Senior Men's & Women's Football and Netball, Junior Boys & Girls Football, Auskick and over 35's Veterans and Masters Football. Affiliated with EFNL. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land in Boronia.
As we do our best to endure this rather ‘crap year’ for our club and society as a whole, it can also be a time to acknowledge and show gratitude to those at our club whose behaviours give us strength or even inspiration. So, in no particular order, I’d like to recognize a few club people that inspire me, and hopefully you.
Bomma Bomma AKA ( Robert Kimmit ) has been through an absolute rollercoaster of emotions as he supports his great mate, Collo, through his health battles. Bomma is there to support Amanda, he is there to update the ‘Hawka Community’ and he is literally sitting beside Collo as he does his best to fight for his life during this horrendous time. This is true mateship, this is true love for a friend and Bomma’s behaviours have made me feel really proud to be a part of our club. People like Bomma and Panda demonstrate the values of our club every day. A club that is built on friendship, inclusion and loyalty.
Amanda Collins What can I say. She has been resolute, determined and positive as her husband has fought and fought and fought. Her love for Dean and her family has known no bounds. She stays positive and regularly communicates with us all as we share his journey. A true hero!
Collo This bloke has been through hell now for over 14 weeks. He stays positive and hopeful that he can beat this. His emotions have been tested too many times. But he fights and he fights and he fights. An inspiration to us all!
Snicko and Dave The father son duo continue to make our club ‘cohesive’ during these terrible times. The facebook posts, the ‘Hawka Talks’ and the regular club updates keep us informed and together. The time these two men give to our club is extraordinary. We are most fortunate to have you both at our club!!!
Robbo, Ruthers, Shoey and Brett Smith Our boys in blue. These must be the most challenging times for our members in blue. You probably don’t get the thanks you deserve but we are proud of you guys!! Stay safe!!
Wayne and Sammy Even from Wayne’s hospital bed he is still planning and working on how we can make our club stronger off the field. Sammy is like a duracell battery, she just keeps going and giving. We are most fortunate to have these dynamic, loyal and dedicated volunteers at our club.
Ash and our Coaches Throughout this crisis, our coaches, with Ash, have worked to maintain our player unity. As a club, we are just so fortunate to have the quality of coaches we have at our club. Their dedication, their care for player wellbeing and their loyalty to our club has not gone unnoticed.
Stick This blokes capacity to keep the ‘vets’ together has been terrific to see. He has played cards with more or less the same blokes for close to 40 years. He invites his vets team to his home ( when allowed ) every Thursday, he organises the ‘footy trip’ esky and he inevitably gets the cards going at some stage. He brings unity, he brings enjoyment and he brings ‘groundhog day’ to our club. This is so important and this is what sets us apart from other clubs.
Hollywood I’ve been mates with this bloke for a long time. Being in the travel business is possibly the worst business to be involved in during a COVID lockdown. Does Hollywood sulk, or sook? No, he stays upbeat, he stays positive and he remains the same person we all love. We all look forward to using Greg and GK Travel when we are allowed to travel again.
Finally, just like society, our club will rebound from this crisis quickly. We are fortunate to be in a strong position in all departments and as soon as we are given the green light to start up operations we will muster the troops and get going again. Stay well, wear your mask and ‘Go Hawka!’
Being President of our Club has always been a privilege. It is something I don’t take for granted. You just wish to make a meaningful difference and leave the organisation in a better position than when you took over. I actually don’t find the role a burden, quite the opposite surprisingly, as our Club instilled in me at an early age the responsibility to ‘give back’ when the timing was right.
Greg Hannon
I’ve reflected over the past week as Dean Collins – ‘Collo’ has been battling his serious health condition as to why our Club is just so important to so many of us and why I’m grateful that I’ve been a small part of this club since I turned up to play here at age 15.
Dean and Jayden Collins
I’m grateful for:
The friendships ( life long ) that so many of us have made from been associated at this club. With Collo’s predicament, so many of us realize just how fortunate we are that so many within our community genuinely care about each other.
The people that are Boronia. I’m all about fighting hard for new facilities but bricks and mortar do not make up a club. What makes up a club is quality people that care about each other and share similar values. We have that in spades at the ‘Hawka’ and other clubs continue to question why and how.
