Maroochy RSL Club

AFL Sunshine Coast

Juniors

2002009999

Annual Report

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AFL SUNSHINE COAST INCORPORATED 2009 AFFILIATED CLUBS

Caloundra AFC Coolum Beach JAFC Glasshouse Hinterland AFC Gympie AFC Kawana Park JAFC Maroochydore JAFC Nambour and Hinterland AFC Noosa AFC Pomona AFC

2009 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

President Joe Brennan Committee Members Kent Weightman Chris Hunt Sean McCabe Anthony Neck Graham Fraser David Ward

Administrator Paul Tresise Admin Assistant Casey Cubis

AFLQ SUNSHINE COAST DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Development Manager Mark Kennedy Administration Sarah Bruce Development Officer (North) Mal Pearson Development Officer (South) Paul Medveczky Umpire Development Officer Rohan Briggs Club Development Officer Paul Tresise Trainee Alistair Baker

1 2 PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Congratulations to each of our nine Sunshine Coast Juniors clubs on another fantastic season of Australian Football for season 2009. Each year we take this opportunity to acknowledge just a few of the season’s highlights:

– highlights such as Veda Ingram & Reed Maskell-Dobbyn, as weekly winners of Auskicker of the Year being involved in the AFL Grand Final Day celebrations. This included playing in an Auskick game on the MCG, at half time of the AFL Grand Final and then getting to present Premiership medals the Premiership players. May you remember this for ever!

To continue the Sunshine Coast theme on AFL Grand Final day, congratulations to the two Under 16 players, Sam Panaho from Caloundra and Aaron Laskey from Noosa – both made significant contributions to Queensland winning the National Championships. Aaron backed this up by being one of only 11 or 12 recipients nationally for a ‘Mike Fitzpatrick Scholarship’.

Each year we acknowledge the work of our many volunteers who make our game possible. A few committed individuals were presented awards for their special contribution to the AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors, with Jason Bromilow winning the ‘Volunteer of the Year’ award. While Jason may be involved in many aspects of our game, at Gympie there was one particular highlight, in which Jason played a big part. This year saw the commencement of the Gympie Cool Cats – a club-based competition for Under 8s & 10s. So successful was this concept, in their first year Gympie had over 70 registered 8s & 10s players! Well done to all involved. May the Cool Cats go well in 2010!

On field, on that first Sunday in September, we had 7 of our 9 clubs competing in Grand Finals – while we continue to celebrate Premiership success (and participation) we constantly reinforce that our game is not solely about winning Grand Finals. Our national game offers all involved so much more through development of skills, team participation, dedication and the enjoyment of the sport.

Our overall participation numbers this year have reached a new milestone – as we exceeded 1300 registered players on the Sunshine Coast for the first time. Building on the foundations of all the work done by those who’ve gone before us, our competition continues to grow.

For the first time, in 2009 we introduced a Division 3 pool of teams in the Under 12s, who played more for the thrill of participation than for Premiership points. Judging by the end-of- year carnival, held to celebrate each of the teams’ and their players’ involvement this Division has been a success and will be repeated in 2010.

Paul & Casey have been fantastic (again) in 2009. Their dedication to the competition far exceeds what their job descriptions may call for and our game would be ever the poorer without their professional, untiring commitment. Thanks to you both, Casey & Paul.

The 2009 Management Committee – Chris Hunt, Kent Weightman, David Ward, Graham Fraser & Anthony Neck have again brought their broad range of knowledge and skill to the process of managing our competition. It is a task each of you has embraced and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you. Particular thanks to Sean McCabe who has retired from MC duties after an involvement over the past three seasons.

Being new to the role of MC President in 2009 there has been much to learn – this education has not been without challenge, however it has been an enjoyable year, made possible by the support of so many others – so, thanks again – see you around the grounds.

Yours in Australian Football

Joe Brennan President AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors 2 3 Maroochy RSL Club AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors 2009 “The season that was”

Season 2009 presented many challenges to the Leagues Management Committee, hopefully most ticked off with a high level of support and acceptance from our clubs. It has been a past twelve months where we have had to work hard on the sponsorship front, team grading and structures, codes of conduct, facility usage/management, umpiring development and much more.

All in all we again experienced positive growth and in the main the reason we are all here, “the kids”, their smiles delivered on most occasions gave us the appearance that all looked to enjoy having a kick and catch with their mates.

The game development programs that support our junior competition, Auskick, school clinics and programs and school footy all pointed to an ever increasing number of juniors taking opportunity to participate and enjoy AFL. Again we all need to work hard to translate these school based participants into club numbers.

The Leagues Management Committee is charged with making the big decisions regarding club footy and at times not all decisions are popular but are made in the best interests of the game as a whole across the Sunshine Coast. Much fact finding and subsequent discussion, sometimes debate goes into making a team decision that then needs to be administered. Clubs through their Presidents and League Delegates get opportunity to offer quality opinion to this decision making process and our annual league conference provides opportunity for all to drill down on a subject to a level that provides change through agreement.

In 2009 the League had new leadership through Joe Brennan following the retirement of past President and League Life Member Adam Croxton. I congratulate Joe on his commitment to the task, no subject was too great and he continually made himself available to club leadership to debate topics and work in a common direction. Joe received solid support from Chris Hunt, Sean McCabe, Kent Weightman, Graham Fraser, David Ward and Anthony Neck. Tonight at our League AGM we see opportunity for our affiliate clubs to put the 2010 Management Committee in place that will provide direction to the League in accordance with its charter over the coming 12 months.

The League is also most grateful to our Administration Assistant Casey Cubis for her fine contribution to the operation of our organisation. Casey has a many and varied role that over the course of the footy season and sometimes out of that season impacts on her work hours this she just does for the good of our junior footy – thanks Casey.

Annually at the Leagues Presentation Night we highlight the positive achievements both in dividual and group that have over the past 12 months made things tick. Part of this process is to recognise the AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors “Club of the Year”; this award recognises a clubs all round performance off and around ground. The club that within its community works most diligently to present a positive environment for all concerned mindful of striving to work on areas of its operation that had previous short comings. In season 2009 the club that best displayed a willingness to counter these short comings whilst setting a positive community feel was the Pomona Demons .

Late 2008 the club(s) senior and junior saw a need to become one and work more in unison for the common good of AFL in the Pomona district. Drew Meloni took the chair supported the juniors dragging his seniors to some suitable middle ground, senior players and officials supported the juniors whilst Julie Daddow, Jessica and Wayne Mahony worked feverishly from the junior end but had one eye on the big picture; the growth and pathway offered by the “Demon”. 3 4

Although not fielding a 16’s team in their own right in 2009, the club worked hard on growing junior player numbers at the lower end with the “LMPers” and 12’s winners. Auskick went to the Demons Den in March and the doors were knocked down with 75 participants – fantastic, from this the club recruited well and filled teams that preseason looked shaky in the three lowest age groups. This Auskick group was also the subject of a National Australia Bank TVC featuring “Australia’s Best Auskick centre”, channel 10’s host Mark “Howie” Howard engaging with the Auskickers.

The club worked hard over the course of season 2009 to make the mountain environment friendly every time someone stepped through the gate, match day codes of behaviour highly targeted in setting the right environment.

From here the club as always in such a small demographic need to continue to work hard on attracting players, maintaining a high level playing environment a key to this area. Their under 14’s won the division 2 Grand Final comfortably, this always presents a grading problem as many capable division one players pull on a Pomona jumper but half the team is always lower age and in some cases not ready for the top division.

Unfortunately a 16’s team in 2009 was not forth coming from the Demons den, but 5 players with solid direction and support from the club headed to Glasshouse Hinterland to join forces. On occasion they returned home to play a “home” game wearing the Blue and Gold, these young men in 2010 will form the nucleus of an under 16 Pomona team.

For the Caloundra Panthers Juniors their major achievement in 2009 was their sponsorship of two under 8 teams based at Meridan State College that played under the Panthers banner. These youngsters were very well guided by League Management Committee and Caloundra AFC figure Chris Hunt, with the two teams having been generated on the back of a successful Auskick program. With financial support from AFL Queensland through the Goal Post subsidy program, the AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors also contributed a set of AFL goal posts to the sporting field landscape at Meridan State College. Aims may have us looking at further youth teams coming from this school under the Panther umbrella.

