TOORADIN player Troy Allen will be deregistered after copping a massive 15-week suspension from the MPNFL tribunal last week. Allen was offered 11 weeks set penalty for a series of reports including striking, language and dissent during the final home and away game against ROC, but chose to contest the charges and copped another four weeks for wasting the tribunal’s time by pleading guilty.
Added to another two weeks he already had on his record from his playing days with CRANBOURNE, Allen exceeded the VCFL’s 16-week deregistration rule and will not be allowed to play football again unless he appeals. The charges against the entire Seagulls bench were not heard last week with the league investigating the circumstances in a bid to identify who allegedly said what and to whom.
KEYSBOROUGH has already received significant interest to its advertisement for a senior coach. Incumbent coach Greg Siwes was aware that the club was going to advertise the position and he will be sitting down with the club later this week to discuss his future at the Rowley Allen Reserve.
The Burra has also been staunch in its refusal to even talk to the MPNFL about rumours that the Southern Football League is keen for it to join the metropolitan competition.
Club officials have spent the 2009 season developing communication channels and relationships with junior clubs within a five to six kilometre radius of the Rowley Allen Reserve in a bid to address its shortage of under-18s, and one source said that they would not be told by anyone where they will play in the future. At this stage the commitment is fully to the Casey Cardinia League.
YOUNGSTERS and their mobile phones are often inseparable and so it proved on Saturday with star LONGWARRY teenager Rhys Holland. Much to the bemusement of the field umpire in the under-18s clash against NAR NAR GOON, Holland coolly handed over his phone to him in the third quarter. The league best-and-fairest winner had carried it in his footy shorts for two and half quarters. Crows officials said Holland’s fondness for his beloved gadget easily won him the club’s ‘tool of the week’ award.
HE is out of contract and has a close relationship with CRANBOURNE defender Troy Aust. Could we see ex-MELBOURNE jumping jack Russell Robertson in an Eagles stripe in 2010? Robertson is young Troy’s brother-in-law and was in the triumphant Eagles rooms offering congratulations to the lads after Saturday’s first semi-final victory over NARRE WARREN. How would opposition defences handle a forward line of say M. Holt, R. Robertson, M. Fletcher? With great trepidation is the answer.
AND while at Casey Fields, CRANBOURNE coaching staff wish to have returned the finals pyramid poster that was ‘borrowed’ out of their rooms at the Edwin Flack Reserve during the first week of finals. The poster was left in the rooms shared by NARRE WARREN reserves and BERWICK under-18s with the rest of the Eagles gear, but was not there at the end of the game. The feeling is that possibly someone from the Magpie seconds accidentally picked it up and the Cranbourne officials really would like it back before next week’s match against DOVETON (no questions asked).
IT is unbelievable how many ‘great mates’ outgoing BEACONSFIELD coach Robbie Taylor has who know what the Big Cat is doing in football next year. Depending on who you talk to Robbie will be with former Eagle Clint ‘Boofa’ Evans at LANG LANG, is as good as appointed to a Peninsula League coaching job, and is a shoo-in to make a comeback to the football field as an assistant coach at PAKENHAM. The only problem is that someone forgot to tell the man himself, who has been happily relaxing after hanging up the boots and says that he is more than likely to help out his beloved Eagles in some capacity behind the scenes if he has anything to with football in 2010.
THE mystery of the disappearing double-storey coaches box at BERWICK has been solved and it was a matter of over-enthusiasm from the start according to a club source. The idea was good but there are certain permits and permissions required to alter structures, in particular council structures, and in this case those may not have been gathered in the correct order before it was built.
And for those concerned about the deteriorating Edwin Flack Reserve surface, this Sunday’s preliminary final will be the last match played on it before it is completely ripped up and re-sown with hardy summer grasses before the start of the 2010 season.
