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Honouring The Best
- Community News 25/11/2008 WA’s finest football coaches were honoured in a ceremony at the Fremantle Football Club earlier this month for the State’s inaugural Australian Football Coaches’ Association awards.
Local winners included Stephen Smith, of South Perth, who won Youth Coach of the Year, and Barry Cable Jr, of Riverton, who took out the Junior/Modified Rules Coach of the Year.
About 70 guests attended the awards ceremony, including special guest presenters Steve Malaxos, Andrew Jarman, Rob Wiley and Scott Watters.
At the event, more than 40 coaches – from Auskick through to senior football – were recognised by their WAFL districts for excellence in coaching.
Nominations were placed via the district development councils for the seven award categories.
Categories included NAB Auskick Coach of the Year, Female Coach of the Year, the Ken Armstrong Senior Community Coach of the Year, the Greg Brehaut scholarship, the JJ Leonard Medal, Junior/Modified Rules and Youth Coach of the Year.
Smith said he had been involved with South Perth Junior Football Club for more than 15 years and currently coached the South Perth 17s side.
He has coached several teams to the finals in recent years, including the 2007 winning 17s side and the 2008 grand finalists.
Cable Jr said he owed a great debt to his father, WAFL and VFL football player Barry Cable, in helping him to become a successful coach.
“My dad has been an inspiration to me all my life and provided me with fantastic training and a will to give something back to the community,” Cable said. 
DEMON DADS v SOUTH PERTH 15's
If you weren’t there you missed the game of the year.
We had a bye on Sunday the 27th and what better way to spend a Sunday morning but being part of the greatest sporting spectacle of our time, the Demon Dads Vs South Perth 15’s.
The following were the line ups;
FB Darryl Sinclair Derek Mondy Phil Bevan Ryan Sinclair Liam Londy Tom Bevan
HB Frank Rainone Mayer Kassem Garry Case Michael Rainone Merwan Kassem Will Case
C Bryan McGlaughlin Brian Sweeney Greg Kalajzic Sean McGlaughlin Brad Sweeney Joel Kalajzic
HF Gareth Ringrose Graeme Hill Phill Lloyd Jack Gorman Brett Hill Tim Lloyd
FF Kim Fancote Bruce Jupp Gavin May Matt Fancote Matt Jupp Josh May
R Gino Stefani Steve Whittleson Drew (Elder) Aaron Stefani Dan Whittleson Jack Elder
Loose man in Defence Chris Ringrose Loose man in Midfield Gary Itzstein Tyler Itzstein Loose man in Forward Ambrose Velho Douglas Velho
Demon Dad’s Coach Gino Stefani SP 15’s Coaches Fraser McInnes & Callan Stefani
Umpires Simon Ringrose and Kyle Sinclair.
The boys had been talking it up and laughing at the Demon Dad’s but I think they were a little surprised at how professional they looked and their approach to the task.
The Demon Dads came out of the change rooms first and looked like they were ready to take on the world much to the cheers and laughter of the supporters. They went about their warm ups and displayed the skills of yester years gone past.
The boys came out second and were shocked to see their dads doing pretty well at it and were that impressed that they didn’t even warm up but stood in awe of there imposing opponents.
The gladiators were brought to the centre by the umpires and told the rules, the captains shook hands and the coin was tossed. Gino Stefani won the toss and kicked with the breeze to the Oxford Streetend. The scene was set and the first bounce took place, with the Demon Dad’s getting first possession out of the centre. But with the slippery conditions the ball was fumbled and turned over the boy’s swooping in quickly and headed straight into the forward line kicking the first goal of the game (which was over ruled as Michael ran way too far with the ball). A free was given to that dashing back man Darryl (mad dog) Sinclair who cleared the area. But as luck would have it the boy’s regained possession and went forward kicking their first legal goal. This didn’t phase the Demon Dad’s as we had a game plan and we knew if our bodies held together then we could press on and give the boys a good lesson on true grit Aussie Rules.
Back in the middle the boys won the tap through Aaron and they were off again, kicking there second goal. The Demon Dad’s went into lock down mode and played hard accountable football and moved the ball well out of defence with great transition play and setting up their first goal through Kim (crusher) Fancote. With the Demon dads all surviving the first QTR we went in only 8 points down 2.2 to 1.0 a pleasing sign for their coach making his league debut.
