AFL Vic Record Week 11.Indd
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VFL Round 7 TAC Cup Round 9 30 - 31 May 2015 $3.00 Photo: Dave Savell Photo: Arj Giese ANY TWO SUITS FOR $795* PREMIER PARTNER VICTORIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE Features 4 5 Jade Gresham 7 Richard Mills 8 9 NAB AFL U18 Championships 11 Theo Thompson 13 Women’s Exhibition game Every week Editorial 3 VFL News 15 TAC News 17 AFL Vic News 19 Club Whiteboard 22 25 Events 27 Connect with your club 28 29 Draft Watch 72 Who’s playing who 56 57 Tasmania vs Bendigo 38 39 Geelong vs Williamstown 58 59 Queensland vs Oakleigh 40 41 Richmond vs Essendon 60 61 Eastern vs NSW/ACT 42 43 Coburg vs Collingwood 62 63 Dandenong vs Northern 44 45 Port Melbourne vs North Ballarat 64 65 Gippsland vs Calder 46 47 Sandringham vs Werribee Tigers 66 67 Western vs Geelong 48 49 Box Hill Hawks vs Northern Blues 68 69 Northern Territory vs Murray 50 51 Frankston vs Footscray Bulldogs 70 71 North Ballarat vs Sandringham Editor: Anthony Stanguts anthony.stanguts@afl vic.com.au Contributors: Dave O’Neill, Anthony Stanguts, Ben Pollard Design & Print: Cyan Press Ikon Park, Gate 3, Royal Parade, Carlton Nth, VIC 3054 Photos: AFL Photo’s (unless otherwise credited) GPO Box 4337, Melbourne, VIC 3001 Advertising: Ryan Webb (03) 8341 6062 Phone: (03) 8341 6000 | Fax: (03) 9380 1076 AFL Victoria CEO: Steven Reaper www.afl vic.com.au State League & Talent Manager: John Hook High Performance Managers: Anton Grbac, Leon Harris Cover: Jy Simpkin celebrates kicking the winning goal for Talent Operations Coordinator: Rhy Gieschen Vic Country against Vic Metro. Talent Operations Coordinator: Lauren Bunting www.taccup.com.au 01 Television Online VFL Online Website: www.vfl .com.au Twitter: @VFLnews #PJVFL Facebook: www.facebook.com/vfl footy Broadcasting the Peter Jackson VFL in 2015 TAC Cup Online Saturday May 30 – 12pm Website: www.taccup.com.au Richmond v Essendon Twitter: @TACCup Next week: Box Hill Hawks v Port Melbourne Facebook: www.facebook.com/taccupfooty Radio VFL Live L Sunday May 31, Box Hill Hawks v Northern Blues I From 1.30pm V Live on Digital Radio via Aussie, Red Time Sport and SEN iPhone Apps, E online via vfl .com.au or sen.com.au Next week: Footscray v Williamstown R TAC Cup Radio A Saturday May 30, Western Jets v Geelong Falcons D I From 1.15pm O Listen live on the Red Time Sport iPhone App or www.taccup.com.au 3WBC Sunday May 31, Box Hill Hawks v Northern Blues From 1pm Listen to 94.1FM, online at www.3wbc.org.au or the Tune In Radio app Next week: Box Hill Hawks v Port Melbourne Casey Radio Sunday May 31, Frankston v Footscray From 1pm Tune to 97.7fm in Melbourne, via the web at www.caseyradio.com.au, or on the Tune In Radio app on your smart phone. Video Streaming Visit www.vfl .com.au for a link Sunday at 2pm for a live video stream of: Box Hill Hawks v Northern Blues Watch the action and listen to the call from the VFL Live team. Next week: Footscray v Williamstown 02 www.vfl .com.au Indigenous Round a time to celebrate Indigenous Round has become one of the highlights on the football calendar but also an event that transcends our sport. Football at all levels continues to be enriched by indigenous players and coaches but our sport has also become a leading voice against racism and celebrating aboriginal culture. This weekend we again hope to reinforce this important message and also ensure football continues to be seen as a sport that accepts all people, regardless of the colour of their skin or cultural background. AFL Victoria strives to engage indigenous youngsters and provide participation opportunities, as well as an alternate talent pathway to help the most talented make it all the way to the top. From the establishment of Koori NAB Auskick centres, right through to senior football, we off er programs to help young indigenous players overcome barriers in participating in football. The Kickstart Program for U15 boys and girls has become a key platform to help indigenous footballers improve their skills and leadership qualities at a key age in their development. This program concludes in the National Diversity Championships and helps expose talented young players to a higher standard of competition and educates them about the importance of doing the right things both on and off the fi eld. Following Kickstart, players identifi ed with having talent and dedication are draft ed into the Laguntas Program. The Laguntas concept was designed to help players transition into the mainstream talent pathway and has proven successful in