NILMA-DARNUM has fired the opening salvo in this week’s grand final clash against CORA LYNN. As the minor premiers, the Bombers requested to use the Cora Lynn home rooms this week and, much to the chagrin of the Cobras, league officials have granted their approval. As a result of this decision and for practical reasons it will likely force the Cora Lynn reserves, chasing their third flag in four seasons, to also front up in the smaller away rooms. And while we are talking about the reserves grand final, Cobra stalwart Mick Dillon will make his ninth grand final appearance in the reserves on Saturday.
CRANBOURNE is on its way to self-suffiency with its own club rooms at Casey Fields at last. President Gerry Kelly let slip that the funds for the development at ovals 2 and 3 were approved by Casey Council last week and tenders were about to be called.
“We are trying to set the club up off-field and it’s great news for us,” Kelly said as he watched the Eagles crush NARRE WARREN on Saturday. “I would hope that the work is done quickly and anything we can do to help that we will.”
NAR NAR GOON reserves hope to bid farewell to a number of their retiring club stalwarts in style with a victory over CORA LYNN in this Saturday’s grand final. Blair Lidstone, Al Petrov, Grant Close and possibly Scott Murphy have over a 1000 senior games experience between them, and all intend to draw the curtain on their long careers this weekend. For Lidstone, it will be his first premiership in his 20th season of football, while for Murphy, even more remarkably, it will be his first grand final appearance in 26 seasons of football.
AND while on farewells, after a long and distinguished career CATANI’s Brad ‘Snags’ McDonald announced his retirement after the Blues reserves preliminary final loss to NAR NAR GOON on Saturday. After making his senior debut in 1988, McDonald went on to chalk up over 300 games and play in three senior premiership sides. A popular clubman, McDonald also had stints at LANG LANG and INVERLOCH.
THIS one did the rounds last year and the year before so it might be a furphy, but one source very close to the DANDENONG STINGRAYS suggested last week that the TAC Cup side is a good chance to play out of Casey Fields in 2010. Our spy would not elaborate other than to say that the arrangement at Shepley Oval was unsatisfactory in regard to training availability and a purpose-built facility like the current SCORPIONS home would be far more conducive to the side’s development. Let’s see if there is anything in it this time.
ONE PAKENHAM supporter was quick to temper the internal praise heaped on the BERWICK finals organisers last week. “The ladies at Berwick can add another ‘best’ on their list – the coldest hamburgers! I had to put it under the windscreen to warm it up and it was only half time in the seconds,” chipped our informant.
And it didn’t finish there with our man taking aim at the league on excluding people from the finals venue clubrooms during the matches. “Can the MPNFL officials at least share the clubroom space with the home club players and supporters on the day? What an absolute waste,” he grumbled. He might find that it is as much a club decision as a league rule, but the whinge has been duly noted.
MARK down the name Chase Saunders. The blond forward made a name for himself in the CORA LYNN reserves the previous week, kicking six goals, and when promoted to the seniors on Saturday he delivered the goods again with three match-winning majors in the last quarter. Having played less than 10 senior games the Cobras took a gamble on Saunders, omitting star goal kicker Ryan Donaldson, and it paid dividends.
There was no one happier with his game than his coach Chris Toner. “We knew he was talented but early in the season he missed a month of training and when I asked him to show more commitment and he just shook his head and said he couldn’t. With an improved attitude, he is now in line to play in a grand final,” said Toner after Saturday’s victory over CATANI.
EIGHT goals in the preliminary final by CATANI star Luke James put the Blues sharpshooter on top of the league goal-kicking table with 98 last week. However there will be a battle within a battle on Saturday, with CORA LYNN’s Darren Sheen on 97 goals and NILMA DARNUM’s Kael Bergles on 95 both getting the opportunity to pass James and also crack the ton in Saturday’s grand final.
THE WGLFL League Champion award was won by elusive TRARALGON forward Michael Geary with 14 votes from LEONGATHA forward and league-leading goal kicker Dwayne Holt on 11 and MOE star Matt Forys on 10 votes.
