Southern expatriate, David Nolan and his wife, Kim were approached by AFL officials in late 1999 to form a club in their suburb of Emu Plains. David was a keen "Aussie Rules" type who believed it might just work in Sydney's rugby league heartland. Both David and Kim were given two sets of jerseys and the keys to the local ground, Dukes Oval and AFL was up and running in Emu Plains.
The first year was a learning curve not only for the newly formed committee but also for the players, parents, caregivers and supporters as David wrote in his annual "Presidents Report"
"The year 2000 was a great one for the Emu Plains Junior AFL Club. We started out with nothing and have grown to become a club with a great future. It was a very pleasing result for our first year and it has taken a lot of work from many people to make this club the success that it is. Thye main reason for the success is the players. We have been fortunate enough to attract a very committed bunch of players, who have approached their football with more than enough enthusiasm. This enthusiasm has in turn rubbed off on their parents and it seems that everyone enjoys their Saturday morning at the football.
At the start of the season there were many parents who did not really know what the game of AFL was really about, and during the year the kids have taught their parents. There are several stories of middle-aged women playing football in the backyard with their children on the weekend and after school. This sort of dedication, assistance and encouragement from parents is what is required to ensure the players enjoy the whole football experience"
With an Auskick squad of 11 players and an Under 10's (20 players) and Under 12's team (16 players) the season kicked off with the Under 10's playing their very first match at the SCG in front of 26,000 people. The following week at Cook and Banks Reserve the "Penrith Valley Junior AFL" competition commenced with the 10's playing to a slightly smaller crowd with the Under 12's match following.
It was not an easy task for the Lions two teams however. With the Under 10's having twenty players it was up to coach Andrew Lowing and his rookie assistant, Geoff Payne, to manage to get all the players equal match time and to get the attention and coaching they deserved. Years later, it was proven what a magnificent job these guys did. On the other hand, the Under 12's started 2000 with the bare minimum of 10 players and had to rely on the Under 10 players to "play up" each week. During the season, more players were recruited and Adrian White's team swelled to a very manageable 16 players of which six players went on to represent Penrith Valley in the Under 12's Representative Team.
The Auskick squad had a wonderful time despite the often frosty and chilly early Saturday morning starts. Adrian Edwards took care of the squad along his his helpers from the Under 12's team. It is interesting to note that two of the original Auskickers will be playing Under 14's football in 2009. Chris Nolan and Ben Edwards were both there at the start and are expected to end their junior careers at the club in 2011.
The Under 10's finished their season finishing just out of finals contention in fifth position, behind Hawkesbury White, Hawkesbury Black, Penrith Red and Penrith White. Hawkesbury and Penrith were established teams having played in a broader Sydney competition for many years before the Penrith Valley AFL was formed. The Lions had finished in front of all the "new teams", Blue Mountains Kangaroos, St Clair Crows and Western Power. The Lions had an outside chance of making the finals depending on certain results in 2000 if they won their last game against Mt Druitt based Western Power. However, the Power were undermanned on the day and Andrew Lowing "evened" up by giving that team some of his better players. The match was played in gale like conditions with the Western Power winning the game by scoring two goals to one. Both goals were scored by Lions players on loan and Western Power scored their first win (and their first goals) of the season. Everyone came away happy and it showed the spirit of the game that the Lions still retain today.
The Under 12's also finished just out of a finals spot in fifth postion behind the more established clubs Hawkesbury and Penrith, With the exception of their first match against St Clair in which they were beaten by three points, the Lions won all their games against the "new" clubs. The team was looking forward to hopefully playing finals football in 2001.
Under 10 |
Points |
Hawkesbury White |
56 |
Hawkesbury Black |
44 |
Penrith Red |
38 |
Penrith White |
34 |
Emu Plains Lions |
20 |
Blue Mountains Kangaroos |
20 |
St Clair Crows |
8 |
Western Power |
4 |
Under 12 |
Points |
|
Hawkesbury Black |
56 |
|
Penrith White |
42 |
|
Penrith Red |
40 |
|
Hawkesbury White |
38 |
|
Emu Plains Lions |
20 |
|
Blue Mountains White |
12 |
|
St Clair Crows |
8 |
|
Blue Mountains Blue |
8 |
|
Committee 2000 |
|
|
|
President |
David Nolan |
Vice President |
Adrian Edwards |
Treasurer |
Kim Nolan |
Secretary |
Kevin Tate |
Committee |
Donna Stapleton |
Committee |
Greg Bullivant |
Committee |
Adrian White |
|
|
Team Staff 2000 |
|
|
|
Auskick Coach |
Adrian Edwards |
Auskick Assistant |
Anthony Edwards (U 12's) |
Auskick Assistant |
Cameron Lefoe (U 12's) |
Auskick Assistant |
Brett Harris (U 12's) |
|
|
Under 10's Coach |
Andrew Lowing |
Under 10's Assistant |
Geoff Payne |
Under 10's Manager |
Greg Corless |
|
|
Under 12's Coach |
Adrian White |
Under 12's Assistant |
Adrian Edwards |
Under 12's Manager |
Peter Fisher |
Along with the Committee and Team Staff, who managed many different roles during the season, the Lions would also like to thank all the "volunteers" from 2000 including:
Charmaine Edwards |
Fundraising |
Helen Tate |
Fundraising |
Jessica Limbrick |
Goal Umpire
|
|
|
Award Winners |
|
|
|
Award |
Under 10 |
Under 12 |
Best & fairest |
Philip Templeton |
Joel Stevens |
Most Consistent |
Joshua Cochrane |
Mitch Leary-White |
Most Improved |
Adam Small |
Cameron Lefoe |
Coach's Award |
Chris Pickworth |
Oliver Lawton |
Junior Clubperson |
Anthony Edwards |
|
Senior Clubperson |
Peter Fisher |
|
Representative Players
Team |
Player |
Penrith Valley Under 12's |
Joel Stevens |
Penrith Valley Under 12's |
Aaron Brooker |
Penrith Valley Under 12's |
Anthony Edwards |
Penrith Valley Under 12's |
Rhys Stapleton |
Penrith Valley Under 12's |
Rick Fisher |
Penrith Valley Under 12's |
Cameron Lefoe |
Last Modified on 23/12/2008 07:44