Youth playing numbers within Caloundra Juniors particularly under 12’s have taken a bit of a downward turn after having three teams over recent years they could only field two in 2009. Some urgent 13 / 14 year old recruiting required to continue to field two under 14 teams. At the under 16 level they haven’t been able to generate that all important second team, with numbers always about the 30 mark. A second team from Caloundra would give the league greater ability to structure a two division competition for this age level.

The future has the club looking to its facility and or medium term playing environment, the oval is full with three senior teams, 18’s and near 200 juniors. The committee structure needs attention taking the pressure of few, spreading the work load and formalising match day process.

In 2009 the Coolum Beach Juniors settled at the Coolum State High School, through some hard work from their “Facilities Coordinator” David Ward they have struck up a short term user agreement with the High School that hopefully will set the scene to a long term home. Many plans were conjured up for a high level AFL / school sporting precinct but the almighty dollar (or lack of) got in the road. In 2009 the High School grew goal posts and a properly marked out oval, the surface on this field was fantastic until a super wet late autumn / early winter arrived and it came to look like a footy paddock. With continued and valued help from council (thanks Mike) the oval was renovated post season and will again look a treat with spring growth.

On the field the Breakers of Coolum Beach fielded a full under 14 team after last year’s tough inauguration at this level, and numbers grew such that a second under 12 team came about 4 5

early season. Well done to the team on that regard, five young girls joined this team and made it most competitive.

The future for Coolum Beach has them continuing to strengthen their facility opportunity at the High School and we see this as most important. Like Caloundra, committee structuring needs attention taking the pressure of few, spreading the work load and the club pushing further out into its community to secure their ongoing support. Football for this club cannot be a seasonal thing; they must continue to push the boundaries to develop their club into the most preferred local junior sporting option. The demand of mass of numbers wanting to play the great game is their best tool to knock doors down for facility development.

For the Glasshouse Hinterland Lions their disappointment in 2009 was dropping back under the magical 100 registration figure, 95 was this year’s player numbers some 15 down on 2008. From these registration figures their under 16’s were hit hard when 23 potential players became 13, and at times a 13 that struggled to commit. Preseason the Lions and Pomona clubs worked hard on forming a partnership at 16’s level, giving 5 committed Pomona players this most weekends allowing the Lions to field a team.

Looking at the clubs registration figures at the other end of the junior player spectrum we see that in 2009 the club only ha d the one under 8 team, with 12 registrations. This is an area the club will need to work on, 2002 and 2001 births as we all now know a minimum of two teams at these 8’s and 10’s ages is needed to be fielding regular youth teams.

A successful 2009 “in season” Auskick program has a likely 16 participants in 5 and 6 year olds ready to push into the bottom end of junior club footy in coming years. The bottom line to this registration comment is that the club needs to achieve a minimum year in year out registration of 120, to provide continuity of teams.

Coaching consistency is an area the club also needs to focus on, getting some more long term coaches into their mix with a high level of player development skills. Under 12’s coach Phill McCombe offers this but gets cut too thin as in 2009 he basically coached two 12’s teams. This build up of numbers in the 12’s was the registration highlight for the Lions as they fielded two under 12 teams with the 29 registrations so maximum playing time was afforded to its players. Maximum game time is most vital to player retention and individuals’ skill development, well done Phill and the club but more coaching longevity and substance is required at the den.

In 2009 the clubs under 12’s won the division 2 premiership, they started the season in division 1 but after round 5 returned to div 2. Getting a balance right at these smaller clubs of challenging the better players with the top level of footy and catering for the team as a whole is a most difficult task. This return to division two was a challenge to many to accept and work through within club, league management and the league as a whole. From here let’s hope this playing group has honed its skills well and takes some great playing challengers over the coming years.

Have the Gympie Cats Juniors come of age? My bet is yes. In 2009 the club opted to deliver its own locally based under 8/10 Local Match Play participation program, 16 weeks of “Cool Cats” – 70 participants, 6 teams, 3 fields all at 4pm on a Friday afternoon at the “cattery” and a fantastic environment of fun was created. Well done to Glenn and Jason with Rob (Swans), Peter (Crows), Nayelle and Damian (Saints), Callum and Lex (Eagles), Corey (Lions) and Shane (Blues) on a fantastic first up season. A number of these youngsters had a taste of 12’s footy as the season progressed in particular through the division three 12’s team as it was created from round 6.

As the season got going the Catters found continuing numbers moving into the cattery and as a result the club formulated a second under 12 team upon this demand. Forty under 10

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players, thirty under 12 and twenty five under 14 players in 2009 underpin the opportunity this club now has to field full year in year out youth aged teams – fantastic.

At a facility level the club delivered a landscaping makeover to the front sloped area of its club house, the terracing has come up a treat. Other facility makeover objectives lie immediately before them with their wish for full ground lighting and redeveloped change rooms, lets chase those grants! Full ground lighting will allow the club to take its “Cool Cats” program to the next level – two hours on a Friday evening for 12 teams!

For the first time in many years the Gympie club fielded an under 16 team, a few player commitment issues made it difficult for the committed players, coach and club alike but they got through the season. From this point the club will put greater emphasis into this age group as player retention through the later teenage years is also most important to the club in fielding its senior team, “get some youth amongst its ailing bodies”.

Kawana Park Eagles continue to make the most of their situation, fielding strong competitive teams that love wearing the “navy and gold”. The Eagles nest may not yet be the most suitable in our competition but the club carries pride to lofty heights.

In 2009 their under 14’s and 16’s played home games out of the Nambour & Hinterland Blues facility, all are most grateful to the Nambour club for this show of support. With a wet winter the Blues field copped a belting but all continued to smile – well done.

Where to from here continues to haunt hard working club President Paul Meehan, the Kawana Waters State College is most supportive to the Eagles facility needs and both parties with local government bodies continue to work hard. Over the course of 2009 the club has submitted numerous grant applications and $50,000 worth of success is a great testimony to this try hard attitude. These funds will now go toward relocating cricket nets, updating goal posts, shade shelters, lengthening the field all with a long term goal of building a suitable community club room/change room facility – keep up the great work Eagles!

On the playing field the Eagles who in 2009 went from Chancellor Park to Kawana Park to better represent their general catchment of their home base were their normal high level of competitiveness. Their under 12’s division 1 team capturing Grand Final glory in a fantastic game of footy, whilst their 14’s and 16’s also played finals footy.

Solid numbers in their under 10 ’s being 36 will underpin this club’s youth football for many years to come – two under 14 teams in a few years is an achievable aim with some added recruitment from its new found catchment.

The club in the past off season worked hard on restructuring its committee and with a solid sell of sharing the work load all positions were filled that gave a well oiled structure that delivered to a high level off the field. Club President Paul Meehan continues to steer the Eagles ship but has certainly appreciated many hands on the rudder pushing the club in the one direction, this allowing him to follow his much fancied wish of coaching.

For the Maroochydore Roos participation numbers are continually at the high level of mid 200’s, which is now a five year trend and managing this number is a big task but a task that they continue to deliver on. Such a number produces 15 teams throughout our competitions; four under 14 Roo teams in 2009 was a monumental achievement with the fourth coming at the preseason’s eleventh hour.

For the club and in turn the League these numbers can produce grading difficulties, balancing teams and then team placement within our competition structures. This in 2009 was not easy and many discussions ensued throughout the grading rounds, the only sure thing is not all people will be happy with the outcomes. This is an area both club and league will need to

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continue to work on each preseason and its allocated first five rounds of grading (as with all clubs).

The Maroochydore Juniors in the company of AFL Queensland were a big support to the National School AFL under 12 and 15 championships with a first year under 16’s Girls competition incorporated. These titles were held at Fishermans Road in late July, some fantastic football talent from across the nation was on display at the weeklong event.

With 58 players in the age bracket of years 1994 / 95 the club is well placed to field at least two under 16 teams. Competition structures and team numbers are areas we should all look at with a flexible attitude, keeping maximum youth numbers in the game should be our entire wish.

As previously mentioned the Nambour & Hinterland Blues club in 2009 was a fantastic neighbour offering to shelter the Kawana Park Eagles as their field was put to maximum usage with the added 14’s and 16’s Eagles teams.

The Blues field took a beating in season 2009, the wet winter turned the surface into a mud heap and work in the area of ground renovations are needed on a regular basis, improved drainage would be well sought. With up to a metre depth of flood waters seen three times this past season across the “woods” field, quality tile drainage is something this field calls out for.