The leadership at our Club. The Board and the various committees that strive to make our Club improve. The Coterie, the members, the old boys and the supporters that keep giving their time to enable us to function and thrive.
Our coaches. Ash has created a panel that would be the envy of any club. Matt, Steve, Brock, Joey, Greg, Ray, Scott, Fletch and Cats. These people steer a big ship and do a wonderful job at guiding, supporting, mentoring and coaching our playing cohort.
The role models I’ve been fortunate enough to learn from. From Macca to Murra to the Kimmitts to the former Presidents that still take an active interest in the club. We are drowning in quality people that want our club to be strong and to continue to grow.
For the fact that after a couple of coaching stints I came back to where I belong. Fazz and I communicated about this during the week. When mates like Collo are struggling, we understand more than ever where we belong and where our energies should be spent. It’s great to have Fazz back; it’s great to see Shoey back at the club; and it’s great that we have people like Bomma, Panda, Dillio, Leanne and Plugga running our Hawks Nest Coterie and making it so inclusive and enjoyable.
Collo is on the way back, thank god! He has a long journey in front of him but each day he slightly improves. I’ve included some photos for you to look at. One when he had a thousand tubes keeping him alive and one with his thumbs up from yesterday.
Dean CollinsA chirpier Dean Collins!
Bomma represents the club when communicating with Amanda and Dean as he has to be treated very carefully. Bomma has ridden the ‘Collo’ journey as much as his family has (probably over the past 30 years too! ) and I’m sure he is planning celebratory drinks (when we can meet together ) to toast Collo’s miracle comeback!
Let’s take a quick look back at the Top 10 Hawka Highlights of the Decade from 2010 to 2019, a decade of huge change for Boronia Hawks that will take the Club in to the Twenties in great shape!Apologies to everyone who doesn’t get a well-deserved mention – I’m thinking of you Jess Bolton and Tim Currie! All opinions in this article are those of your Editor and are not the official views of the Club.
10. Lachie Watson’s Mark of the Year in 2016
Lachie Watson has taken a few huge grabs over the journey, but he was immortalised by the sharp video work of Brad Phillips as Watto took the best Hawka mark of the decade and won the EFL Play of the Year. The mark even drew comparisons with the best aerial work of Paul Marshall and Craig Beattie – enough said.
Lachie Watson on the way down with a different spectacular mark on the same day at Silvan!
9. Alex McKaige wins 3 Netball B&F’s
Alex McKaige is a double-dipper, playing both netball and footy with the Hawka in 2019, but has taken home three netball B&F’s in four seasons with Boronia Brown in 2016, 2017 and 2019. Alex also took out her first Kellie Newton Medal for the Club B&F in 2019.
Alex McKaige keeping things under control with Courtney Krenn always in support.
8. Lachie McKernan 4 years as Senior Captain
Lachie McKernan joined some of the great champs of yesteryear as he captained the senior men for the fourth consecutive season in 2019. Other notables to achieve this recognition of leadership include N. McNeil 1961-64, P. Harrington 1968-71, Michael Passmore 1991-94 and Peter Farrell 2001 to 2004.
Lachie McKernan provided great leadership for the Hawks and won a coveted mid-field spot in the EFL Team of the Year in 2019.
7. Mitch Mellis 3 Junior League B&F’s
Mitch Mellis won EFL Junior League B&F’s in 2011, 2013 and 2014 plus six Junior Club B&F’s. That’s a sure sign of an extraordinary player, which has been borne out in 2019 as Mitch represented Vic Metro, was runner-up in the Eastern Ranges B&F and was signed by traditional powerhouse Williamstown FC.
Mitch Mellis in his last game for the Hawks before being called up full-time to Eastern Ranges.
6. Dean Grice 3 Club B&F’s and 2 League B&F’s
The incomparable Dean Grice won three of his six Bob Henry Medals in this decade and two of his four League B&F’s. It would have been more except for a season with Port Melbourne and a severe knee injury. Gricey also kicked the Hawka’s Goal of the Decade in the storm at Mitcham in 2011 when he played the single best game by a Hawka that your Editor has seen in the last 24 years.
