Sponsored Player sponsors event 3 - Round 11 Halo Match Day for our clash against Hawthorn, where we recognise Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

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EVENT DETAILS

Round 11 Halo Match Day
for our clash against Hawthorn, where we recognise Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
Venue

Rogers Room, Marvel Stadium

Time

Gates Open: 11:45AM

Function Start Time: 12:00PM

Match Time: 1:45PM


Dress Code

Smart Casual

Strictly no ripped denim. Please wear appropriate footwear.



I need to RSVP by 18th May so please reply if your keen and if we have more than 2 sponsors keen I will raffle it up!
 
EVENT DETAILS

Round 11 Halo Match Day
for our clash against Hawthorn, where we recognise Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
Venue

Rogers Room, Marvel Stadium

Time

Gates Open: 11:45AM

Function Start Time: 12:00PM

Match Time: 1:45PM


Dress Code

Smart Casual

Strictly no ripped denim. Please wear appropriate footwear.



I need to RSVP by 18th May so please reply if your keen and if we have more than 2 sponsors keen I will raffle it up!
Yep I'm keen

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I'm sure you'll understand my temper needed to cool post-match - I'll talk function and avoid the frustration that was the match. If I sound cranky, it's because I'm still sore about the outcome.

Started off by missing my train, then made my way in through the fancy, swanky Gate 4 entrance and got crowded into an elevator. Exited into the ante-room of the Rogers Room (Marvel reference) which was full of Fitzroy and Brisbane memorabilia(!) and on-time Saints fans getting their drink on. I grabbed a Furphy and before I'd had too much they opened up the doors.

There was a queue for the coat check right next to the door and a young lady selling tickets for a "first goal kicked" competition - $20 entry, $100 prize from what I overheard. A bloke who I later found out was Uncle Ron was playing a didgeridoo at the front of the room and there were monitors all over with St Kilda ads emblazoned upon them. I went and sat at the wrong table, assuming that 24 would be across from 25. Fortunately I didn't eat any of the food already laid out before I realised my mistake.

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Under strict instruction from boydie I have taken photos and notes of the food. The entree was beef tataki - a lovely bit of beef that personally I'd prefer hot and cooked in front of me. I horrified Holy [PLAYERCARD]Hunter Clark[/PLAYERCARD] with this opinion later but that's jumping ahead.

I made a bit of small talk with the blokes who sat next to me. One was the guest of a two player sponsor sitting further around the table, the other the father of the day's MC who had driven his Adelaide-based daughter to the function. Four seats were empty for most of the first course, one was filled by a latecomer, another by the MC during lunchtime. Two remained empty the entire time.

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Then the speeches began and there were a lot of them (happy to be corrected on the content or order). The MC spoke. Then Aunty Joy stepped up and gave us a bit of history - including the fact that her brother was St Kilda's first Indigenous player back in the 50's. She spoke about the jumper, the designer and the colours, the first of several times in the afternoon we were reminded that St Kilda had changed the colours to black, yellow and red leading in to World War I. She spoke with pride about seeing mother and son being interviewed on the ground earlier that day - Katrina and Karl Amon. This was followed by a video showing an Indigenous speaker addressing the players and talking about his background and "yawa" (journey).

Next was Katrina Amon, who spoke about her role at the club. There was a more in-depth explanation of the significance of elements of the jumper and a bit about Dougl Nicholls. She also wished St Kilda and her son luck.

The next speaker was from the match-day sponsor - Victorian Gambling Responsibly Foundation. He tried but the room at this stage was getting a bit antsy and wondering when the food was coming. Finally the MC tried to do some house keeping regarding the raffle and first goal and Raph Clarke coming to talk at half time, it took a while as the crowd was restless.

The raffle ticket sellers came to our table, I decided against getting a ticket (1st prize BMW driving day and lunch at Point Leo, 2nd prize $300 Linen House pack, 3rd prize Indigenous jumper). I stretched my legs outside and watched a bit of the warm-up, also found where I'd be sitting which was in the pocket, row P, seat 44 on the end of the aisle.

