Bendigo Football League

[Doona2]

Roos sign former Seymour champ
Luke West
Tuesday, 3 January 2006

KANGAROO Flat has gained the services of former Goulburn Valley Football League representative player Mark Salakowski for the 2006 All Seasons Bendigo Football League season.

Salakowski joins the Roos after a decorated career in the GVFL in which he played 200 senior games with Seymour and was a premiership player with the Lions in 1991 as a teenager.

He will add some valuable experience to the young Kangaroo Flat line-up and will also provide a physical presence on the field.

Roos' coach Damien Brown hinted that he would use Salakowski off a half-back flank during the season.

Salakowski has spent the past several seasons playing for Avenel in the Kyabram District Football League.

The Roos are also likely to pick up Adam Harrop, a small player who played with Heathcote this year, and is also a former Avenel player.

New Bendigo Bank Bombers' recruit Patty Rattray - a premiership player with Seymour this year - has indicated that Kangaroo Flat will be his preferred club when he is not playing in the VFL.

However, with the Bombers now fielding a resderves side, it's unlikely Rattray will spend any time in the BFL.

Kangaroo Flat endured another disappointing year in the BFL in 2005 when it won just one game and finished on the bottom of the ladder for the third season in a row.

The club will resume its pre-season training program on January 16.

The Roos will open the 2006 season with the now-traditional Good Friday clash against Eaglehawk at Canterbury Park.

It will be the third year the Roos and Hawks have met on Good Friday, with Eaglehawk having won the previous two encounters.

 

[Jock Clark 2]

HAVE a look at the Nth. Central thread, boyz, and you'll see that Dekka Filo and the E'hawk hierarchy are making a play for former (maybe still is) Charlton boy, Matt Gretgrix. One forumer there is suggesting that becoz K. Robbins re-signed, or re-joined -- whichever term u prefer -- with the Burra Boys Gretgrix could be swayed into penning his name on the dotted line at C'bury Park.
Veeeery interesting.
But South could miss out on '05 Rising Star, James Flaherty. If the young lad decides the Bendigo Bombers offer a better "pathway" he could jump into Knighter's lap.

 

[wobble]

Interesting you say that Jock, I heard young Gretgrix has been training impressively at Golden Square.

Has he signed at the Burra yet??

 

[Norfolk & Clew]

Interesting you say that Jock, I heard young Gretgrix has been training impressively at Golden Square.

Has he signed at the Burra yet??

Heard the same wobble, it'll be interesting to find out

 

[wobble]

Your not related to the Golden Square President by any chance Sharpy43?

 

[Norfolk & Clew]

Your not related to the Golden Square President by any chance Sharpy43?

No chance at all wobble

 

[wobble]

ahh no worries, I played in the BFL for South about 4 years ago when I was at Latrobe Uni.

Who is Coaching in the BFL these days?

 

[galloping gasometer]

ahh no worries, I played in the BFL for South about 4 years ago when I was at Latrobe Uni.

Who is Coaching in the BFL these days?

Eaglehawk - Derrick Filo
South Bendigo - D Obree
Golden Square - Darren Walsh
Kyneton - Neville Massina
Sandhurst - cant rmember
Mayborough -cant remember
Castlemaine cant remember
Kangaroo Flat - Damien Brown
Gisborne - Same as last year

New team has Ballarat Juniors has joined as well and cant remember the coach. 50% not bad..............ok pretty poor

 

[wobble]

Darren Walsh must be skating on thin ice, third year at the helm is it??

Club hasn't exactly set the world on fire...have they been in the finals since he has been coach?

 

[Norfolk & Clew]

Darren Walsh must be skating on thin ice, third year at the helm is it??

Club hasn't exactly set the world on fire...have they been in the finals since he has been coach?

In the finals last year mate, decent year, sitting at 3rd for the majority of the season and dropping to 4th. Lost in Elimination to the bloods.

Hasn't been going to bad i think

 

[Jock Clark 2]

Missing coaches guys -- Steve Thomson (M'borough), David Collins (Hurst) and did someone mention Shane McCarty (North Ballarat City). Ian Martin will fill the coaching bill at the 'Maine.

Square did sit 3rd for most of year but belted in the finish by South in the elimination final. The Square led by 5 pts. at 3/4 time: 14.14 to 14.9.
Out came Breezer O'Bree's Bloods and banged home 11 goals (11.3 to be exact) in the last term to win 25.12 to 17.15.
So D. Walsh's Square finished fifth.
They could do better in 06, who's to say, and Gretgrix would be a handy pick-up. They have already signed the bro. of Bgo Bomber defender, Simon Rosa.