The 2nd QTR was a stroke of luck with the wind changing direction and again was with the Demon Dad’s. The boy’s started to take it a little more seriously as they new they had a reel fight on their hands. The Demon Dad’s stuck at it and the rain is a great leveler, the Demon Dad’s hunted in packs and moved the ball well and switched they way to their second goal after a mark in the forward line and 50m penalty when Tyler ran (stepped) across Gino’s mark and he slotted it through closing the gap on the boy’s. They started to panic and of course out came the ruff stuff but they were no match for the Demon Dad’s and we backed (picked) each other up and showed them our bones weren’t as soft as our heads for even thinking of something like this. The half time score was 6.3 to 2.0, but we weren’t out of it yet.
The Demon Dad’s regrouped; coach made some changes and got us ready to go for the 3rd (Premiership QTR). We ran out and the boy’s knew it was now or never. Again the breeze had swung around and was favoring the Demon Dad’s. Both teams worked hard in the conditions and you don’t realize how fast these young buggers are until your trying to chase them and how well they move the ball. Then tragedy struck with the Demon Dad’s own pocket rocket Phil (Big Bad Barry Hall) Bevan going down with a suspected calf injury. Gino ran over for support but all he could do was try not to laugh but it was difficult ( I’m actually having a giggle now writing this, sorry Phil). Gino helped him to his feet, but Phil was determined to make it own his own, he instructed Gino to get back to the game and he would be fine, 5mtrs later he was lying face down on the floor rolling in agony. The stretcher was called for and the medic’s Jane and Mary ran onto the field to lend a hand. Poor Phil I don’t know what hurt more his calf or Jane trying to get his boot off, Steve yelled “cut it off” (his foot that was) as it would hurt less.
With the Demon Dad’s down one player it was time to get on with it, Gareth Ringrose kicked a beautiful running goal on his left which inspired us onwards and upwards. We moved the ball into our forward line with young Tim taking possession and then there was this yellow flash and the ball was turned over unexpectedly and Phil (the Gooch) slipped one through on his right foot. The boy’s managed only 1 goal that QTR and they went in at 3 QTR time 7.4 to 4.0.
The last QTR was upon us and we needed something special, and again the breeze was behind us strange that? The boys were not going to let us get away with this one, it was a hard tussle with the boys playing very good football, but were a little undisciplined when Gino marked in the forward line and Matt Jupp knocked the ball out of his hands and gave another 50mtr penalty which gave Gino his second goal for the game and the 5th for the Demon Dad’s. The boys rallied and kicked another 2.1 putting the game out of reach. But the Demon Dad’s weren’t done yet with Greg (Iron Bar) Kalajzic marking and kicking a ripper of a goal from deep in the pocket right on the siren, making the final score 9.5 to 6.0.
Well we may not have beaten the boys but were not disgraced, it was a great game full of fun and some great skills shown by both sides, but who knows maybe next year when the boys are a year stronger and bigger and we are a year older (I think not as Derek Mondy loudly exhaled).
We hope that Phil gets better very soon and is back running for the team again, thanks to all who participated and made it a fun day. Well done to the boy’s and to all the Demon Dad’s it was a pleasure playing along side of you. Regards Coach 
Essendon Great Visits SPJFC
On Sunday morning, 29th June the South Perth Junior Footbal Club welcomed a suprise visitor to the club when VFL/AFL legend Kevin Sheedy dropped in on his way back from Bunbury with Under 11's Gold Coach Darren McAullay. Having travelled back from the South West with McAullay following their Saturday night function at the Harvey Brunswick Leschenault Football Club, Sheedy did not hesitate to accept an invitation to speak with McAullay's talented group of eleven year olds. Parents and onlookers were amazed when the AFL's new Ambassador casually strolled into the club. Sheedy spoke about the value of team work, discipline and the mateship that football had given him and it was a message that he conveyed to the wide-eyed future AFL hopefuls. The four times Essendon premiership coach who has travelled the world extensIvely in recent times promoting Australian Rules Football happily signed autographs and had his photograph taken with the team. 
