this area!
CONGRATULATIONS to BEACONSFIELD premiership player and club scribe Michael Fisher on turning 30 on the weekend.
Reports from Fish’s birthday bash on Saturday night were sketchy, however the fact that his (much) better half D’Arne is pregnant and therefore ‘on the wagon’ apparently made his decision on drinks catering easy.
It was a case of free beer for the boys and the girls could bring their own!
Apparently the night was enjoyed by all, except Fish himself, who couldn’t handle the pace and fell asleep before midnight.
FURTHER to last week’s suggestion that a former district star, currently playing in Northern Territory, was being heavily courted by an EDFL club CATANI.
It has now confirmed that Luke James, formerly of DEVON MEADOWS, POOWONG and last season with Southern Football League team ST PAUL’S, will put on a Blues jumper in 2009.
The classy left-footer is currently playing with SOUTHERN DISTRICTS in the NTFL.
BERWICK will play BEACONSFIELD under lights on Anzac Day in the first round of the annual ‘Battle of the Creek’ this year.
The clubs have agreed to the change of time that will make it possible to play matches in all three grades across the one day, despite the requirement that no games are started before noon.
It will likely be the first time the new lights at the Edwin Flack Reserve (which are still to be tested) are used in an official game for points.
GREAT to see triple NARRE WARREN premiership player Nick Scanlon doing himself and the Casey Cardinia League proud in MELBOURNE’s intra-club practice match at Casey Fields on Saturday morning.
The former Magpie impressed CASEY SCORPIONS officials so much during the pre-season that he was plucked, along with several Scorpion teammates, to fill the vacancies in the Demons’ two teams for the hitout.
Scanlon started on a wing and immediately looked at home, collecting a dozen possessions in a half and adapting to the class rise with ease.
Former Narre Warren coach and ST KILDA star Austinn Jones put Scanlon’s name up to the Saints when he was in charge at Fox Road, but he was not pursued, which in hindsight might have been a mistake.
LAST year’s WGLFL runners-up MORWELL has pulled a surprise by recruiting former ST KILDA utility Brett Knowles.
Knowles coached ACT club BELCONNEN last season and had been appointed as a non-playing coach with SANFL team, NORTH ADELAIDE in 2009.
However, with some commitments in Victoria, he intends to spend a good deal of time in his home state over winter and the Tigers appear to have snared his services for around eight to 10 games this season.
When he was 16, Knowles played in Morwell’s 1996 premiership team before being drafted to the AFL in 1997, where he went on to play 43 senior games in an injury plagued career.
Morwell has also regained hard-at-it half-back Jim Dowling, who returns after playing in a premiership with YINNAR, together with nuggety CHURCHILL on-baller and defender Doug Foster.
On the downside, star Tiger forward Ryan Allen has been picked up by VFL side COBURG.
Jason ‘Jocka’ McFarlane, despite some initial reticence due to other commitments, has been persuaded by club officials to continue as senior coach for a second season.
THE good folk at EMERALD were apparently a little testy after it was suggested in this column that a number of Bombers were on the move this year.
That is despite clubs in the Casey Cardinia, East Gippsland and Ellinbank and District Leagues all confirming that Emerald players were training with them.
However, the word from the hills is, regardless of this, the Bombers are confident of improving in 2009 on the back of the inclusion of a group of talented 2008 under-18 premiership players, together with a smattering of recruits including Daniel Porter from LILYDALE and Vaughan Deddes from DANDENONG DEMONS.
Sounds like its full steam ahead in Puffing Billy country!