 

[Grimmett]

Missing coaches guys -- Steve Thomson (M'borough), David Collins (Hurst) and did someone mention Shane McCarty (North Ballarat City). Ian Martin will fill the coaching bill at the 'Maine.

Square did sit 3rd for most of year but belted in the finish by South in the elimination final. The Square led by 5 pts. at 3/4 time: 14.14 to 14.9.
Out came Breezer O'Bree's Bloods and banged home 11 goals (11.3 to be exact) in the last term to win 25.12 to 17.15.
So D. Walsh's Square finished fifth.
They could do better in 06, who's to say, and Gretgrix would be a handy pick-up. They have already signed the bro. of Bgo Bomber defender, Simon Rosa.

Simon Rosa's brother is Luke. Former premiership player with Warrack Eagles in the Wimmera FL. Regular league rep for the last four or five years. Good player who will be missed by Warrack as he has been involved in their coaching structure for a couple of seasons.

North Ballarat Junior Football Club will participate in the Bendigo FL under the name North City which is a name used by the club during the early parts of last century. They are trying to retain their links to the North Ballarat name while developing a unique identity for the club that separates them from the Roosters and Rebels of VFL and TAC Cup fame.

 

[Rhan]

Missing coaches guys -- Steve Thomson (M'borough), David Collins (Hurst) and did someone mention Shane McCarty (North Ballarat City). Ian Martin will fill the coaching bill at the 'Maine.

Square did sit 3rd for most of year but belted in the finish by South in the elimination final. The Square led by 5 pts. at 3/4 time: 14.14 to 14.9.
Out came Breezer O'Bree's Bloods and banged home 11 goals (11.3 to be exact) in the last term to win 25.12 to 17.15.
So D. Walsh's Square finished fifth.
They could do better in 06, who's to say, and Gretgrix would be a handy pick-up. They have already signed the bro. of Bgo Bomber defender, Simon Rosa.

Gosh that brings back beautiful memories

 

[Doona2]

Names fielded for City captain

Luke West
Saturday, 7 January 2006

NORTH City's first captain in the All Seasons Bendigo Football League is likely to come from one of four players.
It's expected either Julian Vallance, Julian Porter, Adam Richardson or Matt Lockett will captain the BFL's newest club in its inaugural season this year.

The quartet of newly-signed players has already been named in the Ballarat-based club's leadership group.

Vallance and Porter are Ballarat Football League premiership players with Redan, while North City has also signed another ex-Lion in Callum Young.

Injury cost Young the chance of playing in the Lions' 2003 flag when he was just 18 years old.

Porter, who previously played with the North Ballarat Roosters in the VFL, and Young, a former North Ballarat Rebel, will play key roles in the midfield for City this year.

Vallance is likely to play on the wing or across half-back.

Richardson and Lockett join Ben Beaston as ex-Daylesford players who have joined North City.

Richardson, Lockett and Beaston all played with Daylesford last year, but the trio are North Ballarat Juniors' products.The versatile Lockett is a distant relation of the AFL's all-time leading goal-kicker, Tony Lockett, but he missed all of last year after suffering a serious knee injury in the opening round.

Beaston is an ex-captain of both the North Ballarat Juniors' under-18 side and St Pats College's football team and will hold down a key position in defence.

North City - which last year signed a 10-season agreement with the BFL - has already signed 40 players, and is still waiting on commitments from up to another 20.

Senior coach Shane McCarty expects to have a list of between 55 and 60 players to select from for North City's senior and reserves sides.

"We'll do that easy, and that was probably my biggest hesitation when I stepped into the job," McCarty said yesterday.

"But we had 40 signed by mid-December, so that was a great start for us."North City has four clashes in its draw with the Roosters and Rebels, but the club has a working party going through issues raised by the fixture.

Options being considered by the working party include the switching of matches to Sunday, finding alternative venues in Ballarat, or on some weekends, reversing the draw to avoid clashes.

North City's first fixture clash will come in its first home game, slated for Saturday, April 22, against Eaglehawk at Austar Arena in round two.

On the same day, the Roosters are scheduled to host the Bendigo Bank Bombers in round three of the VFL.

North City's first game in its new league will be when it's showcased under lights against South Bendigo at the Queen Elizabeth Oval on Saturday, April 15.

