The Under 14 Division One side enjoyed another strong year in season 2009. The boys were victorious in eleven of the fifteen home and away games and won through to the preliminary final eventually finishing third in a very strong competition.
There were several highlights among our performances throughout the year, including:
· Some strong wins against all but one of the other top sides
· A courageous and skilful narrow loss to East Brighton with 17 players (15 at one point!)
· A fast finishing one point win against Northvale in round 12
· Some fantastic team oriented play, with boys adhering to team rules
· A third quarter effort against a gale versus Northvale in the semi final that was truly memorable.
The season included many special times together, including a great camp at Ocean Grove in November 08, courtesy of the MaglioÂ’s and a sensational training session conducted by two AFL premiership players from Geelong, thanks to the efforts of Peter Higgins.
While the boys have had plenty of success over their six years in footy, this year had some unusual challenges, which were met head on. Ironically, selections in representative squads from Victorian to MSJFL, and additional APS school comp commitments put an unusual strain on availability and recovery; however the team coped really well with these circumstances; something I was extremely proud of.
Without singling out, I’d like extend my congratulations to every player for the way in which they accepted the seasons challenges and progressed with their won football journey – a wonderful effort by all and a lot to look forward to next year as a terrific skilful team. A message to the whole team – We (the parents) all love watching the way you play the game!
Thank you to all of the parents for their contribution throughout the year, especially to Ron Verma and Tim Jones for their friendship and support in guiding the boys. Also, my thanks to Ilias Tsinanis, Lachlan Massey and Peter Higgins for their efforts as the management group, and also to Michelle Smith for the terrific videos and especially the highlights package at yearÂ’s end.
Coaching the boys has been an absolute pleasure and I look forward to watching them progress in coming years. Here’s to another enjoyable and successful year in 2010 –
Go Rovers!
Craig Knox
