The growth and footprint of Westbrook Junior AFL Club continued in 2016 with many initiatives coming to fruition in our 34th year as a club. This season has been our biggest. Not only did we have record numbers, but additional teams to schedule made ground space a premium. We had the best and worst of the weather this season, but in the process we created memories. Some of those memories included three outstanding Premierships! Here is our season summary.
Girls Go Live!
It’s been three years in the making, and Round 4 saw our first ever Girls AFL team play! The North West Lightning, an alliance between Westbrook, Pennant Hills and Hornsby, came together for this inaugural game. What a highlight!
Youth Alliance
With the objective of participation and development, we embarked on a new era with an alliance in youth football (U13-17s) called the Northern Lights. Our partner club, Hornsby, has been fantastic every step of the way and we welcome them with open arms. Thank you to the many individuals who worked hard to make this a success. Hornsby also won North West Club of the Year, making them a perfect partner.
Saturday Night Alive – our biggest and best ever!
What a night! People were literally everywhere. 20 teams and our Auskickers made their way to Greenway Park for a very special evening. Thank you to all our visiting clubs, teams, and umpires for coming. Not only was it a chance to showcase AFL and our facilities, we also took the opportunity to support NBCF Pink Ribbon on the eve of Mother’s Day. We raised over $2000 from all the activities!!
Pre-season training showcasing AFL
Building on last year’s success, our club-wide pre-season training hit new heights with participation. An AFL executive made the comment that there would not be another ground in NSW that had the amount of activity we had going on so early in the year. The scale was impressive. It was then nice to get a visit from Sydney Swans Isaac Heeney and George Hewitt, and then later in the season, Harry Cunningham.
Representatives
Westbrook again punches above its weight with 30 players selected for the Youth Representative Carnival. Over 30% of the North West talent came from our club. Additionally, 14 players participated in the Junior Development days over the June long weekend. Also, congratulations to seven of our players for making the new ‘All Stars’ team.
Volunteer Family Farewell
AFL requires many helpers, and some do a fair bit more than others. Farewell to one of our longest serving volunteer families, the Miedlers. Andrew Miedler has been recognised as AFL Sydney Juniors ‘Volunteer of the Year’ and also received a ‘Meritorious Service’ Award. This is a coveted award and Westbrook thanks you for your service to our club and the region.
You and Vicki will forever hold a special place at our club. Thank you for your loyalty and involvement for around 14 years. Somehow, we feel this may not be the end …..
Milestones
The loyalty and retention of players is our number one objective. This season, we had a record number of players achieving game milestones with 4 players reaching 100 games and 28 players making it to 50 games. With our club maturing, we had our first ever Father and Son combination achieving 100 games each for the club – Daryl and Thomas Vella!
Sponsors
Westbrook JAFC would like to express their gratitude for the generous donations and sponsorship of our club. Without prudent management of expenses and the goodwill of sponsors, we simply cannot deliver on our promise of providing a great experience.
Thank you again to our club sponsors. Please support the businesses that support us: Pickles Auctions, MB Certifications, Isuzu Australia, Your Health Sport and Spine, Image Traders, West Pennant Hills Sports Club, Dr Ken Lipworth, Precise Dental Surgery and Snap Printing Wetherill Park.