 

[Jock Clark 2]

THEY'LL go all right, too, North City. Sounds a lot better than North Juniors, eh guys !
IMHO Castlemaine seems to be in a spot of bother. Who's going to kick the goals for them in '06 ? Big Ollie has headed off to the MCDFL to coach Newstead and his good mate (and inter-league rep.) Apples Blake has moved on, as well.
Now we hear Jason Cordy and Steve Jarrott are returning to the Ammos comp. in Melbourne and as we all know '05 coach Eyles-y has already signed with Eaglehawk. Scottie Carson has gone back to Newbridge in the Loddon Valley League, so there's 4 talls gone (Steven Oliver/Blake/Cordy and Carson).
Between the six of them, and even though Paul Eyles missed a heap of matches thru' injury, those forwards booted a total of more than 160 goals for the Maggies last season.
It's all very well saying that ruckman Leigh Rees will fill a key forward role. Again, IMHO, Rees would be best used as the mobile ruckman he is.

 

[caveman]

All the news articles that get posted here guys are archived on the bendigo footy website. www.geocities.com/bendigofooty

 

[Jock Clark 2]

MATT Gretgrix has definitely signed with Eaglehawk.
Have it on v. good authority from someone close to the club.
And, yeah, it seems good mate Kain Robbins was one of the clinchers for the deal.
Expect Gretgrix to hold down CHB, but that maybe only one option for the Burra Boys.

 

[Doona2]

Eaglehawk wins the race for Gretgrix

Luke West
Tuesday, 10 January 2006

EAGLEHAWK has won the battle to secure forward Matt Gretgrix for the 2006 All Seasons Bendigo Football League season.
It's understood a number of BFL clubs approached Gretgrix, but the forward has chosen the Hawks, where his good mate Kain Robins has also just signed.

Gretgrix, who stands at more than 190 cms tall, was a member of Charlton's North Central Football League premiership side last year, starring in the side's grand final win.

"It's just a bit of good luck for us; he's good mates with Kain, so that's the main reason why he is coming along," Eaglehawk coach Derrick Filo said yesterday.

"From all reports, he is a quality centre half-forward; he has some mates at the club and wants to come along and have a kick with them."Filo says it's likely Gretgrix will play at centre half-forward for the Hawks, shaping as an ideal replacement for Daniel Geary, who has joined Huntly as an assistant coach.

"Daniel was a good player for us, but I think we have more forward options now this year than we have in the past," Filo said.

"The majority of our goals last year came from Daniel and Phillip Lobb (107 between them), but I think we now have three or four options who can provide a target that we can go through."I'm happy with our forward structure."Robins has been the marquee recruit for the Hawks so far this pre-season.

In joining the Hawks, Robins has turned his back on a potential AFL career after knocking back an offer from SANFL club Sturt, which would have kept him under the eye of AFL scouts.

Robins has spent the past two seasons with the Bendigo Bank Bombers, while he also began the pre-season with Hawthorn in the hope of being drafted.While Robins will be able to fill a key position at either end of the ground, Filo has hinted at him being used on the wing or in the midfield.

Filo has also confirmed that he will play on for another season.

Following the Hawks' 31-point loss to Gisborne last year, the veteran of more than 370 BFL senior games said he was undecided about playing for another year.

But he confirmed yesterday he would play on in 2006.

"I've been training for a couple of months now," Filo said.

"Last year I didn't start training until late-January, early-February, so I'm well ahead of where I was.

"I still feel like I can play good footy."New assistant coach Paul Eyles, recruited from Castlemaine, is also coming along nicely after enduring a wretched run with soft-tissue injuries last year.

He has been on a modified training program and Filo says he is happy with how the former Michelsen medallist is progressing in his return to Canterbury Park. Eyles is expected to play both up forward and on the ball this year.

The Hawks will open the season with the now-traditional Good Friday clash with Kangaroo Flat at Canterbury Park on April 14.

Tigers' skipper fit for 2006

Luke West
Wednesday, 11 January 2006

KYNETON skipper Wayne Eve is confident he won't be again plagued by hamstring injuries during the 2006 All Seasons Bendigo Football League season.
Last year, Eve was restricted to just a handful of games after suffering a total of seven hamstring injuries.

But he says his hamstrings now feel fine and he is looking forward to a good year."I'm feeling really good at the moment, so it should be good this year," Eve said yesterday.

"Everything is looking good at the club and we've been able to pick up some good recruits."While a fit Eve will virtually be like a new recruit for the Tigers this year, they have also landed the signature of Aberfeldie's Shannon Carroll, who has impressed Eve so far.Carroll is a versatile player who will be able to play at either end of the ground, or through the midfield for the Tigers.

The Tigers have also been buoyed by the full-time return of classy on-baller Brent Dryden, who virtually missed all of last year with Melbourne Fire Brigade commitments.

