Misc Footy Your football career

blueroy

Debutant
Jun 14, 2011
126
72
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
Preston (RIP)
Was a bit of a man child as a kid, so all through juniors I played Full Forward or in the ruck. By about 17 everyone had caught up, so playing seniors I've been relegated to a wing or forward flank. Not much else to report on
 
Perth:
U9's - Played for Kelmscott in the U8's for one game, before being moved up to the U9's as I was bigger then everybody else, went on to have an on and off season, dislocated my thumb in the last game of the season.
U10's - Kelmscott again, on and off season, won some, lost some.

Brisbane:
U11's - Moved to Brisbane and wanted to find a club straight away. Started off at the Jimboomba Redback's and we had a season that saw us just miss the finals.
U12's - Same coach, same sorter season, highlight was beating a team that was on top of the ladder by kicking 49 points in the first quarter, and not scoring for the rest of the game.
U13's - Cant remember this season, not sure if I played..
U14's - Had a ripper of a season under a new coach, smashed every team by 70+ points throughout the H&A Season without dropping a game, and then we lost the two final's games. I got kicked in the hand in round 20 at an extra coaching session, thought I had broken my hand and was disappointed as I had never played finals and was pissed I might not be able to play them. Played the next two games with a strapped hand, in the first week of the finals we versed West Juniors, through the season we beat them by 3 points after our Full Forward slotted one from the square with about 10 seconds to go, they beat us by 2 here and was our first loss. The following week we versed a different team (cant remember who) but in the first 10 minutes our best player tackled and broke a kid's leg, the bone out of the skin and everything. Our player was put off and their team ran rampant, kicking our asses by about 70 points.
U15's - Didn't play, hand ****ed.
U16's - Didn't play, hand ****ed.
U17's - Didn't play, hand ****ed.
Considering giving it a go next year, would still be in U17's I think, my hand requires a reconstruction though, so it is a bit iffy.
 

nufan

Norm Smith Medallist
May 4, 2011
6,468
4,045
Victoria
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Pelicans, Tottenham
Played Vic kick. Mum made me play basketball because her baby boy would get far too injured in a thug sport like footy. (great choice)
Bring on 3 broken ankles, 2 shoulders, a fully torn hammy and dislocated knee what does she know. Get to 6"4 and drop from 165kg to 90kg and local teams ask me to play ruck due to vertical leap/height/and as my Bulldog loving family say "built like Charlie Sutton"(as a back up in the 2's one would assume)
16 months out of all sport and preparing my self for my 1st pre season at the tender age of 26. Any advice for someone who has never played before?
 

the bolter

Debutant
Sep 7, 2012
139
77
AFL Club
North Melbourne
How hard is it to play for Fitzroy VAFA? That's a bit of a dream. It'll be as close as I will ever get to playing for an AFL club.

Fitzroy have about 4 Senior sides running around for varying degrees. I too am thinking of running around for a giggle next year. should be able to slot in for a game somewhere, even if its with the beer guts in Clubbies.
 

Alex9

Draftee
Sep 14, 2012
14
2
AFL Club
Adelaide
2004: U9
2005: U9
2006: U9
2007: U11
2008: U11
2009: U13-Cant really remember much from here back.
2010: U13- Played in the ruck all year. Ended up making the Grand Final against our other team( was split due to large numbers) but lost. Also won Best and fairest.
2011: U15- Also played ruck all year. Also ended up making the grand final but lost that aswell. Come 4th in Best and Fairest and also got most courageous. Also represented the town.
2012: U15- Played in the ruck first half of year, ent away for 4wks and then finished off in CHB. Played U18's at a range of positions FB,CHB, BP, Wing, ruck midfield. Played 1 A-grade game. Represented the town and got selected to play for North Adelaide country team in the Intra-state championships. Ended up winning the whole thing and being state champs. Won the grand final back home basically by the first quarter being 50-2.
 

Beetlebum

Premiership Player
Jul 13, 2011
4,780
2,652
Formerly Row UU Block 113.
AFL Club
Fremantle
Played 63 games for Willagee from the late 80s (88 or 89) until 1993. Then played 3 years with Kardinya before a knee injury, played twice for Palmyra in 1997 and haven't played a competitive game of footy since.

I was a mediocre trundler playing up forward or in the ruck usually despite not being particularly tall..played a few games for Melville high school in the mid 90s mainly at full back to complete my end to end career..
 

Jiggystoon

Club Legend
Jan 9, 2010
1,591
1,635
The other side
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Newcastle United, New York Mets
Interesting thread this, never actually reflected much on my career but I thought I would give it a whirl....

1994-1996: Started my career in the U/12's aged 10 in the Bendigo Junior Footy League, played for my school team, went through to 1996 aged 12, was a primary school team so only went to under 12's, not much to report from those early years, wasnt a big kid, didnt have a lot of mongrel, had decent skills but lacked the intensity to go and get my own ball

1997-2000: Went to my local club also in the BJFL for the start of the 1997 season in the U/13's, continued with the club through till the end of 2000 in the U/16's aged 16 when I played my 100th junior game, from about 16 onwards I went through a bit of a growth spurt and was at around 193cm, spent a fair chunk of time in the ruck in the U/16's, by this time I was actually starting to develop into quite an athletic type, could run and jump and had decent skills, lack of mongrel and confidence held me back quite a bit, by the end of the 2000 season my head was being turned by Soccer and I decided that I wanted to give that a go.

