At the start of the year the U15 Great Whites were coach-less and somewhat dispirited after a winless season in 2018.
Enter Phil O’Donnell. Last year Phil was the team’s runner, more renowned about the club as a very good cricket coach for the BCC. In the eyes of BFC Coaching Director Stephen Nash that ticked a lot of boxes, so just prior to the start of the season Phil was appointed coach of the Great Whites.
This was a pretty daunting task for a team that was disheartened with footy after such a poor previous season.
But Phil, along with his assistant Nick Zigouras and 'solid as a rock’ Team Manager Jen Mentiplay, rebuilt this team’s confidence. It was tough at the start of the season and losses outnumbered the wins, but a plan had been set and they stuck with it.
Eventually the wins came, and the boys were able to land a spot in the Top Four, but they would have to do it the hard way. In their elimination final they played gutsy footy to come from behind at every change to beat East Brighton by 4 points. In the Prelim Final they really clicked defeating higher placed Oakleigh FC convincingly. That set the stage for a Grand Final against previously undefeated Ajax.
It was a brilliant Grand Final with the ball going from end to end, which meant our defense was under constant pressure, but 2 key defenders played amazing games - Matt Langenfelds at fullback and Adam Zigouras at centre half back. They say great defense wins the big games and these two boys and their mates in defense proved that.
With the game in the balance in the final Qtr Harvey O’Donnell kicked a monster goal from 45 out, to be followed by the popular Dennis Tezay running into an open goal to be congratulated by the perfectly positioned BFC U15 Div 1 boys.
Special mention to Will Jeffery who kicked 3 very good goals, Angus Marcombe who never stopped running on his wing and on-ballers Ashton Phillips and Hayden Selby who never seemed to be too far away from the footy all game. But it was a whole team effort, everyone played their role
Final score Ajaz 4.4-28 – BFC 6.8-44
Well done and congratulations to Phil, Nick and Jen and particularly to all the players. What a turnaround!
Beaumaris Football Club U15 Great Whites - 2019 Premiers!
CLICK HERE for all the pics
GO SHARKS!