Mitch Wright coming in for the Shepherd of the Decade to assist Dean Grice with the Goal of the Decade.
5. Boronia Auskick rebooted in 2018.
Boronia Auskick Centre was rebooted for a new era as it moved to Friday nights at Tormore Reserve for the 2018 season. With a huge 90 registrations that year Auskick Co-ordinator Luke Biddau opened up new opportunities for boys and girls to learn their footy with the Hawks. Samantha Dunkinson took over the role of Co-ordinator in 2019 and took the Centre to a new level of success with increased participation, diversity, sponsorships and accreditation as an All Abilities centre. Auskick has been an outstanding success, bringing back memories of the late 90’s when the Club had over three hundred Auskickers.
Heath Rouse and Kyle Schmidtke were just two of the many willing helpers that were teaching our future champs in 2018.
4. Inaugural EFL Netball Premiership in 2014
The EFL launched it’s fledgling netball competition in 2014 with only one division, a far cry from the nine divisions in 2019. Boronia was the only club to field two teams due to the outstanding recruiting efforts of Kellie Newton. Boronia maintained it’s edge on the competition by winning the inaugural premiership under the coaching of Matt Bundy. Jess Thomson scored over 400 goals and Steph McNay won the inaugural League B&F. Another Premier Division flag followed in 2017.
The mighty Boronia Hawks won the flag under the leadership of co-captains Kellie Newton and Rebecca Mills.
3. The One Club Initiative in 2017
In a masterstroke of foresight, planning and co-operation, the Club’s Senior President, Kristan Wood and Junior President, Ellisa Schmidtke, worked together to unite seniors and juniors under the banner of ONE CLUB – the newly named Boronia Hawks Football Club. This provided the Club with a seamless pathway from Auskick to Junior Footy to Youth Footy to Senior Footy and eventually Veterans. Despite all the administrative challenges of integration, the Board and Committees worked hard and achieved a truly unified Club.
The One Club Volunteer Induction Day in November 2017 brought together some of the senior and junior officials and volunteers.
2. Women’s Footy
It all started in 2017 when two girls, Demi Thomas and Brynie Kinniff, turned up to our Junior Registration Day and signed up to play Women’s Footy. Next we needed to find a coach and, after many possibilities, Club Legend Ray Lacey stepped forward for the Hawks once again with Senior President Scott Nicholas as assistant and eventual Co-Coach.
Nine “possible” players attended the first training session and a few months later fourteen players then turned out for the first practice match – a somewhat discouraging loss by 185 points, all part of the learning experience. But the girls loved it and the word soon spread as new players kept turning up to join a truly inclusive, supportive and fun team environment. Goals were rare and the first win didn’t come until August 2018, but the excitement was infectious and created a whole new feeling around the Club.
More girls, goals and wins followed in 2019 as the Hawks launched two teams for junior girls. The Under 16’s even enjoyed premiership success as a merged team with Knox. Women’s football is booming and Boronia is moving to two senior teams in 2020 and is also hoping to increase our participation for junior girls to keep growing the Club’ female footy program.
Bottom of the ladder in 2018 but still a hugely successful season for the senior women that was followed up by a finals appearance in 2019.
The Number 1 Hawker Highlight of the Decade – The 2018 Triple Premiership!
The 2018 season had been reasonably successful, with seniors, reserves and under 19’s all making the finals. The pundits around the Club said the seniors were a rough chance despite Ringwood’s dominance; the Two’s were our best bet; and the 19’s would need a huge turnaround to overcome Heathmont and Waverley Blues.
We got off to a rough start in the first week with the One’s putting in a shocker against Scoresby and the 19’s getting soundly beaten by Waverley Blues. Then it all turned around …… the three Hawka teams progressed to the Triple Header Grand Final Day with six wins in weeks 2 and 3 of the finals series. The 19’s just scraped in for a tilt at the flag with a three point thriller over Heathmont.