2001: I played a year of Soccer, I love the game and still do, I really enjoyed my time and was actually going to continue playing beyond 2001 until I got a phone call from my old footy clubs new U/18's coach asking me to come back and give footy a go.

2002: Sure enough the lure of footy was to strong and by 2002 I was back playing footy, I had grown another couple of cm's by this stage so I was automatically drafted into the ruck, I hated the position tbh, maybe I was a bit soft (I was skin and bones I would have been lucky to weigh in at 80kg's), I didnt quite understand how to play the position either so I was largely ineffective as a ruckman, I played a little as a resting forward and did some good things, but I just didnt have the mongrel to take a game on, the technical side to my game was developing well, I had decent skills, I could take a decent mark, I just couldnt make myself take a game on.

2003: After finishing my VCE in 2002 I moved to Melbourne for School aged 18, I actually didnt have any plans to play any footy at all but one of the student welfare people at the TAFE I was studying at had a mate who was coaching a senior team in the D3 Amateurs, he organised everything with his mate and before I knew it I was playing again, D3 isnt exactly elite footy but it was senior footy with bodies much bigger then my own, I started off slowly but I started to get used to playing against men and it actually helped my footy quite a bit, I was starting to understand that I could use my height and athletic ability to my advantage, after the 2003 season finished I went away and had a think about what I wanted to do with my footy next, I had a strong urge to have a crack at a higher level just to see if I could cut it, living in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne someone mentioned to me that I go down and see if the Northern Bullants would have a look at me during the coming summer. I honestly never realistically considered it, I ended up moving back to Bendigo during the summer holidays and enjoyed being with my mates again, it wasnt until after xmas that I decided I would at least ask someone at the Bullants if I could come for a run, surprisingly they said yes.

2004: I started training with the Bullants, they were about 2 weeks away from cutting guys to finalise there list for the coming season, I was basically told that I had 2 weeks to prove myself and that there were no promises they did say that the fact I was tall and athletic would work to my advantage, I had a good couple of weeks on the track plus I had a good game in the intra club match so I made the cut, the year started off well and I played the first few games in the seconds, getting some invaluable experience. A nasty calf injury at training put me out of action for around 10 weeks, upon returning I played the remaining 6 games in the seconds, there was one really strong performance at CHF that had me pressing for a senior spot but due to some selections at AFL level I ended up staying in the seconds for the year. I finished the season having learned a hell of a lot.

2005: My course in Melbourne finished up so I moved back to Bendigo, the plan was to have another year with the Bullants but geographically it was possible, I was keen to continue with the local VFL side the Bombers but nothing eventuated and I ended up signing back at my local club, had a good start to the season before breaking my collarbone and missing the next 8 or so weeks, come back through the twos before playing seniors for the remaining few games, we played in the GF that season, my form in the lead up wasnt great and I ended up getting dropped for the prelim and didnt get my spot back, probably the hardest time of my career, we ended up losing the GF in a close one. At the end of the season I got a call from the local VFL side asking me to come and train over the pre season. I did that, despite a nasty bout of Ostitus Pubis I signed with the VFL club for the following season.

2006: Was spent with the Bombers, I never really got going until the second half of the year after the set back during the pre season, after some minor frustrating soft tissue injuries I ended the season in decent form, playing roughly 10 games in the seconds. I was asked to return to the club for the following season which I decided to.

2007: Saw me re-sign with the Bombers before a job offer had me relocate to Melbourne again, I organised a club to train with in Melbourne to keep in shape but because of the move and lack of club training at home the pre season didnt go as well as would have liked, there were some more soft tissue problems during the finish of pre season and the first few rounds, I felt I had stagnated and finished the season playing around 10 or so games in the twos again. I was contemplating what I wanted to do with my footy for the following season, I had already fielded a few calls from some local clubs but I felt I wasnt ready to take the step down into country footy again, I ended up re-signing with the Bombers for a third season.

2008: Pre season went really well for the first time in a few years, I had reached a new level of fitness and had added quite a bit of muscle, I felt good and like I was ready to finally take another step in my career, I ended up with a severe hamstring injury during our final intra club match and was back to square one, I got back into the side around round 5 and played some good footy before injuries struck again, I ended up playing around 10 games in the seconds again, I finished the season on one leg, I felt at the age of 24 I had had enough metally and physically. I decided that I was going to sit the next year out.

2009: Spent the year out of the game, kept the body in shape, I was enjoying not playing, I had no plans to go back.

2010: Started the same as last season, enjoying the time away from the game, a phone call about half way through the season from an old footy contact who was now involved with a club in one of the local leagues got me keen again, I signed with them and I started to enjoy being around a bunch of blokes who loved there footy but loved a good time as well, my first game back resulted in a broken wrist and a 8 week lay off, I got back with two games to go before finals, played some good footy, we won through to the GF, my first senior GF, we lost by 20 goals, just a horrible day. I had already decided that I wanted to stay for another season.

