TAC Cup Round 2 2 & 3 April 2016 $3.00 Season 2016 kicking into gear Wasn’t it great to have football back last weekend, both at AFL and TAC Cup level? While the next crop of future AFL talent was taking to the field in TAC Cup games throughout Victoria last weekend, it was a highlight of the Easter weekend to see eight draft ees debut in Round 1 of the AFL season – including 2015 Morrish Medal winner Clayton Oliver who claimed the first NAB AFL Rising Star nomination of the season aft er his 22-disposal debut for Melbourne. While the TAC Cup season started last weekend for the best U18 male talent across Victoria, last Monday saw the conclusion of a very successful Youth Girls Academy Challenge for the most promising U18 females across the state. Congratulations to the Dandenong Stingrays, who defeated the Sandringham Dragons in the finale to the month-long tournament. It is pleasing to see TAC support not only the next crop of elite U18 boys but also what will be the next crop of future female AFL footballers via the U18 Youth Girl Academies across eight regions. During the week we celebrated the launch of the Peter Jackson VFL and new VFL Women’s competition. With the launch of a national AFL women’s competition in 2017, it is exciting for AFL Victoria to launch the first VFL Women’s season this weekend. Also at the launch we looked back at the history of the TAC Cup competition, with last week signalling the beginning of its 25th season. The inaugural coach of the Eastern Ranges Chris Connolly was a guest at the launch, looking back at the origins of the competition and how it has progressed over the years. The pathway has now come full circle for Connolly, with his son Jade part of the Ranges’ squad in 2016. Steven Reaper AFL Victoria CEO Contents 3 5 New TAC Cup coaches 16 17 TAC Cup club whiteboardwhiteboard 6 7 Myles Poholke 34 37 U16 Countryntry teamsteams 9 VFL Women’s 38 Get Social 10 12 TAC Cup Content 39 The Big League 14 AFL Vic News 40 Quiz Who’s playing who 22 23 Bendigo vs Gippsland 24 25 North Ballarat vs Dandenong The 2016 Peter Jackson 26 27 Geelong vs Murray VFL season commences on Saturday April 9 28 29 Northern vs Oakleigh 30 31 Eastern vs Western 32 33 Calder vs Sandringham Editor: Ben Pollard [email protected] Contributors: Anthony Stanguts, Kirstie Fitzgerald Design & Print: Cyan Press Photos: AFL Photos (unless otherwise credited) Advertising: Rosanna Butler (03) 8341 6021 Ikon Park, Gate 3, Royal Parade, Carlton Nth, VIC 3054 GPO Box 4337, Melbourne, VIC 3001 Cover: Daniel Foley of the Western Jets marks during his Phone: (03) 8341 6000 | Fax: (03) 9380 1076 team’s Round 1 win against the Oakleigh Chargers www.aflvic.com.au www.taccup.com.au 01 Television Online VFL Online Website: www.vfl.com.au Twitter: @VFL #PJVFL Facebook: www.facebook.com/vflfooty TAC Cup Online Sunday April 10 – 11.30am Website: www.taccup.com.au Port Melbourne vs Collingwood Twitter: @TACCup Facebook: www.facebook.com/taccupfooty Next game: Williamstown vs Box Hill Hawks Instagram: @aflvictoria Radio L VFL Live I Saturday April 9, Coburg vs North Ballarat from 1.45pm V Live on Red Time Sport iPhone & Android Apps, E plus online via vfl.com.au R TAC Cup Radio A D Sunday April 3, Northern Knights vs Oakleigh Chargers from 11.45am I Listen live on the Red Time Sport iPhone App or www.taccup.com.au O Next game: Murray Bushrangers vs North Ballarat Rebels, Sunday April 17 3WBC Saturday April 9, Box Hill Hawks vs Sandringham from 1pm Listen to 94.1FM, online at www.3wbc.org.au or the Tune In Radio app Next game: Williamstown vs Box Hill Hawks Casey Radio Saturday April 9, Casey Scorpions vs Frankston 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. Next game: Frankston vs Werribee Video Streaming Visit vfl.com.au on Saturday April 9 at 2pm for a link to a live video stream of: Coburg vs North Ballarat Watch the action and listen to the call from the VFL Live team. 02 www.vfl.com.au New coaches, same approaches Leon Higgins coaching the Murray Bushrangers in Round 1 Photo: Stephen Hicks Gerald FitzGerald addresses the North Ballarat Rebels in Round 1. Photo: Shaun Kelly (On Deck Media) One spent 17 years at Victoria Police working as a Youth Officer and the other has spent 17 years coaching North Ballarat’s high-level football teams with stunning results. While the TAC Cup’s two new head coaches have very different resumés, they share very similar coaching philosophies. www.taccup.com.au 03 The Murray