achieving that goal over the past two years. Laguntas also places an emphasis on personal development and educating players on their cultural heritage, as well as providing them with respected role models. While the success of the programs cannot be judged solely on the number of Victoria indigenous footballers who are selected in the National or Rookie Draft , we have been buoyed by the recent results. Jarman Impey, Karl Amon, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Nathan Drummond and Paul Ahern are all graduates of AFL Victoria’s Indigenous Programs and are now making their mark at the elite level. The fi ve boys are all quality young men with big futures in the game and we hope to see more young footballers follow in their footsteps in the coming years. Over the next 12 months, we hope to continue to develop our indigenous programs and provide support for players once they move into open-age football to ensure they become life-long participants. This week’s VFL fi xture features the match between Richmond and Essendon and the ME Bank Centre at Punt Road, which is being played prior to the “Dream Time at ‘G”. We hope to see a huge crowd in attendance to celebrate Indigenous Round and that the celebration is replicated at grounds all over Victoria. Steven Reaper AFL Victoria CEO www.taccup.com.au 03 Gresham’s time to shine 04 www.vfl .com.au The fi rst-ever indigenous captain of the Northern Knights is following in the footsteps of several prominent fi gures as he takes his game to another level in 2015. Jade Gresham knows his heritage. Through his mother’s side of the family, he can trace his ancestry to the Yorta Yorta tribe, traditional owners of an area of the Murray Goulburn region in northern Victoria and southern New South Wales. Sharing Yorta Yorta ancestry with Gresham are highly- respected former West Coast Eagles player David Wirrpanda and current Carlton Blues utility Andrew Walker. Aft er a blistering start to the TAC Cup season, in which Gresham is averaging 32 disposals, 5 tackles and one goal per game through seven matches, there’s a high chance he’ll emulate Wirrpanda and Walker by joining the AFL ranks come next year. It may even be with Walker at Carlton, the team Gresham He travelled to South Africa with the squad and received supports. A talented midfi elder/forward who can win the guidance from other respected indigenous fi gures in ball on the inside of the contest as well as outside might former Adelaide Crows champion Andrew McLeod and be just what the Blues need at the moment. ex-St Kilda players Xavier and Raphael Clarke. When asked which current AFL players he likes to model He soon graduated to the Northern Knights program, a his game on, Gresham found it hard to go past two stars club where another strong infl uence – his father – once of the game. played. “Probably Trent Cotchin – someone who can play “He just gives me a bit of advice – what I could do better, an inside and outside role. A bit of Travis Boak too,” what I’m doing well,” Gresham said. Gresham said. Indeed, Gresham’s stats so far in 2015 are Cotchin and “He’s someone to talk to about footy.” Boak-like, and his performances for the Knights saw him All these life infl uences led Gresham to be voted in as the selected to play in Vic Metro’s opening match of the NAB Northern Knights captain by his coaches and peers this AFL Under 18 Championships at Simonds Stadium last season. Sunday. Gresham said he was “pretty honoured” by the vote of Gresham successfully fi lled that midfi elder/forward confi dence and that his style was to “lead by example on role as Metro lost to Vic Country in heartbreaking and off the fi eld by doing all the right things”. circumstances, with a goal kicked aft er the siren to clinch victory for Country. With a 1-6 record to start the TAC Cup season, the Knights will be in need of Gresham’s continued leadership in “It was a big step up from the TAC Cup,” Gresham said. order to turn their season around. “(The result) was pretty disappointing but it was just “I think it all starts at training,” he said. “(We need to) good to be out there, and we all had a crack so we were focus on what we need to improve on and just work on pretty proud of our eff orts.” that through training.” Gresham’s eff orts to make it to where he is now are reminiscent of another young indigenous player to have As Indigenous Round is celebrated this weekend in the captained his TAC Cup club, current Melbourne player and football industry, Gresham seems to be channelling his former Oakleigh Chargers captain Jay-Kennedy Harris.