2011: I stayed with the club again, I had a good summer, put some more muscle on and felt good, I had a couple more minor soft tissue problems but I was at a stage now where I had taught myself how to manage them, about half way through the season I went down with a knee, an ACL, with my season over I was forced to watch the rest of the season from the sidelines, I had the surgery in Oct of that year, I had already decided that 2012 was gone, I had decided to go back to uni the following year so there was a chance that I wouldnt have played 2012 in any case.

2012: Rehab, I actually stayed away from footy this year, I have younger brothers coming through the local club where I started, and I took great satisfaction in watching them grow and play senior footy, as for the current, I am running again and feel pretty good, as for 2013 I would say at this stage I wont be going back to footy, I have had contact with my most recent club about coming back but at this stage I have other commitments in my life and im not sure if footy is a part of that anymore, its been a hell of a ride though, there are regrets, mainly from injuries coming at all the wrong times but thats the way it goes, looking back I would have loved to play in a premiership, but they are out of anyone’s control, holly crap it feels like I have been typing forever!

 

ManInWhite

Ex ManInWhite
Apr 6, 2009
918
421
AFL Club
Richmond
As a contrast from an umpires perspective:

1981: responded to an ad in the church newsletter looking for boundary umpires for juniors. Ran with the U/14's for the year (Knox juniors).

1982 - 1989: Chap who organised the junior umpires asked me about doing the boundary for a senior comp that he umpired with on Saturdays. Started with the ESCFA doing boundary for 3 years, in third year took up field and did U/15's field in the morning and senior boundary in arvo. Next year did field only with a few years in the seniors.

1990 -1991: Selected for AFL Development Squad. Did a mix of AFL U/19's, VFA reserves & U/19's and the North Central & Mid Murray country leagues. We also acted as emergency for AFL reserves & VFA seniors. Started in the same group as McBurney / McLaren / McInerney plus a few others who all kicked on! Best 2 years of my life.

1992 - 1998: AFL U/19's disbanded to form TAC cup and our squad was halved. Missed the cut and went back to SFL for 7 seasons.

1999 - 2001: Moved across to EFL for a change in scenery.

2002 - 2007: Semi retirement - kids at toddler age and wife was working Saturdays.

2008 - 2009: Back to EFL because circumstances allowed it and I hated retirement.

2010 - 2012: Transferred to YVMDFL for another change in scenery and games closer to home. Really enjoyed country football atmosphere again. This last year ran seniors each Saturday and 14's & 16's on a Sunday helping coach and mentor younger umpires.

2013 - : Have decided to step away from senior footy and will concentrate on the juniors from next year. Couldn't imagine not umpiring and this way I'll get my Saturdays back but still be involved.

All up - would highly recommend it to anyone who loves footy but injury or other circumstances prevent them from playing. It's a great way to stay involved and some of my best and closest friends in life have all been through footy. Many friendships also made with many, many clubs.

Have missed probably a dozen matches in total through injury (over 25 years) - officiated in over 500 games which includes 6 interleague appearances and 17 grand finals. No regrets.
 
Sep 15, 2011
10,975
5,370
Perth
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Canberra Raiders,Crystal Palace F.C
Started out in 2002 in Hills Football League (SA) Under 10s. My very first game (which I hadnt slept for 3 days because i was that excited) the other team didnt turn up so we won on forfeit. We then lost the next 11 games until I got two of my mates who were pretty good footballers to come play for us we won the next game and that also got them back into footy.

2003: Moved up to under 12s. We had two under 12s teams and i was on the bench of the first team and playing in the second team. Somehow managed to play about 36 games that season (couldnt do that now :p)

2004: Last year of under 12s went through the season undefeated but there was no finals/premiership.

2005: Moved to the WA country town of Narrogin and played for the Narrogin Hawks D grade. once again undefeated through the whole season only this time we lost the grand final. I kicked a goal late in the Grand Final.

2006: Moved up to the C Grade we were undefeated until the semi then lost (to the same team we lost to in the GF the year before) but had the double chance so managed to get a rematch in the GF and won. I played all of about 47 seconds in the GF and the rest on the bench.

2007: Finished equal top made it to the grand final. I had a pretty good season for my standards and had a heap of fun too. In the grand final we were 30 odd points down at the start of the forth quarter and their crowd was singing their song and going on about it like theyd already won. Then we kicked 6 goals to nil in the last quarter (the last goal came with about 45 seconds to go) to win by 3 points. I kicked a behind from the wing and thats about it.

2008: We finished second ladder. This was my senior year in C grade so it was pretty fun. Started out in the ruck then moved to CHB and then moved to CHF after i kicked four goals in a quarter. In the GF again (forth year in a row and all were against the same team.) We were playing it at our home ground and had the whole town out to support us and we got an early centre clearance I marked and goaled and the whole team was pumped as we were underdogs. But they eventually got a hold of us and won by about 20-30 points. the only GF of our that wasnt filmed and it was the one that I played the most in.:( Still couldnt complain i was lucky to play in such succesful teams.

2009: Moved up to seniors in B Grade didnt do much as I was (and still am) extremely skinny so I got thrown around a bit.

2010: moved back to Adelaide and played for my old club. Played mostly B grade and C Grade was great fun playing with some of my heros from when i was younger.