Nambour & Hinterland over the past 3 years have had constant registration numbers at that desired 120 mark after a 2006 high of 133 players. The Blues field a regular scope of teams and in 2009 they fielded a second under 12 team, this now needs to become the norm. The club has over recent years fielded under 18 and senior teams giving its junior player base a quality environment with a clear pathway, their seniors work hard to be amongst and embrace junior football.

The club continues to look to the challenge of fielding teams at the highest level for player development and in 2009 their 12’s and 14’s played competitive seasons out in division one, finals glory didn’t beckon but their charter is to develop footballers – well done.

Facility developments at their home slowed a little in 2009 after the lofty developments of the previous few years. Their main development this past year was the overhaul of their time keeping box, the new model some 5 times bigger now becomes more of a corporate box and is certainly a great footy viewing area.

Up at Noosa Tigers we have seen a gradual decline in total registration numbers over the past three years (251 – 235 – 221). In looking closely at the numbers the under 10’s intake had a growth of 10 players over 2008’s under 10’s figure, this in the year of birth 1999 –this I trust still strongly indicates the clubs appeal as a junior sporting option within its community. Retention at the Tigers Den has always been strong within its 16’s age group and again in 2009 they fielded two under 16 teams, the raw numbers appear to be waning a little in those early youth football years.

With the emergence of Coolum Beach JAFC over recent years no doubt some player numbers have gone in that southerly direction. A strengthening Coolum Beach is a fantastic thing for AFL footy across these northern beaches.

On the field the club was competitive with their division 1 and 2 under 14’s teams and under 16’s Blue team playing of in grand finals for a couple of premiership flags. The club fielded three under 12 teams one in each division, with the third division team seeing many 10 year olds getting good opportunity to perform at a level suitable for their current development level – some of those kids just love to tackle.

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The club will continue to work hard on promoting itself within its local community making it the ideal junior sport destination. Our annual Auskick at the club, held in the preseason continues to be one of our biggest Sunshine Coast centres so demand for the great game is very much there – some further work on an “in season” Auskick program will generate greater club footy flow on numbers.

The club has grown into its fantastic new club house and annually now they are keen to welcome visitors in a most hospitable way. In 2009 they again hosted our fantastic end of season LMP carnival, the day is a fantastic treat to our youngsters to wrap up another season. This year we had fantastic support from the Gold coast Football Club on this day as they brought their inflatable interactive footy show to town that delivered heaps of additional play time to our kids, in kicking goals, handballing rockets, marking speckys and tackling like dynamos.

In our inaugural year of under 12’s division three footy the Noosa club were most keen to see an end of season round robin played out for this participation “competition” to highlight its success whilst wrapping their season up in a positive manner. In to this round robin day we incorporated the div 3 12’s presentation of best and fairest/runner up and a team coaches award, a great day.

The Noosa football club hosted our 2009 Grand Finals, five in all under fantastic skies in a most positive environment; with finals hosting support also coming from Pomona and Glasshouse Hinterland we thank these three clubs for their contribution to this youth grade finals series.

AFL Queensland through its regional bodies undertake an annual Coach and Volunteer of the year recognition program . This sees clubs nominate appropriate people to the many categories of junior, senior, coach, volunteer with regional winners highlighted of which some will become State Award recipients.

In 2009 the following Sunshine Coast nominees were duly recognised as regional award winners from a strong field of club coaches and volunteers. Some dozen AFLQ awards areas are recognised:

AFL Auskick Coordinator of the Year - Michael Robertson AFL Junior Coach of the Year - David Moles Youth Coach of the Year - Ian O’Dwyer Junior Club Volunteer of the Year - Jason Bromilow Junior League Volunteer of the Year - Peter Phelan Senior League Volunteer of the Year - Lance Nunn Auskick Special Initiative Award - Gympie “Cool Cats”

Locally our junior club volunteers are recognised with an appreciation plaque struck by the AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors. From this list of club based volunteers we duly recognised five worthy nominees with these plaques, all nominees in their own right are fantastic contributors to their club. The five were:

Jason Bromilow – Gympie: Proactive in game development assistance with schools in Gympie region, league delegate, coordinator of ‘Cool Cats’ competition, local schools club ambassador, coached and assisted in the formation of second club Under 12 Division 3 team.

Peter Bradford – Maroochydore: Active committee member, facility maintenance, gear steward and groundsman, construction of 2 nd scoreboard, assistance with National Schoolboys Championships, league delegate.

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Wayne Mahony – Pomona: Became Junior President when merged with senior club, assistance with U16 players to play with Glasshouse Hinterland, league delegate, assists with sponsorship and ground/club improvement, match day ground marshal, assisted with the clubs 2009 AFL Auskick program, improving community perception/standing of the club.

Geoff Bull – Nambour & Hinterland: active committee member for 4 years, President for 3, supervised and monitored club improvements, brings in significant sponsorship money for club. Active club delegate to league meetings. Footy web guru.

Carmel Meehan – Kawana Park: grants officer, has been successful in gaining over $50,000.00 in grants for the club including facility improvement and equipment purchases, always filling in the jobs that ‘no one else wants to do’.

Other club nominees who we thank and recognise for their selfless contribution are; Raymond Chambers - Caloundra AFC, Garry Brackley - Coolum Beach JAFC, Rudi Bauer - Glasshouse Hinterland AFC, Josephine Traill and Trish Hooper - Kawana Park JAFC.

From these five, Gympie Cats volunteer Jason Bromilow was duly recognised as our regional winner. Jason’s recognition highlights the fantastic work that many other Gympie Cats volunteers have put into junior development in 2009, from club President Glenn Warren to the many involved directly with the “Cool Cats” concept.

The Gympie AFC in early September at the AFL Queensland Grogan Medal were recognised with the AFL Queensland “Auskick Special Initiative Award” , for their fine effort in delivering on the back of the clubs preseason Auskick program a follow up in season “Cool Cats” Localised Match Program, with some 70 participants/6 teams.

Duly recognised for his ongoing support was former league Management Committee Member Peter Phelan. Peter was recognised for his efforts in 2009 by presenting him with the Sunshine Coast regions ‘Junior League Volunteer’ award. Peter continues his solid involvement with the League three years after stepping off the juniors Management Committee through commitment to the dark side of the game – tribunals. Thanks Peter for your continued commitment, we very much appreciate your support. Peter was also the founding President of the Chancellor Park Eagles (now Kawana Park) in 2001 and held that role for 3 years.

Through our AFL Queensland volunteer recognition program, at a local senior level Nambour and Hinterland’s Lance Nunn was recognised for his outstanding contribution to reviving the local senior football scene and his tireless work in driving senior and under 18 football at the Nambour & Hinterland club.

To all our 2009 club volunteers from the “boot studder” to the President thank you very much for your contribution to the growth and development of the game as a whole; enjoy the off season, recharge the batteries and we look forward to seeing you back in 2010.

The League continues to have a plentiful and dare I say it capable administration structure working from its office. Casey is four years into her job and as a young lady every year continues to develop positively into her role. Each year more is getting placed on her and by season’s end the new becomes old hat; this year’s prime example was the AFL driven Footyweb, after having fantastic service from our past web based match day information server SAS, we this year had to adopt the AFL program which produced a few initial heart aches but something else quickly adapted to. So now with data base programs, Footyweb, QuickBooks, and general league operations there is much professional support on offer.

League Communication is something that we all need to continue to review and work hard at evolving to our current needs. Yes we will have differing opinions but through strong but

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appropriate communication channels we should look to uphold the key guiding principle of why we are here – for the kids/youth to play footy.

We continue to work hard to provide suitable newsworthy league, club and player game development stories giving our website a feel of importance to communicating to the world of what we do and achieve. Our regular newsletter sometimes loses its regularity as it slips down the work pile, this is unfortunate as it is seen as a positive tool to inform all of what is happening about the game on the Sunshine Coast.

In 2009 the Sunshine Coast Daily undertook a weekly supplement based on junior sport - JS , from a league and game development point we were a regular contributor to this paper. On most weeks our scores appeared in the Wednesday spread, something that for many years has been a call of the community to supply this general information. The challenge is there for clubs to make use of this supplement to sell their own worth.

Financials Once again, Management Committee member Anthony Neck acted in his guidance role offered to our “finance department”. Anthony although working off shore receives the Leagues financial reports and runs his expert eye over the in’s and out’s of the league and raises any questions that need attention. Thanks Anthony for your continued valuable input.

