• Berwick Gazette
• Pakenham Gazette

21st July 2010 02:00:27 AM

Cranbourne was tipped to achieve the “Daniher threesome” with the possibility of three brothers playing in the same side and the Eagles duly saluted on the weekend. However, it was not the Holt brothers as predicted, but the Barker boys - Lucas, Curtis and Nick - who took the field in the side’s solid victory over Tooradin. Lucas was promoted from the under-18s to join his siblings after stringing some good games together, and the trio did the family name proud.

---

ROC is planning to be playing on its shiny new ground and using a set of shiny new changerooms to boot in 2011. The Kangaroos have secured funding for the changerooms after a long and, at times, bitter fight, with construction due to start in the next month, according to senior coach Kris Fletcher. The new ground at Starling Road has been used as a training ground this year, leaving the old ground to rest in between matches, but there has been significant frustration after the completion of the project was stalled when money was redirected by Cardinia Council last year. Once finished and operating there will no doubt be another ground in the Casey Cardinia League finals venue mix.



TOORADIN will host this year’s Chris Thompson beyondblue recognition day at the Western Port Oval against NARRE WARREN this Saturday. The annual event is scheduled each year to celebrate Chris’s life and raise awareness of depression, a condition so often ignored in modern society, especially among men. There will be fundraising at the gate and both senior sides will line up before the game in observation of the occasion.



CRANBOURNE had plenty to celebrate during Saturday’s clash with TOORADIN apart from the 78-point victory. The side’s Holt brothers had a day out with captain and star forward Marc booting 10 goals in a dominant display and older brother Leigh celebrating his own milestone by notching up his 150th game for the Eagles.



WHEN will they stop coming? Newcomers keep arriving at CORA LYNN and this week the Cobras will reveal their latest recruit, David O’Sullivan, against KOOWEERUP. O’Sullivan is a 28-year-old seasoned performer who has played under fellow Cobra import Lincoln Withers at the WARATAHS in the NTFL over recent years. He has also represented the Northern Territory and, last season, played with Withers at KYABRAM where he kicked four goals the club’s GVFL grand final loss to MANSFIELD. The wraps on O’Sullivan are big and he is expected to earn his keep by holding down a key post at either end of the field.



CHANNEL 31’s Local Footy Show paid a visit to CATANI on the weekend and covered the Blurs clash with KOOWEERUP. Excerpts from the match will be shown on Friday night and presenter Daryl Pitman also interviewed several Blues stalwarts including Beryl Banbury and Colin Hobson after the match. For those with digital television the signal is available on channel 44. The Local Footy Show has covered nine leagues this year and this was its first foray into the EDFL competition.



WHILE at CATANI, the Blues hope to attract a big crowd for their major fundraiser of the season to be held this Saturday night, 24 July, at 7:30pm after the clash with LANG LANG. It will feature hypnotist Steven Spellmaster and tickets including a light supper are $25 each. Any queries can be directed to Robert on 5997 8141.



KABLE Dowsett was a name few football followers would have expected to see on the stats sheet again but amazingly the loyal ROC stalwart has saddled up for the reserves again after a successful fight against cancer. Dowsett made his comeback to the football field in the reserves against TOORADIN in round nine which, incredibly, was the Kangaroos first win for the season. The former star senior player has spent the best part of the past 18 months fighting back from his health scare and just wants to assist the club that assisted him when he was at his lowest.



GREAT news at PAKENHAM with, first, the return of premiership backman Stuart Burridge in the reserves after a badly broken leg and, second, confirmation that young defender Michael Hicks is on the mend after a post-surgery infection. Burridge broke his leg more than 12 months ago and it has taken a long time to mend but he was determined to come back to football and the Lions will be strengthened by his on-field presence. Hicks contracted an infection that really knocked him about after groin surgery several weeks ago, but he has made a remarkable recovery and is back around the club, although he is not expected to play again this season.



SAD news was relayed across the district on Saturday about the sudden passing of long-time Gippsland football administrator Joe Hutchison. Joe was a former VCFL board member and a keen follower of football on the West Gippsland region for many years. Gippsland League president Brian McKenzie acknowledged his contribution to the local game and said that many in the football world across Victoria would be saddened by the news.



LOOKING towards the future, a number of EDFL clubs gave some of their rising stars a taste of senior football over the weekend. Reports were good about the prospects of KOOWEERUP’s Travis Welsh, CORA LYNN’s Chris Marson and NYORA’s Rob Mulvahil, all only 16. At the other end of the scale, 38-year-old Robert Hefford, an eight-time best and fairest at WARRAGUL INDUSTRIALS who came out of retirement recently, played in the Dusties seniors on Saturday. Other clubs to bolster their stocks over recent weeks include NYORA, which regained speedy midfielder Jed Answerth, NAR NAR GOON with the return of Josh Hodson and LANG LANG thanks to former GIPPSLAND POWER ruckman Sam Cole returning from Queensland.





PAKENHAM held a successful reunion of its 1990 and 2000 premiership teams during Saturday's demolition of BEACONSFIELD and there were a few wry smiles when the issue of ground conditions was mentioned. The Lions were accused of being precious about playing in wet conditions at NARRE WARREN a fortnight ago but the Fox Road surface was rated top-notch compared to the condition of the CORA LYNN bog heap that was the scene of the 2000 triumph, again over the Eagles. The video of that premiership win was played during the after-match get-together, supplying a touch of reality to current day worries about wet-weather football and also adding salt to Beaconsfield's wounds from the day.

---

Popular Stories