Young Guns Start Their Journey
The initial training squads for the WA State 16s and WA State 18s teams have been announced following a thorough and challenging selection process. The WA State 16s training squad of 36 players follows on from a month-long Development Carnival. The WA State 16s program will start this weekend with a camp from May 2–4 at Ern Halliday Recreation Camp in Hillarys. The camp will include team building activities and involve AFL Youth and High Performance Co-ordinator Jason McCartney as he provides leadership and key mentoring opportunities to the players. The NAB National 16s Championships will be held on the Gold Coast from July 24–August 3 with the two top ranked teams in each division securing the opportunity to play the grand final as the curtain-raiser to the AFL grand final in September. The State 18s training squad of 38 players was named after the first six rounds of the WAFL colts competition. The squad includes a number of players who were involved as 17 year olds in the WA 18s championship-winning team from 2007 with Daniel Rich, Nicholas Natanui, Chris Yarran and Matt Deboer all returning as key players within the squad. The squad also includes WA’s AFL / AIS Academy scholarships holders Kane Lucas, Kieren King, Anthony Morabito, Clinton Garlett and Michael Walters. Jon Haines, the West Australian Football Commission’s Talent and Coaching Co-ordinator, said this year’s NAB National 18s Championships involved five games, with two being held in WA, one in South Australia and two in Victoria. “The preparation and itinerary is more closely aligned to an AFL type environment and the program that has been developed by the WA Football Commission reflects the changing nature of the competition,” Haines said. “The most pleasing aspect of both selection processes has been the high standard of games in both the 16s and the colts. Competition for places in both squads has been intense with a number of players vying for similar roles all across the ground. This increasing depth of quality is a terrific sign for not only the state programs but also the future of the WAFL competition.” Andrew Lockyer will coach the State 18s team and Trevor Williams will coach the State 16s.
 
ANZAC Win "Awsome" Sharrod Wellingham lived out a dream by making his debut in front of nearly 90,000 people in Collingwood’s 73-point ANZAC Day triumph over Essendon.
It’s been a huge week for the 19-year-old from Perth, who was elevated from the rookie list to the senior list, only to have that topped by learning he’d be making his debut in the biggest home-and-away game on the AFL fixture when Anthony Rocca was a late withdrawal from the side.
“It was awesome fun”, Wellingham told CTV after singing ‘Good Old Collingwood Forever’ for the first time and being soaked by his team mates in the process, in what is a customary initiation for Magpies who experience their first win.
The slick midfielder gathered 17 possessions at 82 per cent efficiency, including a perfectly weighted chip kick to Tarkyn Lockyer that set up the Magpies’ first goal of the second half, and laid four strong tackles and had two clearances.
“I thought for a second I was going to sneak a goal... but I saw Tarks over the top so I just popped it over.”
Wellingham, who learned he was a chance to play on Friday afternoon, admitted that standing in silence for The Last Post was an incredibly moving experience.
“It really is the cliché, the hairs on your neck really do stand on end, and it’s pretty cool.”
Like so many youngsters who have come into the Collingwood side over the past 12 months or so, Wellingham looked composed and confident on the big stage, and credited some of the people at the club who have influenced him the most, including housemate Nick Maxwell.
“Probably Maxy (is an influence), because I live with him, and he’s there pretty much every day.
“We’ve got the development coaches, Richo (Alan Richardson) and Browny (Gavin Brown), Licca (Paul Licuria) has been good, everyone’s good at helping me out.”
If Friday’s debut performance is anything to go by, Wellingham will get to experience many more ANZAC Day blockbusters in years to come. 
UMPIRES APPOINTED TO ROUND 1 
The SPJFC will be represented in round one of the 2008 WAFL season with three former players appointed to umpire WAFL fixtures this weekend. Tom Gryta will make his Reserves debut at Eftel Oval, appointed to field umpire the Perth v East Fremantle game, starting at 11:45. Current 17's assistant coach Beau Wardman was appointed to the season opener at Fremantle Oval on Thursday night, umpiring the reserves match with South Fremantle hosting Subiaco, the bounce down is at 5.15. Also umpiring at Fremantle on Thursday will be boundary umpire Richard Hepinstall. Richard will be running in the League match stating at 7.40. We wish all three boys the best for round 1 and the upcoming season.
COLTS LOOKING STRONG 
The 2008 Perth Demons Colts side is represented by 12 past SPJFC players. 2007 captain Zac Zucconi is joined by Matt Blackburn, Ben Power, Kane Goodwin, Chris Rogers, and Dom Stearn from the premiership team. Also selected was the 17's most consistent player in 2007 Luke Dellabosca. Other representatives include Michael Mather, Drew Maddock and Ben Clarke. Current 17's player Braden Smith was retained on the rookie list for this year whist still only 16. The SPJFC would like to congratulate all players on selection, and with 12 out of the starting 22 from South Perth, we hope many members will support the boys at Eftel Oval.
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