Following an operating loss of $2,817.00 in 2008, it is pleasing to report back that league experienced a net profit of $13,968.00 for the 2009 financial year. Basically looking at the 2009 income statement, income was $7,000.00 up on the previous financial year, whilst expenses indicated a saving of $10,000.00.

Savings in the expense area of our business was largely with our move from the privately operated Sports Administration System to the AFL driven Footyweb program, this being to the tune of $6,300.00 from the previous year. With tighter financial management over some of our variable cost areas further savings have been made.

This time last year, we were about to strike tough times on the sponsorship front as we lost Caloundra RSL and Mad About Timber, but with some positive direction other key sponsors were found whom we are eternally grateful to. Those sponsors, Maroochy RSL Club and Forty Winks have been fantastic and are acknowledged further within this report.

Again we are a business that requires an income of close to $200,000.00 per annum to meet our trading needs. It is clear to see from the income statement that sponsorship and registration costs are our main means of income – areas we all need to be mindful to continue to develop and maintain.

Thanks again Love and Partners for your sponsorship support in our audit area. Love & Partners have offices in Maroochydore and Noosaville.

Last off season one of our big concerns centered on Sponsorship , we are an organisation that is costing us near $200,000.00 to operate per annum and deriving quality sponsorship from our local community is paramount to our survival in current form. During these months we lost two major sponsors in Caloundra RSL and Mad About Timber and replacements were principle objectives.

A sponsorship club was thought of, some 30 businesses at $1,000 each but difficulty presented with the GFC (that ain’t Geelong Football Club – although they were also in crisis that off season after the mighty Hawks rolled them) and getting sufficient businesses interested – 6 businesses jumped on board; Hotel Laguna, Cleanaway, PG Meehan Electrical, Fitness Personally, Hendrie Bros and Kingswood Cabinets . Where we take this Sponsorship Club idea is still up in the air.

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In November of 2008, local company Forty Winks came on board and their contribution was most positive with a three year pledge – our warmest thanks are extended to brother and sister team Kimberley and Stephen. So for a sound night sleep, please visit Forty Winks in Kawana, Noosaville or even Fortitude Valley.

Our reliable friends at Haycroft Workplace Solutions in Graham and Ben again came on board aligned with our umpires. We thank Graham for his contribution now over a number of years.

Love and Partners Chartered Accountants , through our AFL compatriot Brett Buntain serviced our Financial Books for the first time generating our annual Audit, this is done as a gift to the League which offers a sizable financial saving – thanks Love and Partners.

As the new year got going we unfortunately lost our old mate Mad About Timber (hopefully that partnership will again re-ignite one day), to Geoff and Jill thank you for your support over a number of years and we extend our best wishes to you.

As the hours of salvation ticked by we formulated a fantastic relationship with the Maroochy RSL Club . With our new order of match day officials bibs on hold we struck up a deal that saw the bibs branded with the Maroochy RSL Club logo. We also managed to change many other areas of our business branding promptly to highlight this new relationship and likewise with Forty Winks. The Maroochy RSL Club became our platinum sponsor, with league naming rights going in their direction. The crew from staff (Jeannine and Robyn big thanks) to the board have been fantastic and on numerous times in 2009 we spent some quality social times with them.

We look forward to continuing to strengthen this partnership over the coming years and thank them for their fantastic community support.

Unfortunately in 2009 we all missed out on the opportunity to apply for State Government sport and recreation grants monies through the Major and Minor Facilities programs and at a community volunteer development level the Club Development Program. This CDP grant allows clubs to further develop some of their members through education and training, ideally coach, sports medicine etc or Strategic Planning or Come & Try days financial support.

At a club level numerous clubs were successful in achieving some very positive grants monies through various grants programs from State and Federal government through local Council programs to many more of the corporate Grant opportunities from the likes of Telstra, Woolworths, Banks etc that are now becoming available.

As an organisation we encourage all our clubs to continue to chase down these Grant monies that are on offer and as highlighted within the Kawana Park wrap success is achievable and the monies are always a needed commodity – better than the old chook raffle. For instance in 2009 the Glasshouse Hinterland Lions secured a $1,000 Telstra Grant for much needed playing equipment by spending a few hours in presenting a solid case and taking their chance.

A high priority in our games Education is getting all to adhere to our Codes of Behaviour and this is best done at the supporter level through the delivery of the AFL Kids First program. This gives a club a fantastic way of setting the scene for the coming season as to appropriate behaviours in and around our junior football. Prevention through education is far better than club committees having to deal with the consequences of poor match day behaviour. Again in 2009 we undertook the state wide “Positive or Pointless” day to further reinforce our required standard of behaviour. Help is there from AFL Queensland staff to deliver this AFL Kids First program, so please ask.

Umpiring became a big winner in 2009, through AFL Queensland a part time operative was put in place to undertake the specific role of umpire recruitment, retention and development. This operative was Rohan Briggs who now having a season under his belt and getting to know 11 12

all the personalities that go into footy will hit the ground running next year and we trust get this most important part of our game humming to the whistle.

We thank AFL Queensland for employing this SC Umpires Coordinator to which our league made a solid contribution to his salary. Please see Rohan’s separate report for greater detail on his umpiring charges.

The challenge is always there for us to all support our umpiring network, in many cases they are youngsters most who have or do play some form of club footy and are brave and keen enough to take up the challenge of adjudicating our great game. More umpires are always sought so the request as a total group is to be on the lookout for likely candidates and encourage them in this area.

The AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors “Club of the Year” award is something that isn’t taken lightly in its allocation and we are extremely fortunate to have a fantastic reward on offer in a Season Family Pass from the Brisbane Lions . This resultant award we see clubs using as an in season reward for their volunteers or sponsors. Our thanks are warmly extended to the Brisbane Lions for this generous gift.

In 2009 we again had visits from the Brisbane Lions playing group by way of super clinics, unfortunately however with injuries and last minute flu’s catching up with some players, Lions player numbers on the ground were very thin. But alas the players who got out to our three clinic venues of Noosa, Maroochydore and Glasshouse Hinterland were fantastic and those many hundreds in attendance gathered some good footy tips.

On another occasion in 2009 with the fantastic support of one of our media partners, radio station HOT 91 we had a Saturday evening visit from Simon Black and Jonathon Brown. These guys signed a mountain of signatures and then got involved in a skill session with the kids in attendance – thanks to HOT and the two Lions champions.

HOT 91 came on board in season 2009 and their added enthusiasm and support to our competition was greatly appreciated they delivered many on air radio ads to add to our sign-on program in 2009. Further involvement then came our way through our Rebel Sport in store season launch, HOT 91 breakfast show funny men Dave and Todd (aka Warwick “the wiz” Capper) joined us for a three hour broadcast one Saturday morning that had people flocking to the Maroochydore Rebel Sports store for some in store AFL activity and a generous 20% discount opportunity. Most importantly this in store activity gave us the opportunity to promote AFL local both junior and senior along with the upcoming National competition.

Another important corporate player in our pre season community profiling was Southern Cross Ten whom gave us opportunity to run a 30 second TVC promoting junior sign-on and the opportunity for our children to participate in the “play time to big time” AFL campaign.

The AFL nationally should be thanked for their part in producing this 2009 junior advertising campaign of “play time to big time”. Support came by way of A3 posters, A5 flyers to hand out to individuals and TV and Radio advertisements. All of this helps to lift the profile of the game and entice youngsters to give AFL a go.

AFL Queensland is most supportive through their commercial operations arm in aiding our sign-on process, bringing all this advertising material together. We hope that in the following years state wide media partnerships will be formed that will give us a greater leg in the door with key local media organisations, print, radio and television.

We are also most thankful to AFL Queensland for their support to game development within our region. We are well serviced with the number of operatives working on game development through Auskick, school football, representative football, club development, umpiring and

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general support. Thank you to these individuals in Kanga, Mal, Paul M, Rohan, AB and all the part time staff for their commitment to game development on the Sunshine Coast.

Player Pathways are generated through this AFL Queensland Game Development, and over recent years there is much to be proud of. Our senior clubs give fantastic opportunities to our youth to progress their football to a level they are most comfortable with and for some the pathway that challenges them to go the next step, State League or the National competition.