"Brent is fit as hell at the moment and a gun player, so he will be good for us," Eve said.The skipper also spoke highly of Leigh Erwin, who spent last season in the Tigers' under-18 side.

"He's about six-foot-four and you should see him play," Eve said.

"He will be a good back-up for Cooky (ruckman Brett Cook)."Kyneton will be again coached by Neville Massina, who will be at the helm of the club for the second year.

The Tigers were in the finals hunt until late in the season last year, but finished sixth on the ladder with six wins and 10 losses.

Kyneton's first game of its 2006 season will be on Saturday, April 15, when it hosts Sandhurst at the Kyneton Showgrounds.

However, Eve will miss the clash with the Dragons because of a one-match suspension he still has hanging over his head after being found guilty of using abusive language towards an umpire in the round 18 game against arch-rival Gisborne.

 

[wobble]

Very strong reports that Golden Square will sign a former Central Murray Interleague ruckman before the end of the week. Square have beaten a number of GVL league clubs to gain his services.

The inclusion of Tyrell, Rosa, Curtain have provided them with the much needed height and stability and now along with a proven ruckman maybe they are the side to take it up to the Gisborne Bulldogs.

 

[Jock Clark 2]

W., could this be one of the Central Murray "talls" who did well against Bendigo over at Mount Gambier in May ?
Seem to remember that Ryan O'Sullivan (196 cm) did OK. BTW, CM led Bendigo at half-time in the first match of the Pool C carnival 5.3 to 3.2.
Then Bgo came back to win by 2 points: 8.4 (52) to 7.8 (50).
They play those inter-league carnival games in just two halves, so each league can play three games during the weekend.
On the other hand, W., maybe yiou've got mail about an inter-league ruckman from another year, not 2005.

 

[wobble]

You certainly know your footy JC2, I remember that game well myself.

The player in question didn't represent Central Murray last year, but did in 2003 & 2004.

Quality player with substantial size and agression to add to Square already impressive list

 

[Jock Clark 2]

GOT me, W. Would have to search back through old records to recall a name from those seasons.
Any clue as to which club. A capital letter for the club concerned would suffice, and then we can start scrambling through old files.

 

[Jock Clark 2]

Anyone got any info. on Ess. Dist. F.L. player Shannon Carroll who is heading to Kyneton this season ?
Might have had a bit of a checkered career in EDFL. Think he's been recruited from Aberfeldie.

 

[Doona2]

Footy finals clash
Luke West
Saturday, 14 January 2006

THE All Seasons Bendigo Football League grand final and the Heathcote District Football League's showpiece day are set to clash this year.
The BFL and HDFL grand finals have both been set down for Saturday, September 23.

However, the possibility of the BFL grand final being shifted to Sunday, September 24, will be discussed at the league's club meeting on February 10.

What may also save a possible clash of grand finals is if the HDFL doesn't play an inter-league match.

The HDFL has set aside the Queen's Birthday long weekend in June as an opportunity for an inter-league game.

The HDFL is talking to both the Golden Rivers and Benalla and District leagues about playing inter-league, but neither is yet to commit.

If the league is unsuccessful in securing an opponent for a representative match, one option could be to bring the season forward a week for the remaining 10 rounds, therefore avoiding a grand final clash with the BFL.

HDFL secretary Trevor Arnel said the league couldn't afford to wait until February 10 to see what the BFL would do about its grand final scheduling before releasing its fixture to its nine clubs.

The Maryborough-Castlemaine District Football League grand final will also be played on September 23.

Arnel said it wouldn't suit the league to switch its grand final to the Sunday.

"It seems clubs struggle to even play on a Sunday when they have those two Sunday finals on the first two weekends (of the finals)," Arnel said.

"And tradition as well - the HDFL has always had a Saturday grand final, whereas the BFL has sometimes had a Sunday grand final.

"But hopefully, we can all work in together and in one way or another, it all works out for everyone involved."The last BFL grand final played on a Sunday was in 2001 when Golden Square defeated Sandhurst.

If the HDFL grand final is played on the Saturday and the BFL decider is played on the Sunday, there is the possibility of a joint ticketing system being put in place that would allow entry into both games.

The HDFL season will start on Saturday, April 22.

BFL general manager Tony Pierce or chairman Damian Drum couldn't be contacted yesterday.

 

[Weapo]

You certainly know your footy JC2, I remember that game well myself.

The player in question didn't represent Central Murray last year, but did in 2003 & 2004.

Quality player with substantial size and agression to add to Square already impressive list

Has Wes Pye signed yet?