2011: Moved to Perth to study and joined the Canning Tigers in WAAFL and did the whole preseason only to break my collar bone in the first 5 minutes of the first game. Out for the season.

2012: Didnt play due to work.
 
Bugger it, I'll go through the lot....

1999: Under 17's Brothers AFC Rockhampton. Mainly used off Half Back Flank but sometimes was a pinch hitting ruckman. Played in losing GF side, had 1 kick for day. Current umpire Ben Ryan wanted it to be kicked to him, I went long up the line.

2000: Under 16's Brothers AFC Rockhampton, Reserves Brothers AFC Rockhampton, Capricornia Under 16 team. Named Deputy Vice Captain of Under 16's, playing in a variety of roles given the competition was a shambles all year. Only 2 clubs had enough players for a team, and we had 2 Yeppoon players in our ranks. Even worse was the rep team, where there were 19 players cobbled together. We managed to get a ring-in from a combined Townsville-Mackay team.....but he went back to Townsville/Mackay after one of their players got carted off in an Ambulance. We finished the 3 day carnival with 18 fit players of which a few were suffering cramp. Played mainly CHB. Played 12 reserves games after the old man (who filled in as a coach) reluctantly played the Under 16 players to fill the bench, played mainly forward. Kicked only goal we kicked in a reserves 1st semi (4 goals to 1, it pissed down rain, the seniors lost by a point and it was a 5 goal to 4 game)

2001: 13 Reserves games, 2 senior games (one club didn't have a reserves), played off half back mainly. Played in losing finals team but remember kicking the ball out an awful lot in the last quarter after behinds.

2002: 14 Reserves games, 3 senior games....filled in all sorts of roles. Kicked first goal in seniors in a night match......but I barely got many other kicks and my wallet and keys were stolen.

2003: 15 Reserves, don't know seniors.....mainly played up forward. Hurt knee in 2nd last game playing as a ruckman (and playing well too, asswipe crunched me after I marked and stuffed my knee up) and carried into last round.

2004: 15 Reserves, 1 seniors.....again played up forward.

2005: 15 reserves.....played forward except for 1 game where tried back at half-back. 10 minutes into first quarter pinged hamstring, 5 minutes later old man joined me on bench having done his calf. Had to play the next week with pinged hamstring to avoid fine for late forfeit. Was next in line to play senior 1st semi final (was only other bloke to bring playing gear!) but injury to former bulldog listee Paul O'Shea happened 2 minutes before bounce during warm-up, AFTER team sheets were signed and exchanged. Seniors won flag, I was stuck babysitting!

2006: 15 reserves, 1 seniors.....kicked goal in only senior appearance with last kick of the day (they'd kicked 30, that was our 2nd for the day, not quite backyard dreams stuff). Again used forward almost exclusively.

2007: 14 reserves, I think 7 seniors....reserves forfeited last round fixture as we only had 20 players available, like we had for several games that season. Forward line in 2's, wherever in seniors (often trying to be extra in defence after 10 minutes). Carried off on stretcher in 2nd last senior game of season, limped back on after mandatory 20 minute period off ground as we only had 16 players to start with! Even played in a team that started last quarter with 11 players on ground (started with 18, 7 injuries), president convinced umpire to call game off. In 29 senior and reserves combined fixtures club won ONE game, the first reserves game! Had one game at full-back on monster full-forward and held him to 3 when he'd averaged 5-6 a game.

2008: 15 reserves, 3 seniors....Captain of reserves and went 0-15. Of the 3 senior appearances I was on the ground for 30 seconds in 1 game and 1 minute in another, not injured in the first instance but later found to have injured calf during reserves before other (the 2nd game I was uninjured and even decided to sledge the opposing player-coach, "Fat guy like me running you down, god you must be slow").

2009: 15 reserves....so called coach had no idea about football and probably wanted me out so if he was reappointed after 2009 I would have simply quit playing.

2010: 12 reserves.....dropped from winning reserves GF team 3 weeks after kicking 2 goals from 4 kicks in semi final. Announced retirement in May effective end of season after getting sick of being left out because I was working and someone thought it wasn't a good enough excuse to skip training. Convinced to this day this was NOT reserves coach, but someone else who forced him into saying it. Same with GF side, convinced it wasn't the call of the reserves coach to leave me out (he had me in).

2011: 14 Reserves.....played in losing GF team having being convinced to come back, but come back is now on my terms given football is no longer be all and end all.

2012: 13 Reserves, 3 seniors.....missed reserves semi final after re-aggravating calf injury. Played more on-ball rather than exclusively forward. Even spent 10 minutes of a senior game at full back and kept him kickless......stand in coaches then rested me (I'd played whole reserves game) and literally a minute later opponent kicks goal.
 
2000: First year of under 10's. The only thing I can remember is being cheated out of a grand final spot. All the under 10's clubs played at a reserve with like 4 ovals on it, so there was only 1 siren for all of them. In the prelim, we were on the oval furthest from the siren, and were in the lead when it went. The umpire didn't hear it, but a lot of the parents were yelling out to him that the siren had gone. Somehow he didn't realise that every other game had stopped, and we played for another 3 or 4 minutes, and the other team kicked a goal, and we lost.