One day hopefully another local part of that pathway will be put into play, a Sunshine Coast State League team that truly represents our total region. AFLQ have had preliminary discussions on the Sunshine Coast this past winter with a number of the key stakeholders and at this point it is still with them to give that desired “team” direction and the go ahead.

We should all be proud that over the past few years we have got a number of players into the AFL scene, Josh Drummond (Brisbane Lions) continues to shine for us but of recent times Sam Reid (Western Bulldogs) is starting to crank his career up. Unfortunately for Daniel Dzufer (Brisbane Lions) and Rhys Magin (Essendon) they were delisted at the end of the 2009 season, we wish both young men all the best as they look to reignite their careers.

The Gold Coast Football Club has also brought other opportunities for many of our young men, heading to the Gold Coast this past season and all playing important roles with the “Iron Men” were Alik Magin (who now finds himself with a contract), Todd Grayson, Nathan Spring, Amua Pirika, Jake Crawford, Trent Manzone and Nick Price (also contracted). We wish all these guys all the best as the future unfolds for them. With Amua another Papua New Guinea product whom has played footy on the Sunshine Coast over the past two years, Peter Labi has also found himself an international Rookie opportunity with Carlton FC.

Many other local boys have gone into Brisbane based State League clubs over the past few years, giving these boys earlier option or the ability to stay at home and challenge themselves at that State level would be ideal. Maybe for some the opportunity to return home after having a crack at the top national or an interstate competition would best service their needs.

So we would all hope that our region continues to provide quality pathways for all our registered players to find their highest level of football dream. The Suncoast Power is our immediate vehicle for this player challenge and pathway with State Championships held in under 14’s, 16’s and 18’s. So continue to dare to dream.

In 2009 the League through our game development arm took an under 14 team away to participate in the South Queensland Country Championships against Darling Downs, Wide Bay and Capricornia. Whilst a number of players were looking to advance their cause of securing a spot in the Power 14’s team for many it was a representative opportunity that will give them a taste of footy outside the Sunshine Coast.

So to look ahead I need first to thank all for their positive contributions in season 2009. From the leagues Management Committee, to those who ran their junior footy club and further down the line to those who simply rolled up their sleeves aiding the process that allowed our kids the opportunity to play this great uniquely Australian game. A big thank you is extended!

Looking ahead there is always room to improve our programs and delivery of our competitions from the leagues management down to how our clubs operate on match day creating the most user friendly supporting environment for match play but still an environment that challenges our youth to get the best out of themselves with a big smile on their face.

Cheers Paul Tresise Administrator/Club Development Officer AFL Sunshine Coast 13 14 AFL Sunshine Coast Umpire Development Officer Report

2009 saw the introduction of the part-time position of Umpire Development Officer Sunshine Coast as appointed by AFLQ and I was the lucky applicant. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Rohan Briggs. I have been on board since January and surprisingly have quite enjoyed the challenge.

I still remember my first delegates meeting when I was introduced to club presidents and representatives, the fact that I had never had any previous umpiring experience went down like a lead balloon. Over the season as people have got to know me, this would prove to be been an advantage and the only other knowledge that I bring to the job is from coaching an Under 10 team.

The umpiring group that we have on the Sunshine Coast has a very diverse range of personalities who all strive for a common goal; “consistency”. This word gets thrown around everywhere I go and thanks to our umpiring coach Tony “Bones” Boyanton, we are not far from it. Every Wednesday night Bones puts us through our paces to strive for greater heights.

The people who are forgotten in the teaching process are the mentors that go out almost every weekend, taking the first year umpires under their wing and passing on their wisdom. I’d like to thank Andrew Thorpe, Graham Scott, Dave Kelly, Richard Murrihy, Adrian Millane, Greg Mullins, Mal Pearson and Shane Kuzniak. Without these guys our first year umpires would be left to fend for themselves.

We had 17 first year “green shirt” umpires introduced to football this year. Most of them went to junior football, 6 of them went to senior football mainly to boundary and goals and 1 multi skilled to fit into all grades. If 2010 has the same amount of first year umpires, in two or three years time we should have a plethora of umpires.

Some great achievements were made by individuals this year exceeding expectations. Tyler Higson (field), Jamie Selzer (goal) and Calvin Tink (boundary) all represented the coast at the U12 and U15 state championships and went on to officiate the National championships held at Fisherman’s Rd in late July. Sheldon Judd (first year field umpire) also went to the State Champs and was awarded umpire of the carnival and he too umpired at the Nationals. Other umpires who have stepped up this year were Nathan Scott aged 16 umpiring a Pineapple Hotel Cup Reserve Grand Final and his brother Brad umpired an U18 Grand Final. Tyler, also at the age of 16 also umpired the State Association Div 3 Grand Final which is a fine achievement given that Sunshine Coast umpires have never previously been appointed to these games.

On Friday 11 th September the Sunshine Coast Umpires Association held their presentation night at Maroochy RSL Club. Award winners were Tyler Higson and Nathan Scott for the Golden Whistle (best field umpire), Calvin Tink for best Boundary umpire, Jake Cosmai for best Goal umpire and best first year umpire was Richard White. Thanks to our major sponsors through the year, Haycroft Workplace Solutions, Nambour Pest Control and Cotton Tree Bakery.

In 2010 we are looking at recruiting as many if not more first year umpires as 2009. Processes are in place to do so in the way of setting up a school based umpiring academy where new umpires will start out by learning at school level competition and hopefully continue into the local league. I will be going out to sign on days before the season starts and spread the word and will once again approach the Sunshine Coast University. The Junior Football Umpire Program I ran in 2009 will be honed to target more players and coaches and many other forms of recruitment.

A statement I made at my first delegates meeting in January that “it will take 3 to 4 years to build a good stock of quality umpires”. This can be achieved by continued education of the established umpires and tolerance from clubs for our still learning umpires. I must thank all 14 15

clubs for the support they have given already this year and I’m sure it will continue. A good umpire does not just appear overnight, it takes time and effort. Unfortunately we did lose some good umpires this year, big thanks for your efforts over the past few years to Andrew Thorpe, Mitch Boyd and Tom Rilen.

2009 was certainly an interesting year for umpires, with continued support from coaches, mentors, players and clubs we should be looking forward to an exciting year in 2010. Umpiring gets you fit, teaches confidence and new skills, pays well and let’s face it, you have the best seat in the house to watch a game of footy. Give umpiring a go! Contact Rohan Briggs on 0414 841 747 or e-mail [email protected] .

Regards,

Rohan Briggs Umpire Development Officer AFL Sunshine Coast

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16 AFL Queensland - Sunshine Coast 2009 Regional Report

INTRODUCTION

AFL Queensland development programs were throughout the community once again in 2009 with some changes to its line up. Paul Medveczky joined us as a full time Development Officer looking after the southern half of the coast with the promotion of Ben Ayres into the Brisbane office early in the year. Paul along with Mal Pearson who has been with us for 18 months bring an enthusiasm and good work ethic to look to the continual development of the game in the region. They, along with the casual and part time staff have showcased many of our programs and initiatives to the schools, clubs and general public again this year. Many challenges continue to confront the game with other sports and activities available to them either at school or socially, especially in our beautiful surrounds. While NAB AFL Auskick continues to be the flagship of the development arm of AFLQ it was pleasing to see with help from the AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors the addition of a part time staff member to look at the recruitment and retention of umpires, who are such an important part of our game. Rohan Briggs has found his feet and gradually began to build something substantial moving forward in this position.

As always with our development programs, they would not be complete and satisfying if our participants didn’t have somewhere to go into club football afterwards and I thank all those tireless volunteers who day in day out have contributed in some way to giving all the young boys and girls a place to play in club competitions whether they be participation based in the Localised Match Programs or in a truly competitive environment.

The Suncoast Power program also continues to provide opportunities for our young players to strive and with the prospect of more draftees to the AFL ranks in upcoming drafts, it will become more apparent of the talent that lies within this region and further testament that there is still much more to unearth.

The details below will hopefully outline some of the results and many achievements of our organisation and our sport in 2009. Make no mistake though; whatever was achieved this year will be yet another benchmark to try to surpass and to encourage the youth of the region to participate in the sport we love, coached by fully accredited coaches and teachers with officials, parents and other supporters conducting themselves in a manner conducive to getting the best themselves as players for their enjoyment and benefit.