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I got back in just as lunch was arriving and was happy that I'd got the chicken, not the barramundi. A bowl of the duck fat potatoes was placed in front of me but while I was taking photos (for you lot!) it was scooped up by the bloke next to me and halfway around the table before I could point out there was already a bowl over that side. They were passed back and I scooped out my share, maybe a couple of extras as a deprivation tax. Before and halfway through photos below.

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Lunch over and the game was about to start. Went out to my seat and actually got to meet and talk to Holy [PLAYERCARD]Hunter Clark[/PLAYERCARD]. Fast forwarding past the frustrating first half (broken up by a trip back inside to grab another free drinkie at quarter time), half time brought about some quite pleasant repast - party pies, mini sausage rolls and scones. Ate some more even though I didn't really need to, and listened to the MC interview Raph Clarke who was there with a brother that's not Xavier. He talked about the convenience of having a brother already at the club which he felt made him settle, the difficulty trying to settle into a position (since he wasn't quick enough to go with a Cyril Rioli or big enough to go up against a key forward) and the success of his team back home, which was undefeated and won the flag last year with three Clarkes playing for it.

They drew the raffle and second prize went to the MC's dad next to me who bought the tickets I decided against. Sliding doors - but then I don't really need $300 worth of Linen House stuff. Then went back out to being frustrated by more football.

Tl;dr summary: Nice lunch, lots of speeches, nice to meet Holy [PLAYERCARD]Hunter Clark[/PLAYERCARD], vexing match, thanks boydie
 
I am always happy with food talk, as it is central to what sort of event theme and do they actually care about said event or are we just going through motions and expecting people to essentially double dip to make bank. When the main draw is booze and gambling with a raffle it's kind of a snub to people who make the effort to go to such events, so that menu shot made me think that they actually cared enough to make a homely sort of warm feel to it instead of build an event on a budget like some previous instances.
 
Sorry for the late update but got home to so pretty bad news within the family and needed to get that sorted.

I was welcomed into the Rogers room with a Glass of Red and got to walk around and have a look at the old Fitzroy memorabilia which was fantastic.

Finally got to 12 o'Clock and could head into the dinning room, I was welcomed to the table by another big footy member that wasn't Goodie, (I unfortunately couldn't remember his username, but if you are reading this thanks for a great day) and got talking with him and a few he was there with. A player sponsor of Marshall and I had a great time telling him the time Marshall kicked a bag against me when I was 13. He was a great fella and is a part of the crew that attend training regularly so I enjoyed talking to him.

Entree was waiting there for me and the Beef Tataki was right up my alley and enjoyed every last bite, there was also a plate of Damper with butter to go in with the Indigenous round theme.

The speeches that both Aunty Joy and Aunty Katrina gave were fantastic and it was great to see the club are becoming leaders in the AFL for embracing indigenous culture.

After a few more glasses of red, lunch was served and I was lucky enough to get the Barramundi. Couldn't fault both the taste and how it looked, chef was impressed.

After lunch was polished off I finally got to take a seat in the stands and meet Goodie who is a great fella. And then from there it was a rollercoaster ride known as being a diehard Saints supporter. With us playing the worst first half of footy but somehow being level at half time.

Goodie and I enjoyed demolishing a few scones, party pies and sausage rolls before grabbing another drink and making the way out.

Before I managed to get back to my seat in the 3rd we had kicked 2 quick goals, I joked at the time that I should head back up to the room and watch from there since we started playing well, so you can blame the loss on me for staying in my seat for the rest of the game. After watching Higgins drop the game in the goal square it pretty much went down hill from there.

Apart from the result, I had a good day and got to meet some great people.

Thanks Boydie for organising everything, you're a legend. PXL_20230527_014913416.jpg PXL_20230527_031338133.jpg PXL_20230527_020417925.jpg

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