The 19’s were now on fire and Craig McKenzie’s boys set the benchmark for the whole Grand Final day with a nail biting 5 point win over the favourites in the Grand Final. The astute Craig Brockley ensured that the D Squad did not let a golden opportunity slip and recorded a convincing 20 point win over the strong and experienced Scoresby. The stage was now set for the seniors and they delivered in spades, with team lifting goals inspiring both the players and the large crowd of Boronia’s faithful supporters. A sixteen point margin at the end saw the previously undefeated Ringwood being outgunned by a tremendous team effort that started with the planning from coach Matt Clark and his brains trust. A memorable day for the Hawka, with the first triple premiership since 1969.
2018 Premiership Captains Fletcher Duke, Lachie McKernan and Dane Romano share the podium after the incredible Triple Premiership.
Boronia Hawks will kick start the 2020 preseason as footy training gets under way. We also have our second “Come and Try Night” for Women Footballers!
Junior Boys and Girls are invited to come to our Junior Registration Day on Sunday 17 November at Tormore Reserve from 10:00am to 11:30am. Meet the coaches and sign up to receive discounted club membership for 2020. Get out on the oval to have a kick as well.
Any questions? Please contact our Junior Registrar, Stacey Peril on 0488 336 519 or stacey.hawks@bigpond.com
Senior Men’s footballers, together with Under 19’s and Under 17’s, are expected to attend this first session to kick off the pre-Xmas preseason. Training for 2020 commences on Monday 18 November at Boronia Salvation Army Oval from 6:00pm on Monday & Wednesdays.
Please contact Ash Johnston, Football Director, on 0433 365 286 for any questions.
Our Senior Women’s Teams will be starting their 2020 campaign on Tuesday 19 November at Boronia K-12 College from 6:00pm.
Come and join a fun, welcoming and inclusive team environment, at one of the Eastern Football Netball League‘s destination clubs. After making finals for the first time in 2019, the Hawks are on the rise in 2020 fielding two teams for the first time!
Coaching and volunteer roles are also available, so if you’re interested in being part of a Women’s Football Team come and get involved!
Please contact Scott Nicholas, Senior Coach, on 0403 238 494 for more information.
The Boronia Veterans Team will start their preseason training (and recovery sessions) from Wednesday 20 November. Venue is still to be finalised, so keep an eye out for an update.
Please contact Team Manager, Jason Davis on 0425 749 818 for more information.
Boronia Hawks Football Netball Club Inc is pleased to announce that the following Club members were elected as office bearers for the 2020 season.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairman: Scott Nicholas Senior President: Greg Hannon Junior President: Kristan Wood Director, Administration: Tanya Parkins Finance Director: David Nicholas Director, Community and Inclusion: Karen Little
SENIOR COMMITTEE
Senior President: Greg Hannon VP Corporate Relations: Wayne Preston VP Social & Player Welfare: Nathan Allen Football Director: Ashley Johnston Senior Secretary: Kathleen McMahon Senior Treasurer: Andrea Le Marquand Netball Manager: Sherridan Leeson Match Day Manager: Tim Currie General Committee: Jason Davis General Committee: Ye Jeffries
Members of sub-committees: Samantha Dunkinson, Grant Bertram, Ben Robertson, Jarryd Rutherford and Phil Vanderift.
JUNIOR COMMITTEE
Junior President: Kristan Wood Junior Vice President: Samantha Dunkinson Junior Secretary: Carolyn Wood Junior Treasurer: Rachel Odgers Junior Registrar: Stacey Peril Junior Female Football Co-ordinator: Candyce Wright Junior Team Manager Co-ordinator: Victoria Butler Junior Coaching Co-ordinator: Andrew Catley
“Over the weekend I was fortunate to attend the Knox Club for my first-ever Ray Lacey Medal Night in my role as Senior President.
I sat back as Fletch spoke about each of his players and I thought just how fortunate each Under 17 player is to have a coach, a mentor, a friend and role model like Fletch. It was evident to everyone in the room how much respect each individual player had for their coach and the esteem they hold him in!
Then yesterday, Fletch took his Under 19’s team to one point off another Preliminary Final. It was an incredible effort from every player in that team and full credit to Fletch, Cats, and Robbo for getting those boys to play such an exciting brand of football.