Mark Kennedy AFL Queensland Development Manager – Sunshine Coast

2009 AFL AUSKICK – WHERE CHAMPIONS BEGIN

AFL Auskick on the Sunshine Coast broke new ground this year with the introduction of two new products. A club based twelve week in season Auskick program was developed to cater for the 5 & 6 year olds that are not eligible to participate in under 8 club football. Glasshouse Hinterland, Maroochydore, Caloundra, Noosa and Nambour & Hinterland junior clubs all trialled the program with varying results. In an attempt to recreate a club environment for the parents and children, the Nambour centre went all out with a spectacular end to the 12 weeks of fun and games that included the presentation of Auskick medallions. Our school centres were again overflowing with excited children and curious parents with Buderim Mountain SS exceeding 100 participants for the first time.

The other new initiative was the girls only Auskick centre fondly nicknamed “Auschick”. The centre was promoted to girls that competed in school football throughout the year and attracted both talented and fun loving girls from the region. The potential of an all girls team competing on the Sunshine Coast is now likely after local scouts were impressed with the girl’s

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ability and tenacity. The traditional Auskick items, backpack, footy, hat and water bottle in hot pink colours were a big hit with the girls and AFLQ staff.

While numbers plateaued somewhat this year it can partly be put down to the implementation of these new initiatives and some untimely rain during start up days particularly during term two of school! Rest assured we’ll be striving to grow this area once again in 2010.

A big thank you to all club and school Auskick centre coordinators for your assistance throughout the year. Your efforts were much appreciated.

NAB AFL AUSKICK GABBA GRID GAMES

Playing on the hallowed turf of the Gabba in front of a huge crowd is a once in a lifetime opportunity usually reserved for experienced AFL senior players. This wonderful opportunity was made a reality for 108 Auskickers during the home & away season at the Lions vs. Bombers game. Auskick participants from various Sunshine Coast school and club based centres were randomly selected to play during the half time break of the game.

Due to the success of the Lions, the Sunshine Coast were offered the opportunity to play a grid game at the Elimination Final at the Gabba. The all girls centre made up the bulk of the players and due to the amazing result and the enthusiastic crowd the girls and parents had a memorable night.

Congratulations to all Auskick participants, parent helpers and a special thanks to the centre coordinators that assisted with the night.

NAB AFL AUSKICK GRAND FINAL WINNER

A new and exciting format was introduced by the National Australia Bank (NAB) this year as the competition to select the “Auskicker of the Year” was launched. The competition was open to any 2009 registered Auskick participant and over the course of the season one lucky child was nominated each week. The 22 nominations all received flights, accommodation and tickets to the 2009 AFL Grand Final and presented the Premiership medallions to the Geelong players.

The Sunshine Coast received two of the 22 nominations with Reed Maskell-Dobbyn from the Kawana Park Eagles Auskick centre and Veda Ingram from the Pomona Demons both experiencing the thrill of a lifetime. Reed (6) and Veda (11) were both interviewed on Channel 10 the week they were nominated and then counted down the days until their trip to Melbourne. After a wet Grand Final Parade and several functions the pair had the chance to have a run on the famous MCG and then be at the centre of attention as they presented medals to Joel Corey (Reed) and Corey Enright (Veda). Well done Reed and Veda!

NAB AFL AUSKICK CENTRE OF THE YEAR Channel 10 chose Pomona’s picturesque AFL ground under the shadow of Mt Cooroora to shoot the NAB AFL Auskick advertisement, promoting the “Auskick Centre of the Year” competition. For some 70 Auskickers registered at the Club their chance was there to star on TV. With NAB staff on site to lend support and give the theme of NAB’s fantastic contribution to AFL, footage was taken to encourage centres Australia wide to enter their club. With presenter “Howie” in attendance to work the crowd some great footage was shot with AFLQ staff member Alistair Baker playing a starring role.

AFL SPORT EDUCATION

AFL Sport Education has continued throughout many schools across the region with a number of new components being introduced to the program. A theory lesson on umpiring and the duties required to umpire has given the students and teachers a great opportunity to further 17 18

develop their knowledge of AFL. With a handy addition to the AFL Queensland team in Umpire Development Officer Rohan Briggs it has given us the ability to reach these students and give them the understanding of the key roles of an umpire and what is required within the community when officiating games.

Over the course of the year to date, more than 1700 students have taken part in AFL Sport Education. The popularity will only grow as we continue to enhance the program and the students and teachers start to understand the benefits of AFL. As the AFL Sport Education program continues to develop and further relate to the key learning areas with a school curriculum will see a rise in demand for the wonderful program which inturn will hopefully generate a great awareness of AFL in the community and Sunshine Coast region.

PRIMARY SCHOOLS

FUTURE STARS CUP

The 2009 Future Stars Cup was once again conducted over 2 days due to its popularity. This year’s south carnival was affected by poor weather and last minute withdrawals saw 4 teams battle it out with some fantastic eye catching footy played in the wet. Stella Maris Catholic College were far too strong and were comfortable winners on the day defeating all teams by the easiest of margins.

The north day threatened to be cancelled due to weather but it quickly cleared and gave the 11 competing teams the chance to play Stella Maris in the grand final. It was a tight battle in which little known Palmwoods SS continued to beat each opponent which took them to a semi final birth. They found themselves up against competition heavy weights in St Thomas More but they rose to the challenge.

Surprise packet Palmwoods SS played Stella Maris to lay claims as this year’s top AFL Primary school on the Sunshine Coast. While both sides had some key players, Stella Maris were just far too strong. Stella Maris went on to account for the schools from Wide Bay and Capricornia and also Brisbane South-East to play in the State Wide Grand Final and continue Sunshine Coast representation in this big day since the competition officially started. Stella Maris got off to a slow start against McDowall (Brisbane North) but managed to claw their way back into the contest late in the final term. Unfortunately the boys weren’t strong enough but did a tremendous job and should be congratulated for the efforts. Also thank you to Luke Parnemann, Tristan Scott and Peter Kennedy for all their efforts with the boys.

CAROL BERRY CUP

The 2009 Carol Berry Cup got away to a later start than in previous years due to uncontrollable weather and persisting rain but it never placed a dampener on the continuing success of the competition. Girl’s football has been a huge hit this year with 15 teams and more than 150 girls participating from 10 schools from all over the Sunshine Coast represented in the Carol Berry Cup carnival. Stand out performances this year were put in by the usual teams of Mountain Creek SS, Talara State College, Kuluin SS and Stella Maris Catholic College but it was the some of the newer and smaller schools that really caught everyone’s eye. Woombye SS and Chevallum SS had some real talent and pushed for semi final births as well as new comers St Andrews Anglican College who were huge improvers.

The ever strong Kuluin SS once again made it into the grand final taking on Stella Maris. It was a tight battle and well fought out contest with Stella Maris going on to win. Stella Maris travelled to Zillmere to tackle the winners from the Brisbane South-East and North regions. Although the girls didn’t come away as the pool winners they put in a great showing and coach Lee Misra and the girls did a tremendous job.

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DISTRICT COMPETITIONS

GYMPIE PRIMARY COMPETITION

As AFL continues to grow in the Gympie region so does the interest in the Gympie Primary School competition. Players from 9 different Gympie schools and from as far away as Kia-Ora participated. The early front runners in the competition One Mile and Jones Hill eventually locked horns in the final that was held at Gympie AFC. An entertaining and tight first half demonstrated the improvements and adjustments made by many boys playing footy for the first time. The greater depth and strength of the One Mile side saw them pull away late for a deserved win. The players of the tournament were judged to be Joel Perry-Warren (One Mile), Henry Fredman (Jones Hill) and Josh Valentine (Gympie West). Thanks to the Gympie Football Club for their fantastic support and to the players from the smaller schools that joined together to play our great game.

GLASSHOUSE PRIMARY COMPETITION

Glasshouse District competition for 2009 has seen more than 250 kids from Beerwah S.S, Glasshouse CCC, Glasshouse Mountains SS, Maleny SS and Elimbah SS participating. With 11 teams in the boys year 6 & 7 division, 7 teams in the girls year 6 & 7 division and 5 teams in the mixed year 5 division it was marvellous to see so many kids giving AFL a try for the first time. The competition which was again held at the Glasshouse Sports complex showed that there is plenty of raw talent within the Glasshouse region. Thank you to all the teachers who bring teams over the 3 week carnival and giving these kids the chance to play AFL and keep physically active.

