The defense was way offside and a whole bunch of other distractions were going on. The goalie was half way through eating his hotdog when a goal was scored plus the ref. had blown the whistle before Alex kicked this goal.

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It has been fantastic to see this year, that our club is one of very few in the East Fremantle District which have managed to place a team in the competition from the Super 8’s, up to the 17’s. This has been no mean feat with a very restless club registrar (Rebbeca Hass) pounding the pavement chasing all the registration forms for over 320 players.

The new up and coming stars of the football world, or should I say ‘footy legends’ the Auskick group, will be headed by John Hughes. He will have his hands full managing over 120 children within the magnificent structure which Paul Bodlovich developed last year before moving on to the Super 8’s team as the coach. Thanks Paul and good luck for the season John. This year the Auskick group has grown in numbers resulting in a new female coach, Vanessa, taking the reins and setting the standard for the blokes in the club. It’s interesting to see this, as it must be in the family considering 4 years ago her sister-in-law was a coach for Melville Hawks which shows the diversity our club operates under.

To manage such a significant group of players, coaches, parents etc we have a dedicated team of club committee officials, some who have been here for many seasons and a sprinkle of new parents stepping up to help. Behind the scenes this small group marks the ovals, installs new lighting for the oval, manages the canteen, logs all details for the weekend games and sends it off to the district before they go to work on Monday morning. One can only wonder what type of person would do this.

After working with each of them I have found them to be loyal to the club, have a positive spirit and believe that the kids come first. I think we all should take time out and thank this group or at least give one day a year helping at the club to make life a little easier for them.

This year the club is consolidating all the efforts of the previous committee and finishing off projects which past years have seen almost completed, such as the grounds lighting upgrades, Peter Johnston Pavilion, canteen improvements, the official Melville Hawks web page and improved communication between all groups.

Along with this, a core group of volunteers will be undertaking accreditation which allows our club to be recognised under the AFL club system and aim for a ‘gold status’ rating which reduces our insurance premiums, gives us sponsorship and also recognition throughout the district. This single step forward I would expect to take 6 months and 5 people over 600 hours to achieve, hence the reason more volunteers are always required. If you are unsure how you can help, please email or make a phone call to myself, so we can explain the task we have moving forward.

Like all parents starting out, I remembered the day just 5 years ago when my son started Auskick and I was asked to help out, which turned into coaching and suddenly becoming President. The thought still remains as to where that time went. I am not sure what the answer is but I am certainly following some very impressive Presidents which have set the bench mark very high. At this point in time I would like to thank Warren Hudson for his efforts last year and its good to have him back as the 14’s coach, he just can’t get the Melville Hawks out of his system.

With any significant group of players we need volunteers and we always desperately need sponsors or sponsorship whether small or large to donate to the club. The player fees do cover the players but do not entirely cover the insurance, water/power, rates, electricity, cleaning and jumpers annually. Please don’t forget that no one in the club is paid for volunteering so if you or your company are able to sponsor the Melville Hawks please do so.

Finally a club is not a club unless we have the social and canteen committee headed up by the lovely Julie Hughes (Social Secretary) and the lovely Cassandra Brennan (Canteen Manager) who have been hard at work grafting together many new ways of raising essential funds for the club.

Touching briefly on the social events we have already had, the football kick-a-thon, and the outdoor big screen movie night and I believe we have a quiz night, Friday night games, ladies and gents’ nights coming up which should be quite entertaining for those who attend.
In the canteen Cassandra is continually looking at new ways and different approaches to manage this which relies entirely on parent help. If not for these two areas which annually generate a significant income to the club, our player fees could almost double.

Once again welcome all to the Mighty Melville Hawks Football Club and let’s hope we take home a few premiership flags this year and improve our social community by meeting some new parents on the journey forward.

All the best and do not hesitate to send me or the other committee members any feedback on how you can assist the club in moving forward.

Regards

Ashley Thomas

President
Melville Hawks Junior Football Club

Wk: 9475 8032
Hm: 9317 2645
Mb: 0429 117 493