2001: 2nd year of under 10's. Can't remember it at all.

2002: First year of under 12's. Terrible year. Our coach was a dick, and made all the bottom age players sit on the bench for most of the game (apart from his son of course :rolleyes:), while the older kids got to play. My least favourite year of footy.

2003: 2nd year of under 12's. One of the best years I had in footy. I was one of the taller kids at this age, and spent most of the time swapping between ruck and CHB, but had one stint at FF where I kicked 3 goals in 5 minutes, only to never play there again :p. I played great in the ruck, and have a vivid memory of a perfect tap against a guy who had been beating me all day, only to get it to one of my guys to kick the winning goal just before the siren.
A week after our last game I almost died from an illness.

2004: First year of under 14's, missed the whole year recovering from the illness at the end of 2003.

2005: My triumphant return. 2nd year of under 14's, I remember being incredibly scared before my first game. Had hardly done any contact training before this, so didn't know how I'd go. I played in the backline for most of the game, and played a fair bit against Luke Dahlhaus. It's fair to say i got absolutely torched :p
We had a good year though. Made it to the grand final, only to lose to our rival club by 4 points. I got bitten on my hand by a kid wearing a helmet.

2006: First year of under 16's. Another good year, and another where we made it to the grand final. We were the dominant team all year, beating every side by about 10 goals, and were in the box seat for the premiership. But of course, it wasn't to be. Being in under 16's, with 1's and 2's sides, the team we were playing against had their 1's knocked out of the finals the week before. They dropped down all their players, and we lost by 11 points. It was shattering.

2007: 2nd year of under 16's. Can't remember a lot of this year. Had a knee injury for a while, so missed a couple of games. I went to Hawthorn football club for an academy program, which was pretty cool.

2008: Under 18's. By this time it's worth noting that I was no longer one of the taller players in the team. Everyone had caught up, and gone passed me. So long passed were the days of ruck and CHB, now I played mostly on a HBF. Can't remember many specifics of this year. But I don't think we were any good.

2009: 2nd year of under 18's. I had a good year. Pushed up the ground a lot more, got more involved in the play. We were a lot better this year than the previous year, and ended up making the finals.
Lost our first final, but had a 2nd chance. It was a tight game, and I remember going for the longest run I had ever gone on in footy (my speed had diminished considerably by this time, so this was a big achievement :D). I ran from the back pocket and almost got to the HFF. We ended up losing the game by about 2 goals though.

2010: Due to a nice little loophole in our competition, this was my 3rd year of under 18's. I had a great year, playing off a HBF again. Was just a really fun year, and I knew it would be my last. Body couldn't cope with training anymore, and I knew I wouldn't be able to step up and do seniors training. Was being held together with tape every week, and had to push through a lot of pain to play.
My last game was against a team who's home ground was up on a hill, and it was extremely wet and windy. Pissed down rain for the whole game. We got off to a good start, kicking something like 6 goals to nothing, only to not score another goal for the rest of the game, and ended up losing.
So after a bit more than 150 games, I called it quits.
 

doberman

Team Captain
Sep 9, 2010
374
541
Perth
AFL Club
Fremantle
u12/13s: First year of football and was very average. Playing country footy. Could barely kick the ball, loopy kicks, bad spin. Played mainly back pocket to keep me out of the action. Second year very much the same.

u14/15s: Went through a growth spurt and developed my marking ability. End up playing playing CHB and FB by seasons end ahead of kids older than me. Third year breakout really, skills tidied up somewhat. Running ability one of the main aspects missing from my game.

u16/17s: Developed further into an important player for structures, holding down CHB. No real weight or height, probably similar to Michael Johnson. Lose the grand final in my last year, but manage to finish runner up BF, losing to a great midfielder.

Colts: Switch clubs due to junior team being affiliated with my highschool and not having teams in the senior league. First year play the whole season as a CHF, not a great goal kicker, but excellent contested mark and delivery inside 50. Go whole year undefeated only to lose grand final.

Move to Perth for university and play with an amateur club with teams in A grade. Play first game of the year as a HBF in the A colts. Struggle big time to adapt, both physically and aerobically and ask the coach to be relegated (also due to just wanting to enjoy footy in a new city). Play the rest of the year as a midfielder in the lowest level colts finishing runner up BF after playing 9/18 games due to injury and holidays.

Final year of colts and really work on my fitness over the summer and play A colts the whole year. Started off in the midfield until bruising my knee, coming back in the middle third of the year playing up forward, then finishing the final third of the year down back due to injuries to key defenders. Lose the grand final again, not satisfied with my year. (Highlight was my return from injury against the bottom team and kicking 6 from FF.)

2012: Play B reserves all year after our league team is relegated. Play mainly as a running HBF/BP, averaging 12-16 touches per game, with occasional stints in the middle and HF line. Team makes a quick exit from finals due to talent poaching by the league team. Overall dissatisfied with my year, well below expectations.

Now thinking about changing clubs to a lower grade to play in the league team with my brother who will be making a return. Goal is to lock down a spot in the midfield and hopefully win a premiership. Added 5kgs or so and been running a lot to build up my tank. Personally believe my kicking and marking skills are excellent (been likened to Fyfe ;)) , with work needed on my handballing, fitness and injury prevention.