NOOSA , NAMBOUR , CENTRAL AND SCISSA

Close to 400 students across 16 schools competed in AFL games in 2009 throughout the 4 districts. This has seen a rise since 2008 and it’s great to see so many kids getting involved in AFL.

The central zones division was once again a huge hit and a huge thank you to Tony Doherty who continues to push AFL in this area and has once again organised and conducted a great event. Nambour district competition saw a huge increase in numbers and it was great to see so many kids involved from this area. Many of the schools from the Nambour area have fielded teams in other competitions and it is pleasing to see this district increasing its participation numbers.

SCISSA (Sunshine Coast Independent School Sports Association) has provided 8 teams across four schools in yr 3 and 4 and also year 5 and 6 age groups. Every game is played in the right spirit and it is a very successful competition for the kids to participate in organised sport each week over terms 3 and 4.

All the regions base their AFL games on 9 – 15 players per side under modified rules with many of these students getting a taste of the game for the first time. AFL Queensland development staffs have continued to assist with umpiring and skills coaching at the schools with key teachers acting as competition coordinators for most of the districts.

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

JONATHON BROWN CUP GIRLS DIVISION (YEAR 8)

This years carnival day saw 6 teams from 4 schools compete in the girls division of the Jonathon Brown Cup. New comers St Teresa’s Catholic College were too good for the other

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schools which included Chancellor State College, Caloundra SHS and Sunshine Beach SHS and advanced to the semi final stage at Zillmere.

The girls from St Teresa’s won one out of two games against regional winners from the Brisbane South East and Brisbane North regions and this meant that they were unfortunately eliminated from this year’s competition. 5 girls from St Teresa’s went on to play club footy for the Coolum Beach JAFC due to the enjoyment they got out of playing in this competition which is great to see.

BRISBANE LIONS CUP JUNIOR DIVISION (YEAR 8/9)

The junior division of the Brisbane Lions Cup followed on from the Jonathon Brown cup which saw an increase of 2 teams to take it to 8 sides. All the girls put in a great effort and played each game in great spirits, with Mountain Creek eventually winning the overall day. The schools that participated included Maroochydore SHS, St John’s, Chancellor State College, Sunshine Beach SHS, St Teresa’s Catholic College, Mountain Creek SHS, Glasshouse CCC, Brisbane North School St Eugene’s Catholic College and Siena Catholic College which provided 2 sides. This competition will no doubt continue to grow over the years to come and see more and more girls participating in AFL Football.

SENIOR DIVISION (YEAR 10/11/12)

This year girls in years 10, 11 and 12 had the chance to compete in AFL with the introduction of the Brisbane Lions Cup on the Sunshine Coast. The competition was brought to the Coast due to an enormous amount of interest by the girls from a number of schools. In the senior division there were 5 teams with approximately 80 girls participating in the inaugural competition from schools including St Teresa’s Catholic College, Chancellor State College, Mountain Creek SHS and also St John’s Catholic College. It was a very successful day with Mountain Creek named outright winners and then travelled to Brisbane to play the winners of Brisbane South-East and Brisbane North. Next year we hope to see this competition grow to at least 8 teams and become a premium competition for the senior girls.

NORTHERN STATES CUP

This years Northern States Cup followed the same format as last year in the hope that it would grow on further success of AFL within the Sunshine Coast. But due to other commitments it meant quite a number of schools could not participate and left the competition with just 3 teams. Mountain Creek once again went on to represent the Sunshine Coast up in Bundaberg easily accounting for the schools from Wide Bay and Capricornia. The boys found it a little harder when playing the Metropolitan schools and were knocked out of the competition in the semi final stages. Next year will see the format of the competition change on the Sunshine Coast to a one off day in the hope of generating more support in this great competition.

DISTRICT COMPETITIONS

As per the primary schools, the SCISSA Competition (Sunshine Coast Independent Schools Sports Association) was expanded from primary to include secondary schools sport in 2004. This year, the competition was restructured with year 7 being included in the high school section within independent schools. This meant the competition would encompass 2 age groups with a 12/13 year old age group and a 14/15 year old competition. Each year the SCISSA competition grows and it continues to deliver quality games and players which helps to further add to club football and the Suncoast Power program.

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CENTRAL ZONE YR 8/9 GIRLS COMPETITION

The girls Central Zones competition has continued again this year during school terms 3 and 4 as a result of continuous demand for the game. This year more than 255 girls from 17 teams competed over the 2 age groups across 9 different schools. Games were played at a good level and in the right spirit with everyone getting in and having a go.

CENTRAL ZONE YR 8 & 9 BOYS COMPETITION

This year the central zone boys’ competition continued the two separate divisions with a year 8 and a year 9 competition. Mountain Creek and Unity Catholic College were the stand out performs in the year 9 competitions with Unity taking home the title this year.

In the year 8 competition Mountain Creek State High School went back to back with an easy victory in the final. The Mountain Creek boys won comfortably all year and were never really challenged as a number of the boys played club footy.

SUNCOAST LIONS CUP

This year saw 4 divisions formed in the Suncoast Lions Cup due to continued growth of the competition and participation numbers increasing. With independent schools joining the competition as there were no divisions for senior boys in their own comp it saw both St Andrew’s and Pacific Lutheran along with Kawana State College and a joint venture between Nambour SHS and Burnside SHS joining the competition.

The competition proved a tremendous success with 15 sides competing this year with Mountain Creek SHS fielding two teams for the first time. St Teresa’s returned for a back to back title defence and looked very promising early on winning their pool comfortably. Matthew Flinders rose above everybody’s expectations to account for competition favourites Mountain Creek in the opening round to win their pool. In other pools Caloundra SHS were once again too strong as were St John’s who continued to make a mark on the open school boys competition with another finals appearance.

The preliminary finals saw Matthew Flinders take on St John’s and in the end a slow starting and inaccurate St John’s let Matthew Flinders easily cruise through to a grand final berth. The other preliminary final saw Caloundra SHS take on current title holders St Teresa’s and it was a tight contest until some poor disciplined play by a number of Caloundra players saw St Teresa’s take control and book a spot against Matthew Flinders.

The Grand Final loomed to be a great contest with both sides fielding a number of players from other codes of football. St Teresa’s proved to be too strong and eventually ran away with the game to win by 44 points. The Ian Nankervis medal on the night for best on field went to St Teresa’s player Shea Teevan. Shea comes from a rugby background but shows skills that would suggest he has what it takes to adapt to AFL and clearly has the ability to play at a higher level.

BRISBANE LIONS SUPER CLINICS

The Brisbane Lions once again travelled to the Sunshine Coast for 3 super clinics which gave more than 200 young kids a chance to meet and learn skills from their heroes. The clinics this year were conducted at Glasshouse Hinterland AFC, Maroochydore AFC and Noosa AFC.

The kids were given the chance to have a kick and play a number of fun games with the Brisbane Lions and later getting an autograph from their favourite players. It’s great to see the players out and about on the coast mixing with their younger fans, giving the kids something to aspire to and perhaps one day they can run around on the Gabba like their heroes.

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BLACK AND BROWN CLINIC

This year we were also fortunate enough to have ever popular Brisbane Lions champions Simon Black and Jonathon Brown on the Sunshine Coast for a special one off clinic. A massive crowd was in attendance to get autographs and later have a kick with the two Brisbane Lions champions. The night was well hosted with Hot91 FM in attendance and Rebel Sport providing some giveaways to the crowd of all ages. Fans from as young as 2 right through to 80 came along to get a glimpse of the superstars and also get out on the field and take part in the different activities that were on offer. Thank you to the sponsors in Hot 91FM and Rebel Sport who made it possible and we can only hope there is more to come!

UNDER 12 STATE SCHOOLBOY CHAMPIONSHIPS – BRISBANE

This years titles were held in Brisbane at Mt Gravatt AFC with a good account given by the Sunshine Coast side. Under coach Alan Eade and manager Richard Aspinal the side was in every game they played and, despite losing two games along the way, let every opposition side know that they were in the contest right till the final siren. Congratulations go to all the players and to the boys below that went on to represent Queensland at the National Championships.

