The Lions celebrated their fifth year as a club in 2004. The season commenced with a big crowd at Dukes Oval to welcome the Collingwood team, although somewhat marred by their late arrival and early departure, it generated a great deal of interest in the area with media and local councillors attending.
The GWFA Representative sides ranged from Under 10's to Under 17's with Emu Plains having an amazing 30 players representing the region in these age groups. In club football, the Lions made it to two of the four age Grand Finals with the Under 14's being denied victory in the dying minutes whilst the Under 12's scored a runaway victory under the mentoring of coach Geoff Payne who twelve month earlier had proudly proclaimed they the 2004 Under 12's would be Premiers.
The Auskick squad had a brilliant year with Scott Beard and wife Christine at the helm. Their main aim was to give the players basic skills and leave them with a love of the game, something that they easily achieved. Many of the squad were fortunate enough to travel to Telstra Stadium and play at half time of the Collingwood-Sydney Swans match. A highlight for many being their "lap of honour" at the end of their game which was viewed by the 60,000 strong crowd, something that will give them lifetime memories. From round 7 onwards, the squad travelled to various other grounds to participate in Gala days which was enthusiastically received by players and parents alike. Scott and Christine sadly announced that they were returning to Victoria at the end of the season, a move that would be missed by the entire club.
John and Kylie Rix took on the task of running the Under 10's with help from Tim Wade and Sam Devlin. They welcomed many "new" players to competitive football and developed both their skills and team spirit. Every week they provided their opponents with a competitive match and kept at it for all four quarters.
Playing September football is almost automatic for Geoff Payne. As coach of the Under 12's again in 2004, it was no different. The gun squad of 19, many of whom played 12's Grand Final football in 2003, bonded into a formidable team and went through the season undefeated when they defeated Penrith Swans in the Grand Final by a huge margin of forty one points.
The Under 14's certainly had a brilliant year. In the previous season, this bunch of boys failed to win a match, so they could be forgiven if they suffered a lack of confidence. Coach Craig Sharp instilled in them the critical rule of playing as a team and responding to instructions. Throughout the year their skills improved dramatically and the whole team always gave 100%. Cathy Cusack, Glen Stevens, Kevin Tate, Gary Shephard and Graeme Lean all provided great help to "Sharpie". The team made it through to the Grand Finals and only as a result of injuries during the match were not able to be presented with the flag. A fantastic effort indeed.
The Under 17's had a difficult year starting out with 18 players but finishing with only 11. It was a big assignment for Coach Ian Wiilliamson, Assistant Coach/Runner Jamed Grindred and Manager Greg Corless to field a side every week, but with great assistance from the Under 14's, the task was completed. However, history will show that despite the team not winning a game all season, the 17's fell one game short of a Grand Final berth when they were defeated by Blue Mountains in the Preliminary Final (The competition contained three teams).