183cm 81kg

Can't wait
 

coleman10

Senior List
Mar 14, 2007
297
83
Belize
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Lakers, Arsenal
Let's see....
Highly skilled left footer, with the physique of Gollum, so I never stood a chance. Talk about being born at the shallow end of the gene pool!
Played mainly as an onballer/ forward as a junior, and won a few "Most Courageous" trophies for being a bit of an in and under player. Never shirked a contest. Could have been a case of "little man syndrome". I don't know.
Got to the final cut of WAFL Colts at age 17, but got dealt the "sorry son, you're too small" card.
Tore my right Achilles at 19, took a year off football, then began my coaching career at age 20. Coached Juniors (15s - 17s) for 3 years, and was coach of some pretty handy players that went on to AFL and WAFL careers, so i like to think I played a part in their development along the way.
Played again from 1994 to 2002 on and off at amateur level. Never set the world on fire as a player, but as Maverick would say "I could hold my own". Tactically I knew I had something, and ended up coaching amateurs in various guises from 2005 to 2010.
I have to admit that 2010 was not my favorite year in football. After decades in the game, and hundreds upon hundreds of GREAT people you meet and form long term friendships with in football, in 2010 I met THAT ONE INDIVIDUAL that was put on this earth to make my life miserable. This guy was a relic of the 80's, trying to coach 2K football with an iron fist and old school "lone wolf" tactics (if you could call them that) that were so far outdated, his idea of a "switch" was something he used to turn on his record player to listen to his favorite '78s!!!
Anyway, I moved on, achieved my Level 2 accreditation last year and am now a Development Coach and Youth Mentor at a WAFL club.
I coached U16s in 2012 and had my most satisfying season as a coach ever. No, we didn't win the flag. We didn't even make the GF. But when a coach can remove the personal desire to win a flag, to concentrate on developing players for THEIR future and not for HIS past, that coach will be truly satisfied. I now have three of my players from last year pushing for WAFL selection, and one of them WILL be drafted in the next 12-24 months! THAT is what drives me to coach.
I have never enjoyed my football more than I do today, and if not for one individual, I may have walked away from the game forever.
Today's' game is such a challenging one to coach, but when it works it is satisfying. There are some great kids coming through the system, but if they are poorly coached from a young age, they will suffer for it in their quest to play at the highest level.
Ask any 12 or 13 year old footballer what is more important to them - winning this years premiership? or one day being drafted by an AFL club? If they answer "winning a flag", then that's their daddy talking, not THEM!
Coach for the future, not for the flag.
Our great game depends on it!
 
Jul 25, 2010
2,182
1,206
AFL Club
Geelong
Decent as a little kid. Represented the territory in the schoolboys. Played a year up in U/14's, runner up B&F. Played Rugby Union U/15's. Average year in U/16's, and that was the last year I played. Usually played in the centre.
 
Retired from soccer in 2006 and began u/14 footy. Played there for one season and moved clubs the next season for under 16's for 1 and a half seasons Changed clubs halfway trough the season due to the coach. Got much more game time at the new club too. Wasn't able to make much of my footy career due to lack of skill. Quit it the following season and came out of retirement back to playing soccer in 2011 and have been playing since. Training with the seniors for footy this season in the hope of playing footy in a season or 2. I've got youth on my side (only just 20) though so still got loads of time to make a decent senior career.
 

gfhawthorn

Team Captain
May 12, 2012
354
525
Melbourne
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
chicago bulls, manchester united
started in under 10's in 2006, had a great year, played variety of positions, getting 3 goals in one game out of the pocket and 2 + 20-something touches later on off half back.
under 11's- the two sides we had going merged and i got put in the forwardline, had an alright year, got a concussion and jarred neck in a prelim, but kicked a goal in the grand final we won
under 12's- forwardline again, kicked a few goals throughout the year, but was always considered a 3rd forward option
under 13's- usual stuff, forwardline, few goals.
under 14's- very interesting year, started off with an intra-club practice against another year, i had a great first qtr, kicked a goal or 2 and got 10+ touches playing off the wing, i was in for huge game, but got tagged for the first time ever, i would have copped a fair tag but this bloke was constantly punching me in the lower back, where i had some soreness, when i got into a pack, he ran past and kneed me in head from behind, got held all day until i busted him up on the ground in the last quarter. spent most of the year on the wing, team was becoming a popularity contest, so i stepped up my fitness, dropped about 8kg (i wasn't that fat, i just had to get as lean as i could to be able to run all day) had to win my own ball all year, won another premiership, then decided a couple of months later to stop playing due to an upcoming surgery that would put me out for a year, as well as not getting enough time in defence, had a great time though
 

Gibbsy

Cakewalk
Oct 12, 2009
23,613
27,536
Geetroit
AFL Club
Collingwood
2006/2007 - U/12's, medium sized forward, bobbed up for a couple of goals a game, not much else. Was good with my skills and at ground level, loved a snap over a set shot.

2008 - first year of graded competition in U/14's, serviceable forward in the 2's, we got pumped every week though so there wasn't a whole lot to laugh about as a goal kicker. Many a scary day travelling out to Thomson or Corio early in the morning.

