Whilst the new club rooms were under construction during much the football season, we were lucky enough to utilise the new facilities for the first time at our end of season gala day and team presentations.
On the football front, our Year 9 team dominated for most the home and away series which culminated in a grand final appearance. Unfortunately for our boys they came up against a better team on the big day and were runners up. They are already looking forward to a rematch in the Year 10 division next year.
Our Club has embraced the fledgling Northern Conference Junior Girls competition, fielding an entire team and with the hope of even more players next season! Our big thanks to coaches Lee Stringer and Ashara Wills, and Manager Denby Davison-Earl.
Our annual Year 7 father and son Melbourne football trip was another outstanding success. The trip is largely funded by Sunday morning sausage sizzles and a yearly raffle (AFL Grand Final prize). The boys were lucky enough to train with both the Carlton and North Melbourne players, and watched the eventual premiers the Western Bulldogs in their match against North Melbourne.
On an individual basis, we were all extremely proud of one of our junior players, Matt Guelfi, who played his first game in the Claremont senior team. Matt and his parents have been involved with the WJFC since its inception and the success of Matt in making the senior team sets a great example for our up and coming players.
We were also delighted that Ashara Wills and Michael Saunders were nominated in the 2016 Tigers District Awards of Excellence in the Female Coach of the Year and Modified Coach of the Year categories respectively. Ashara was also the coach of the female WA State Football Team which claimed the 2016 Female Kickstart title after they defeated Queensland in the Grand Final clash at the 2016 National Female Diversity Championships. Congratulations to both Ashara and Michael on your outstanding contribution in 2016.
The WJFC continues to have a great social calendar, highlighted this year by the record attendance by our parents at our "Bogan Bingo" event. The night was an amazing success and demonstrated the community spirit of our parents and their ongoing support of our club and fundraising activities. We are already looking forward to next year's events and the bogan dance moves and outfits.
Planning is already well underway for the 2017 season. The move to our new home ground and the use of our new club rooms and facilities has provided the opportunity to refresh our club branding and sponsorship. We have introduced a new club logo for the 2017 year which means that each player will be receiving a new footy guernsey next year, plus other merchandise (which we will keep secret for now). We have also designed a number of great sponsorship packages for the 2017 year to help drive the growth in our club and playing numbers - we welcome any individual and/or business sponsors to our club.
In closing, the WJFC committee is really looking forward to the new year at our new home, and hope to attract record numbers in both our Auskick and Junior Football programs.
Go Wembley Magpies!
Regards
Scott James
WJFC President