Eric Hipwood – Chancellor State College (Not currently registered with a club) Baiden Howard – Mooloolaba State School (Maroochydore JAFC) Jordan Harding – Palmwoods State School (Nambour and Hinterland AFC)

STATE UNDER 15 SCHOOLBOYS

Similar to the Under 12’s, the Sunshine Coast side were gallant throughout the carnival and their efforts were outstanding in conditions at the State Championships being less than brilliant in the rain and slush at the Brisbane grounds used. Despite not coming away with the title they were pushing hard to the end. Congratulations again to all players and to those below who went on to make the Queensland side at the National Championships held in Maroochydore in late July.

Matt Allman – Chancellor State College (Kawana Park JAFC) Lincoln High – Siena Catholic College (Kawana Park JAFC) Cain Tickner – Sunshine Beach State High School (Noosa AFC)

SUNCOAST POWER

2009 saw mixed results over the 3 grades with many fine team and individual performances throughout. The evolution of GC17 this year to play in the TAC Cup competition precluded many former Suncoast Power and AFL Sunshine Coast Junior players like Nicky Price, Jake Crawford, Todd Grayson, Alik Magin and PNG product Amua Pirika from playing in the Under 18 program and robbing the side of much depth, however it did give many others a chance to shine, and shine they did.

The 18’s added lots of new faces including four Rookie Search players who came from other sports and that in itself was a fantastic result and complimented our experienced campaigners. It gave our side much depth and after a magnificent lead up to the carnival with a practice match win over the Northern Raiders, much heart was taken into the carnival proper.

With Todd Pahoho, Lanze Magin, Mitch Scholard and Trent Manzone leading the way the side disposed of the Western Taipans in game one with many other fine performances. Game two saw an unfortunate loss to the Gold Coast Stingrays despite looking in control for a large portion of the game. Despite this coach Kent Weightman couldn’t fault the players for their endeavour and application along with the unity they displayed throughout. Game three saw a clinical South East Bushrangers follow a similar path to the Gold Coast edging past the Power 22 23

despite the coasters once again controlling the game for considerable parts of the game. The inability to put scoreboard pressure on when in control was the part that hurt the side most despite its dedication to the task at hand. Overall though the players learnt a lot and there was much to be proud of with the development of the group and rewards for those who put much hard work in for the sake of the side.

The Under 16’s this year was a rollercoaster ride to say the least. With new coaching staff headed by Barry O’Brien in control the program got underway but some untimely injuries, rain and lack of height generally saw an at times under prepared group go to the State Championships.

Despite this there is no doubt that the players came away learning much about themselves and what is necessary to play at the level. Going winless at the carnival wasn’t a true reflection of where the players were at however the need to improve individually and at times in self and team discipline showed in the way they played despite the unquestionable effort they put in. Going forward there should be cause for optimism for the group as they develop physically as young men and footballers.

Under 14 representative football this year strayed from the norm with a development side chosen to go to Bundaberg for the State Country Championships while the usual Suncoast Power side would still play at the State Championships. This development side proved to be a good innovation with many more players getting the chance and experience to play at a higher level than they usually would. Coached by Geoff Armstrong, this side bonded well and performed well with some Suncoast Power spots still up for grabs and while they lost only one game gave their utmost throughout and won many fans. This helped pick our final Suncoast Power group to go to the Gold Coast and provided us with some valuable practice match experience in the lead up to the State titles.

The championships started well with a dominant display over Papua New Guinea with everyone contributing. Game two would proved to be a thriller with the game looking increasingly under control for the Sunshine Coast side playing with great heart and dash. Eventually and unfortunately the game went down to the wire with a last shot at goal almost on the siren determining the result with a point not being quite enough to steal back a win and give the “Bushies” an unlikely grand final berth. This relegated the side to the 3 rd vs 4 th game and a date with the Northern Raiders and proved to be a good learning game about turning up to play. Early on the Power were jumped and were behind and looking a little flat after the previous loss. It came too late for the side though despite coming home with a wet sail the bird had flown as far as the game result went. While some injuries and illness could be used as an excuse it did teach the players the value of good preparation no matter what the circumstances. Again though, overall it was a great development experience with many positives to be found by all including coach Stuart Jackson.

There is no doubt that one of these years the Suncoast Power will finally win a State Championship at one if not all of the age groups. Whilst that would be nice the focus of the program will not change and that is to continue to develop players individually and all areas to promote them to play at the highest level they possibly can. Whether our players come into our program for the first time, they have been talent identified from other sports or indeed they are an experienced campaigner at both club and representative football the object is to see them improve. Despite any win/loss ratio that we achieve, development is the biggest focus for our programs and will continue to be as well look forward.

Finally thank you to all the parents and families of the players and squad members who have put so much time and effort in for the boys. Your efforts are never lost on the staff for all you do. Also to all the staff and coaches thank you especially the wonderful service of our trainer Keith Hicks. He never misses a training session from November through to July. Your dedication and want of the best for all the players is amazing and is reflected in his popularity amongst the players, staff and families alike. 23 24

2009 Suncoast Power Awards

Coaches Awards U14 Country - Connor Seamer U14 - Taylor Burns U16 - Aaron Laskey U18 - Todd Panoho

1% Awards U14 Country - Jordan Bruce U14 - Cameron Stevenson U16 - Jaedyn Hall U18 - Lanze Magin

Best Team Man U14 Country - Bradley Forbes U14 - Blake Kennedy U16 - Lewis Bold U18 - Mitch Scholard

Best & Fairest U14 - Lincoln High U16 - Aaron Laskey U18 - Todd Panoho

R/Up Best & Fairest U14 - Cain Tickner U16 - Lewis Bold U18 - Trent Manzone

Team of the Year

B: Connor Seamer Jorge Branco Jack Hendrie HB: Emmanuel Tupia Cain Tickner Keagan Hoskin C: Jaedyn Hall Aaron Laskey Lanze Magin HF: Trent Manzone Lincoln High Monty Reeves F: Taylor Burns Mitch Scholard Matthew Allman Ruck: Jackson Gray RR: Todd Panoho Rover: Cameron Stevenson Int: Lewis Bold Brandon Bruce Nicholas Selman Clancy Miller

Bronte Johnson Memorial Encouragement Award: Jack Hendrie Ross Allen Scholarship: Aaron Laskey Austin Lucy Encouragement Scholarship: Jackson Ryan

U16 State Representatives

Aaron Laskey Samuel Panoho

U18 State Representatives

Trent Manzone Nathan Spring Peter Labi

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Maroochy RSL Club AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors 2009 Best & Fairest Awards

Under 12 Division 1 Winner: Cody Hooper (Kawana Park Gold) 20 Runner Up: Jordan Harding (Nambour & Hinterland) 18 Runner up: Jesse Malthouse (Noosa Blue) 18

Under 12 Division 2 Winner: Luke Gerring (Pomona) 29 Runner Up: Adam Lillecrapp (Glasshouse Hinterland) 24

Under 12 Division 3 Winner: Patrick Chancellor (Nambour & Hinterland) 39 Runner Up: Xander Evans (Noosa Gold) 33

Under 14 Division 1 Winner: Clancy Miller (Maroochydore Gold) 22 Runner Up: Christian Thavenot (Kawana Park) 20

Under 14 Division 2 Winner: Michael Jedynak (Noosa Red) 27 Runner Up: Caleb Baird (Maroochydore White) 23

Under 16 Winner: Alex Austin (Nambour & Hinterland) 28 Runner Up: Daniel Kelly (Glasshouse Hinterland) 25

Maroochy RSL Club AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors 2009 Leading Goal Kickers

Under 12 Division 1: Tom Hancock (Noosa Blue) 42 goals

Under 12 Division 2: Jaiden Crole (Glasshouse Hinterland) 51 goals

Under 14 Division1: Lucas Hearn (Noosa Blue) 29 goals

Under 14 Division 2: Michael Daddow (Pomona) 42 goals

Under 16: Hayden Matthews (Caloundra) 43 goals

Premiership Teams Under 12 Division 1 - Kawana Park Under 12 Division 2 - Glasshouse Hinterland Under 14 Division 1 - Noosa Blue Under 14 Division 2 - Pomona Under 16 - Noosa Blue

Maroochy RSL Club AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors 2009 Service Awards “In recognition of outstanding Service & Commitment to Australian Football on the Sunshine Coast”

Peter Bradford - Maroochydore JAFC Jason Bromilow - Gympie AFC Geoff Bull - Nambour & Hinterland AFC Wayne Mahony - Pomona AFC Carmel Meehan - Kawana Park JAFC Peter Phelan - AFL Sunshine Coast Juniors

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