2005 saw the sudden resignation of President, Jeff Randall, with Greg Corless taking over the reins. The year started off with a visit from Collingwood players at Dukes Oval in January.
The Lions again fielded teams in all age divisions and it was pleasing to see Auskick numbers growing once again. The biggest change was the formation of the "Mountain Lions" which was a merge between Emu Plains and the neighbouring Blue Mountains club. The club had previously discussed a merger in the 16's division with Penrith, but unable to come to terms with the Swans formed an alliance with the Kangaroos. The team played in the Wollongong competition and performed very well to make the finals series. They won the GWFA cup for the leading Sydney West Club. Another Trivia Night was run by the club at Penrith Paceway. The Lockhart family as well as the Cusack Family were instrumental in making the night a success, The Lions also saw a record number of players gain representative honours with a massive 25 players being selected.
The Lions were certainly active in the community in assisting local schools to enter competitions such as the Paul Kelly Cup. The Future Stars Programme (for players who were playing other sports) was conducted at Dukes Oval whilst an After School Clinic attracted 75 participants at Dukes Oval, many of whom joined the Lions later in the season.
What a great year it was for the Auskickers. Under the guidance of David and Karen Batson, who followed on from the good work that Christine and Scott Beard had done in 2004, a record number of participants joined in the Saturday morning festivities. Included in the year's highlights were the team playing at Telstra Stadium (Even though some went to the SCG, they made it back in time for the "big game"), the Kids Vs Parents match (With the Kids winning yet again), The McDonalds "Thanks Sponsor" breakfast and the participation of the parents every week, many of whom gained their "Level O" coaching certificates. The squad of 24 included an incredible bunch of nine girls who always bought fear to their male conterparts when the weaved their magic on the field.
The departure of the Rix family back to their home state of Victoria saw Paul Hocking take over as coach of the Under 10's. The team were short on numbers and had to call weekly on Auskickers (some as young as six) to fill in the missing spaces. With great help from wife Joanne, who took up the Managers role and John Pollock who assisted in training the team, the boys (and girl) had an enjoyable season which was proven by the high return rate the next year.
Glen Stevens was appointed coach of the Under 12's with the "evergreen" Craig Sharp assisting and Kathy Whitehead taking on the all important Managers role. The season started slowly for the team with a lack of numbers the main reason. Howver, an influx of players mid-season saw the team string some great wins together and make the Finals Series. The team showed fantastic spirit and comradeship during the season. Glen said in his yearly report:
"My biggest thank you must go to the players, who have made my first year as an AFL coach such a rewarding and joyous one. Hope to see you all back and playing for this great club next year"
The Under 14's had a massive roster of 25 players. Coach Geoff Payne along with help from Craig Sharp, Kevin Tate, Matthew Cusack, Jarryd Cook and David Waddell on the training side whilst Joann Randall and Wendy Stevens looked after the management side of things. The new players settled quickly into the swing of things and the club was proud of not only their on-field performances, but their general attitude and goodwill to each other and the entire club. The team trained hard and this transferred onto Saturdays where they played hard and attractive football. After defeating St Clair in the preliminary final by eighteen points, the boys started strongly against Hawkesbury in holding the half time lead but could not withstand the finishing burst by the Saints to finish Runner-Up in the GWFA competition.
One of the biggest initiatives undertaken in the Lions brief history was the formation of the Mountain Lions. With a struggling GWFA Under 16's competition, an invitation was sent to clubs in the association to join the Wollongong competition in 2005. The criteria was that clubs had to register 22 players prior to the season before being accepted into a fully blown competition 18 aside Under 16's competition. As the Lions could not meet the requirements, meeting were held with both Penrith and Blue Mountains with the aim of merging a team. The Lions felt that a relationship with Blue Mountains would be the more beneficial "marriage" and in February 2005, the Mountain Lions were born.
The team were coached by Blue Mountains resident, Lyle Thomas and Glenmore Park's Gary Shephard with Greg Corless taking over the role of Manager. They all did a splendid job of bonding the players from both clubs who had only the season before, been rivals in the Preliminary Final. The Mountain Lions had a great season and made the finals series against their bigger and harder opponents from Wollongong, Campbelltown and local clubs Hawkesbury and St Clair. One of the highlights of the year was a night game at Dukes Oval against the Wollongong side (and eventual premiers), Southern Cyclones. The match was played after the Penrith Rams First Grade fixture to a large, rowdy and enthusiastic crowd. With the full squad of 23 players available for the game, the Mountain Lions led for most of the match before thye Cyclones snatched a goal in the dying seconds to win the match by a single point. The team finished third after the "home and away" series but lost in the elimination semi to the "Northern Hurricanes", a team they had beaten by 23 points a week earlier. The Mountain Lions had the honour of winning the inaugural "GWFA Cup" awarded to the team from Sydney West who finished higest on the ladder. The foundations had been laid for a competitive Under 16's competition and although the demographics of this competition has changed over the years, it evolved into one of the strongest and best Under 16's competition within the Greater Sydney Juniors.