2009 - U/14's 2's premiers, such a great feeling. I have vivid memories of this season. I was reinvented as a full-back as I started to get a bit taller, still skinny as a rake though, was 176cm/54kg. Relished the FB role after hating it initially. Come the grand final we were 3 goals up with three minutes left against the best team all year. I don't know how, but we nearly threw it away. The opposition hit back hard and levelled the scores. We went into extra time, after spending the second half of the final term on the pine I got thrown into the forward line in extra time. Immediately took a mark from just outside 50 and bombed it long to the top of the square, one of my best mates takes a mark and kicks the goal to win the game. Awesome stuff.

2010/2011 - Up to the U/16's. Back to being a forward in the 2's. Still yet to ever play a 1's game. At times I kicked a few goals but generally it was pretty tough as I was still dealing with Severs Disease in the heels that I had since about 2006. It is a shocker of a problem and really affects your bone spurs etc.

2012 - First year in U/18's, felt much more like a part of the club, doing my job as a forward in the 2's still, had shot up in height though and was also a part time ruckman. Missed the first six weeks of the season through shin splints. Couldn't take a trick, fractured shins on both legs. Learnt to hate boxing. Kicked a bag of 6 in the wet one cold day and took a screamer too, umpire clapped me as I took the mark, one of my favourite games. I always had the ability to kick very opportunistic goals that were more suited to small crumbing forwards but I was too inconsistent and went missing at times. Regardless I still won our team goal kicking with about 25 goals for the year.

2013 - Final year of junior footy in U/18's, began to love training because I hated fitness work so much. Coach took a punt on me by putting me in the 1's round one and it's paid off, have held my spot the last seven or eight weeks and really loving my footy after basically conceding I was giving up at the end of last year. Have become a full time ruckman and my size is now 194cm/79kg. Still skinny but have filled out a bit more, still go down forward occasionally, but just love being a part of a team where there's greatly skilled midfielders to palm the ball down to. Best part of being a ruckman is that you are always in the play.

Overall it is a stroke of luck that my last year in footy has been my most enjoyable but it also comes down to a bit of perseverance and belief that I finally made the 1's side after six years. :)
 

nickrebellious

Premiership Player
May 22, 2012
3,643
6,176
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Box Hill
Local Club
First year: Bottom age under 18's - 3rd B&F
Second year: Top age under 18's - Captain, managed a game in the seniors & torn ACL.

That was a quick rise and fall. :D Just smashing out rehab now, will return next year.

To describe myself as a player it would be Paul Puopolo with a bit more height.
 

CotchinsClass

Senior List
Feb 14, 2013
235
238
AFL Club
Richmond
2002: Played my first game of under 12s, went very well, snagged a few. The under 14s were short got the call up played there till 2005, a very solid contributer but nothing special, 3rd in the bnf last year before 16s.
2006: under 16s: Played the year out of the centre, won the club bnf and came runner up in the league bnf.
2007: Skipped the rest of juniors went straight to under 18s played back on a wing and sweeping hbf through the finals series, 2nd in the bnf for the club, BOG for the finals series and runners up that year.
2008: Was 17 by the end of this year, played out on the centre all year, won the club bnf, 2nd in the league, won the flag and played gippsland power.
2009: Got the call up to local seniors, gave power away as i didnt like the travel involved and never wanted to have a crack at professional football, my minds on business. Played on a hbf all year through the seniors and we got spanked by 100 in the granny, didn't get dropped all year but found it hard to compete with the bigger bodies, I continued seniors into 2011, then bulked up and got fit.
2012: With a bulkier frame i finally moved to where i belong, the guts and i loved it. Won a local seniors flag, won the clubs bnf as a 20 year old and also won the league, ive had offers from vfl ressies as they knew about me from gippsland power but its just not my thing at all, I'd honestly rather coach.
2013: we've only just started but we're travelling very smooth, dont think ill be winning any flags this year though, competition has tightened.

Footballs a very big part of my life and i love it to death as you can tell. Thats my career so far boys. AAll the best.
 

biggiemediums

Norm Smith Medallist
WCE Wings Guernsey
Jul 20, 2010
8,179
10,821
AFL Club
Collingwood
I played for Ormond Blues from Under 9s - Under 13s. I was amazing at tackling but s**t at everything else. Then a realised how good I was at wrestling, haven't played since. I love footy but don't want to ever go back to being poor at something.
 

Shinboner99

MajakMeOff
Nov 3, 2014
16
1
AFL Club
North Melbourne
2xU/9s & U/10

Can't remember much back then but I knew I was pretty terrible, always rotating from bench to back pocket think my coach was trying to hide me on the field I was that bad :D

U/11s

From watching my dad's senior side training and playing for a few years I improved quiet a lot and had a fairly good year playing Half Back. unfortunately my team haven't been doing to well and only won a few games :(

U/12

Had an awesome pre season training with the seniors but broke my arm in the first practise match. That year I had a massive growth spurt and went from the smallest to one of the tallest. :)

U/13s

Moved to another club and had a good year coming 3rd in B&F and kept training and improving.