Committee 2004 |
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President |
Jeff Randall |
Vice President |
Greg Corless |
Treasurer |
Greg Rogers |
Secretary |
Geoff Payne |
Committee |
Craig Sharp |
Committee |
Ian "Will" Williamson |
Committee |
Victoria Becus |
Committee |
Joann Randall |
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Team Staff 2004 |
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Auskick Coach |
Scott Beard |
Auskick Manager |
Christine Beard |
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Under 10's Coach |
John Rix |
Under 10's Assistant |
Tim Wade |
Under 10's Assistant |
Sam Devlin |
Under 10's Manager |
Kylie Rix |
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Under 12's Coach |
Geoff Payne |
Under 12's Assistant |
Jarryd Cook |
Under 12's Assistant |
David Waddell |
Under 12's Manager |
Joann Randall |
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Under 14's Coach |
Craig Sharp |
Under 14's Assistant Coach |
Glen Stevens |
Under 14's Assistant Coach |
Kevin Tate |
Under 14's Manager |
Cathy Cusack |
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Under 17's Coach |
Ian "Will" Williamson |
Under 17's Runner |
James Grindred |
Under 17's Manager |
Greg Corless |
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Other Volunteers 2004 |
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The Dixon Family |
Canteen |
Shirelle Anasis |
Canteen |
Cusack Family |
Fundraising |
Jan Rogers |
Property Manager |
Paul Devlin |
Football Operations |
The Stevens Family |
Donated oranges for the season |
Mat Cusack |
Football Operations |
Sandie Thomas |
Football Operations |
Adrian Edwards |
Football Operations |
Gary Shephard |
Football Operations |
Harrison Seitam |
Football Operations |
Graeme Lean |
Football Operations |
Jim Aitken |
Major Sponsor |
Emu Sports Club |
Major Sponsor |
Award Winners
Award |
Under 10 |
Under 12 |
Under 14 |
Under 17 |
Best & Fairest |
Michael Spiteri & Steven Dixon |
Matthew Payne |
Joshua Shephard |
David Waddell |
Most Consistent |
James Devlin |
Adam Sharp |
Daniel Spiteri |
Rhys Stapleton & Mitch Leary-White |
Most Improved |
Alex Wade |
Michael Todd |
Matthew Stevens |
Ryan Roper |
Most Determined* |
Jeremy Rix |
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Coach's Award |
Laura Payne |
James Randall |
Mitch Reinhard |
Joel Stephens |
Senior Clubperson |
Victoria Becus |
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Junior Clubperson** |
Jarryd Cook & Alexander Rogers |
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*Most Determined Award was only awarded in the Under 10's
** Junior Clubperson of the year shared by Jarryd Cook and Alexander Rogers
Representative Players
Team |
Player |
Team |
Player |
Team |
Player |
GWFA Under 10's |
Alexander Wade |
GWFA Under 12's |
Adam Sharp |
GWFA Under 13's |
Luke Dixon |
GWFA Under 10's |
Michael Spiteri |
GWFA Under 12's |
Blake Daenell |
GWFA Under 13's |
David Brocklehurst |
GWFA Under 10's |
Jeremy Rix |
GWFA Under 12's |
Matthew Payne |
GWFA Under 14's |
Joshua Shephard |
GWFA Under 11's |
Chris Anasis |
GWFA Under 12's |
James Randall |
GWFA Under 17's |
Michael Lambert |
GWFA Under 11's |
Michael Cook |
GWFA Under 13's |
Matthew Stevens |
GWFA Under 17's |
Matthew Cusack |
GWFA Under 11's |
Joshua Corcoran |
GWFA Under 13's |
Daniel Spiteri |
GWFA Under 17's |
Jarryd Cook |
GWFA Under 11's |
Tom Noble |
GWFA Under 13's |
Alex Rogers |
GWFA Under 17's |
Joel Stephens |
GWFA Under 12's |
Shaun Stevens |
GWFA Under 13's |
Mitchell Reinhard |
GWFA Under 17's |
David Waddell |
GWFA Under 12's |
John Spicer |
GWFA Under 13's |
William Tate |
GWFA Under 17's |
Rhys Stapleton |
GWFA Under 12's |
Nicholas Edwards |
GWFA Under 13's |
Ben Lean |
GWFA Under 17's |
Mitch Leary-White |
Milestones
Milestone |
Player |
Milestone |
Player |
100 Club Games |
Matthew Payne |
50 Club Games |
Mitchell Leary-White |
100 Club Games |
Alex Rogers |
50 Club Games |
Bradley Thomas |
100 Club Games |
Adam Sharp |
50 Club Games |
David Webb |
100 Club Games |
Daniel Spiteri |
50 Club Games |
Aiden Cook |
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50 Club Games |
Matthew Cusack |
50 Club Games |
Michael Cook |
50 Club Games |
Mitchell Reinhard |
50 Club Games |
John Cox |
50 Club Games |
David Waddell |
Last Modified on 26/12/2008 07:13