Committee 2005 |
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President |
Greg Corless |
Vice President |
Graeme Lean |
Treasurer |
Greg Rogers |
Secretary |
Geoff Payne |
GWFA Delegate |
Craig Sharp |
Committee (Media) |
Cathy Cusack |
Committee (Registrar) |
Joann Randall |
Committee (Property) |
Jan Rogers |
Committee (Fundraising) |
Cheryl Payne |
Committee (Timekeeping) |
Sandie Thomas |
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Team Staff 2005 |
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Auskick Coach |
David Batson |
Auskick Manager |
Karen Batson |
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Under 10's Coach |
Paul Hocking |
Under 10's Coach (Pre-Season) |
Johnh Rix |
Under 10's Assistant |
John Pollock |
Under 10's Manager |
Joanne Hocking / Kylie Rix |
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Under 12's Coach |
Glen Stevens |
Under 12's Assistant |
Craig Sharp |
Under 12's Manager |
Kathy Whitehead |
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Under 14's Coach |
Geoff Payne |
Under 14's Coach |
Kevin Tate |
Under 14's Manager |
Joann Randall |
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Under 16's Coach |
Gary Shephard |
Under 16's Coach |
Lyle Thomas |
Under 16's Manager |
Greg Corless |
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Other Volunteers 2005 |
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Paul and Kay Lockhart |
Fundraising |
Shirelle Anasis |
Canteen |
Val Dixon |
Canteen |
Cusack Family |
Fundraising |
Paul Devlin |
Football Operations |
Jeff Noble |
Football Operations |
Wendy Stevens |
Football Operations |
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Award Winners
Award |
Under 10's |
Under 12's |
Under 14's |
Under 16's |
Best and Fairest |
Julian Borg |
Shaun Stevens |
Mitchell Reinhard |
Joshua Shephard |
Most Consistent |
Jeremy Rix |
Tom Noble |
Matthew Payne |
Joshua Cochrane |
Coach's Award |
Jake Stevens |
Rebekah Dixon |
Jarrod Cusack |
Matthew Cusack |
Most Improved |
Nicholas Hocking |
James Devlin |
Joel Anderson |
Sam Lockhart |
Senior Clubman |
James Randall |
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Junior Clubman |
Joann Randall |
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Representative Players
Team |
Player |
Team |
Player |
Team |
Player |
GWFA Under 10 |
Julian Borg |
GWFA Under 13 |
Declan Clear |
GWFA Under 14 |
Ben Lean |
GWFA Under 11 |
James Devlin |
GWFA Under 13 |
Phillip Clear |
GWFA Under 14 |
Mitchell Reinhard |
GWFA Under 11 |
Stephen Dixon |
GWFA Under 13 |
Nicholas Edwards |
GWFA Under 14 |
Alex Rogers |
GWFA Under 11 |
Alexander Hocking |
GWFA Under 13 |
Gordon Howell |
GWFA Under 14 |
Matthew Stevens |
GWFA Under 11 |
Mitchell Jeffries-Brown |
GWFA Under 13 |
Matthew Payne (Captain) |
GWFA Under 14 |
William Tate |
GWFA Under 11 |
Blayne Robinson |
GWFA Under 13 |
Adam Sharp |
GWFA Under 16 |
Joshua Anasis |
GWFA Under 12 |
Blake Daenell |
GWFA Under 13 |
James Randall |
GWFA Under 16 |
Joshua Cochrane |
GWFA Under 12 |
Shaun Stevens |
GWFA Under 14 |
Luke Dixon |
GWFA Under 16 |
Joshua Shephard |
Milestones
Milestone |
Player |
Milestone |
Player |
150 Club Games |
Nicholas Edwards |
50 Club Games |
Stephen Dixon |
100 Club Games |
Tayt Corless |
50 Club Games |
Benjamin Edwards |
100 Club Games |
William Tate |
50 Club Games |
Gordon Howell |
100 Club Games |
James Randall |
50 Club Games |
Ben Lean |
50 Club Games |
Kyle Brown |
50 Club Games |
Joshua Shephard |
50 Club Games |
Jarrod Cusack |
50 Club Games |
Shaun Stevens |
In 2005, The Club introduced a new award to recognise those players who finished their junior careers with the club as they were no longer eligible to play junior football. The award was named "Service Awards" and the original recipients were:
Service Awards
Recipient |
Games |
Matthew Cusack |
67 |
Anthony Edwards |
84 |
Michael Elven |
46 |
Samuel Lockhart |
64 |
Last Modified on 25/12/2008 08:08