Coaching is a tough gig! You upset parents; you challenge players; you walk a tightrope at times! All I can say as President of the Club that we are a far better off club having Craig Mc Kenzie working for us than coaching against us! Fletch makes young boys grow as footballers, but much more importantly, he makes them flourish as young men!
Fletch, our Club thanks you for another fine year”!
Greg Hannon, Senior President, Boronia Hawks Football Netball Club
Please join us all in congratulating Matt Buzinskas on the occasion of this 200th Senior Game for Boronia Hawks in Round 17.
This is a massive achievement, with very few players reaching this milestone with the Hawks in recent years. Even more remarkable is that Buzz has played at four other clubs during his career.
In fact, Buzz has racked up well over 350 games in total if we add on 89 junior games for Boronia; a junior season at North Ringwood; a senior premiership at Forrest in 2005, 17 games for Watsonia; and 17 games for Wantirna South!
Buzz has been a standout player for Boronia since his senior debut in 2006 as a seventeen year old, but with a rig and attitude well prepared for senior footy. He has only played 2 games of Under 18’s footy and only 16 Reserves games so he has been a fixture in the senior team as an inside mid and crumbing forward.
The Rig – 2015
Buzz’s goal sense has been a feature of his game, with 208 senior goals for the Hawka and a best of 7 in one game back in 2007. There has been no greater sight in recent years than Buzz charging through the guts to kick a team-lifting goal then running back to the middle with a modest celebration as the Hawka faithful raise their voices, and cans, to salute another Buzz special!
2014 Finals at Jubilee Park.
Buzz is a true champion of the Club. He provides a great example for our young players and is still playing tremendous footy in 2019. Congratulations to Buzz from everyone at Boronia Hawks. We wish him, and his family, our very best wishes for his milestone game and for many more to come. We can’t wait to see him teaming up with Woody and Stifler in the Vets!
The Home & Away season has come to an end with JuniorFinals starting this weekend. We have U12Girls, U12, U13, U16Girls and U17’s heading into Round 1 of Finals. The girls have a bye this week, but the boys are in full swing. It is wonderful and exciting for these teams to have this opportunity. Please get down and support them if you can. All finals details are available on the EFL website.
As always it’s still a busy time of the season. We see Boronia Auskick have it’s last session this coming Friday night. This will be a fun night of games and presentations to all the children. It’s also an opportunity for Auskickers moving up to next Under 8’s to get registered and ready for footy next season.
We have our Under 17 Presentation Evening on Saturday 31 August at the Knox Club. This is quite a formal evening where the Under 17’s dress up in their finest as we announce the winner of the 2019 Ray Lacey Medal for Best & Fairest. It is done this way, as the majority of these players have played their last year of Junior football, so it’s nice to make it special for them. Our Junior Presentation Day for all other Junior Teams will be held on Sunday 8 September. Details will be distributed shortly.
Miller Park is looking a treat and we look forward to heading back there for our 2020 Junior Season. The surface will be an outstanding improvement of what is has been in the past and even Chandler Park became quite boggy by the end of the season.
The Junior Committee has been working hard on strategies to continue to increase numbers for the coming 2020 season. They have also been busy working on building our Boronia Auskick program going forward. Being part of our great Junior Committee is an extremely rewarding process. Knowing that you can have a small impact on improving the club that your children play for is very satisfying. I would encourage any parent who would like to get involved to please email us on boroniajnr@elf.org.au.
We are also seeking Junior Coaches for 2020. All positions are open. If you would like to have an opportunity to coach one of our Junior Teams, please ensure that you put your application in. ALL 2019 coaches and potential coaches for 2020 need to apply for positions, it’s not just a given that this year’s coach will continue into next year. No experience necessary as we will provide you with support and training course necessary to do a great job.
We are loving our new Training/Warm up tops! Another order will be placed prior to the end of August and order forms will be sent out in the next week. Orders will close quickly so ensure you put your order in as soon as the forms are release. We also have great new Sports Bags available across the club. These can be purchased the Club at on Thursday nights.
Thanks for a great 2019
Ellisa Schmidtke
Junior President
Boronia Juniors are proudly supported by Dan Bolton and Fletchers Mooroolbark.