U/14s

Killed the first half of the year playing rover and had to of been in the lead of B&F and broke my leg severely and had compartment syndrome.

U/15s

Unfortunately with my team finishing dead last and not wining a match I didn't get up the field much and only kicked one goal. But luckily had a good injury free year and came 2 in B&F :)
 
Aug 28, 2014
614
684
Singapore
AFL Club
St Kilda
Other Teams
Green Bay Packers, Chelsea
1993 - U/9 "B" Team (Runners Up) - Participation Award
I don't remember a whole lot but we made the GF in our Lightning Premiership but lost. I learnt that a goal was 6 points and not 2 like in basketball!

1994 - U/9 "A" Team (Runners Up) - Participation Award
Again don't remember too much but we made the GF in our Lightning Premiership coming up against a team we beat pretty easy during the season but we ended up losing.

1995 - U/10 "A" Team (Premiers) - Participation Award
Started playing in the ruck and around the backline. Don't think I was too bad of a player at this stage. Won our Lightning Premiership GF.

1996 - U/11 "A" Team (Finished 4th - Premiers) - Participation Award
Played back up ruck and could play pretty much anywhere around the ground. Used to start on the wing most games from what I can remember because I was pretty quick. We needed to win our last game of the season to make the finals and finished 4th. We beat 3rd place pretty comfortably and played 2nd place in the Prelim were we beat them by 9 goals then proceeded to the GF were it was pretty even all day and the siren sounded with us 3 points ahead with the footy being kicked into the other teams foward 50.

1997 - U/12 "A" Team (Finished 1st - Premiers) - Participation Award
Played back up ruck and played around the foward line. Our team only lost 2 or 3 games all season and won our GF by 3 goals.

1998 - U/13 "A" Team (Finished 1st - Premiers) - Participation Award
Same roles as previous season. Played the same team in the GF as the previous season. I remember the other team had got off to a great start and were about 3 goals ahead by the end of the 1st qtr. I was moved into the ruck during the 2nd qtr with our team looking for a spark and I ended up playing a great burst were I kicked our first goal (and only GF goal of my career) of the 2nd qtr and after that we started to overtake the other team. Ended up winning pretty comfortably.

1999 - U/14 "A" Team (Finshed 3rd - Lost 1st Semi) - Most Improved Award
Usual roles but I was having a really good season. One week our team beat the 1st place team at their ground and then the following week we lost to the last placed team at their ground. It was a strange season. Had a game were I reportedly took around 15 marks and kicked a goal whilst playing in the back line. Unfortunatly it came to an end for me when I tore my hamstring and a bit of my ass bone with it near the end of the season while kicking for goal. Our team had a chance to win the 1st Semi after the siren but we missed. I ended up winning my highest end of year award which was most improved.

2000 - U/15 "A" Team (Finished 2nd - Lost Prelim) - Participation Award
Had a new coach for the first time since U/10 and he was a flog. During pre-season he got both "A" and "B" teams to train together then selected the best players for the "A" Team and left the "B" Team with all the bad players. First season back after I tore my hamstring went ok. No where near what I was like the season previous. Played back up ruck and full forward. Obviously being in my teenage years Mr Dickhead here decided to go to a party the night before our prelim final. Had a few drinks and word got around the morning of the final and got back to the coach. He told me he knows what I did but would start me at Full Forward where I had no impact at all and sat the last half of the 4th qtr on the bench where we lost. That would be my only regret during my footy career.

2001 - U/16 "B" Team (Finished last) - Participation Award
Was dropped to the "B" Team and didn't win one game all season. I did end up getting 2 votes for the league b&f though.

2002 - U/18 (Finished 1st - Premiers)
Now that I wasn't one of the tallest I didn't play ruck and played in the forward line instead. I had a good start to the season but as the season wore on I was in and out of the team and wasn't picked for the finals. On a side note my last ever game of football played was in an opposition jumper due to the team not having enough players to field a team.
 

Piss Poor

Cancelled
Aug 27, 2010
3,644
1,543
Melbourne
AFL Club
West Coast
1999- U14- most determined, Participation award, tried out for Western Jets but never continued as couldn't get to Oval for training, was about 30 minute drive from where I lived.
2000- U14 1/2- Best and Fairest, Participation award
2001- U16- Participation Award- team finished 3rd on ladder
2002- u16 1/2 Particpation- Injured, stress fracture on foot, never played again

short career but was pretty decent, have always wondered what might of been had I applied myself and took my TAC cup opportunity, One of me lifelong regrets.

gave it all up when I realised my AFL dream was over.
 

Rainfall

Norm Smith Medallist
Suspended
Aug 10, 2013
7,270
6,283
Wolf Creek
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Zyzz ~ Forever mirin'
1999- U14- most determined, Participation award, tried out for Western Jets but never continued as couldn't get to Oval for training, was about 30 minute drive from where I lived.
2000- U14 1/2- Best and Fairest, Participation award
2001- U16- Participation Award- team finished 3rd on ladder
2002- u16 1/2 Particpation- Injured, stress fracture on foot, never played again

short career but was pretty decent, have always wondered what might of been had I applied myself and took my TAC cup opportunity, One of me lifelong regrets.

gave it all up when I realised my AFL dream was over.
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