Bushrangers’ Leon Higgins and “They have to deal with expectation from within North Ballarat Rebels’ Gerard FitzGerald the footy club and within their families and friends, both pride themselves on building and almost inevitably you’re going to have to deal meaningful relationships with those they set with failure along the way. Whether that concerns an example for. selection in the TAC Cup team or Vic Country Higgins, 47, has built important relationships by selection or being selected as a draft ed player, working with at-risk young people facing significant somewhere along the line most of them will have to life challenges. FitzGerald, 58, has done so by face the fact they haven’t achieved their goals and consistently getting the best out of his VFL and TAC will have to reset.” Cup players. As a result, Higgins said he’d try to stay aware of Higgins said his experiences at Victoria Police issues in his players’ personal lives that might helped him build his understanding of the pressures impact on their football performance. It helps that young people – including high-level sportspeople – have to deal with. the former Sydney Swans and Hawthorn player already knows much of the 2016 group through his “I dealt with all diff erent sorts of scenarios (at role in development at the Bushrangers last year. Victoria Police),” Higgins said. “Some pretty serious family violence stuff , into criminal behaviour, kids In fact, Higgins has worked at Murray in some displaced from home. capacity since 2008. He started by doing line “While some of my players’ issues aren’t as coaching for the U18 team and later coached challenging as those of young people I’ve worked the club’s U16s for four seasons. In 2015, he also with in the past, I think they certainly have issues of coached Vic Country to an undefeated record in the their own to work through. NAB AFL U16 Championships. Leon Higgins (right) with the 2015 AFL U16 Championships trophy as Vic Country coach Calder Cannons forward Karl Brown 04 www.vfl.com.au Gerald FitzGerald giving directions as coach of the North Ballarat Roosters in the VFL last year Higgins will take over from six-year head coach “The fact I’ve been raised (as a coach) alongside Darren Ogier, who oversaw the development of AFL the TAC Cup as soon as I walked in the door (at the draft ees such as Shaun Atley, Caleb Marchbank, Roosters) means I’m across what the competition’s Josh Schache and Clayton Oliver. all about. “Darren was terrific with his communication and “But if you were new to the philosophy and coaching his relationship with players, and that’s something methodology of the TAC Cup, I think it’d take you a we’ve tried to continue,” Higgins said. long time to learn it.” “I’m also really strong on performing the basics of FitzGerald’s learning process started at the Roosters the game really well – making good decisions under in 1997 and continued when he guided the 2005 and pressure and defending as an individual and as a 2006 Rebels to second and first-placed finishes aft er team.” those respective home-and-away seasons. At the Rebels, FitzGerald takes the reins from 2014 He said while the standard of the facilities at Eureka and 2015 TAC Cup Coach of the Year David Loader. Stadium had greatly improved since then, some It’s a return to the position he occupied at the club things hadn’t changed. Phil Partington is still the in 2005-06 between long stints coaching in the VFL Talent Manager, the club’s connection to the region’s (FitzGerald is the record holder for most VFL/VFA community is still strong and FitzGerald’s coaching games coached with 345). method is still proving successful. The man who led the North Ballarat Roosters to “I’ve had a deep-seated philosophy as a coach premierships in 2008, 2009 and 2010 said he shared where I treat each of my players as individuals a strong connection with Loader in terms of their and develop knowledge of my players and staff ,” football and coaching philosophies. FitzGerald said. “That can be a bit clichéd but it’s Even while at the Roosters, FitzGerald worked something I’ve been doing since I started coaching. closely with the Rebels on developing a pathway for “That’s just as important for me in the TAC Cup as the region’s under-age footballers to progress to its it was for me in the VFL. I’m a coach who likes to VFL team. He said this had made the transition to his form relationships with players and staff , and those new role easier.