At the start of the season Rory Hannaford took control of the U13’s 2nd team. These guys were an eclectic bunch of football novices and newbies. It was always going to be a tough coaching initiation for Rory.
However, Rory, a 17 year old coaching recruit, steered these guys to an amazing premiership on Sunday. It's an incredible story. Rory took on the job of moulding these guys into a game winning team. He drew assistance from coaching director Steve Nash and Div 1 coach Terry Lucas.
But from the start there was no doubt these were Rory’s boys….’Rory’s Rebels’. They lost their opening game of the season to East Malvern, (yes East Malvern), by 60 points. Despite losing another one to East Malvern on May 22, the boys stuck with it. On May 29th the guys game from behind to record a one point win over Mordy- Brae, Will Adams scoring 4 goals. It was the turning point. The following week they smashed East Brighton by 60 points – suddenly people were taking notice. Round 11 was a big one, they beat Mordy-Brae (Austin) again by 1 point in an absolute ripper, the biggest lead in that game was 2 points.
Could the improbable be possible?
It seemed so, when the boys kept winning, so by the end of the home and away season they sat on top of the Div 4 ladder. Two weeks later they found themselves in a Grand Final with their U13 Div 1 mates also in their division Grand Final.
On Sunday the boys completed their 2022 footy journey by winning the Grand Final and taking the premiership. The defeated East Malvern in a gripping game coming from 10 points down at ¾ time to take the victory by a mere 4 points.
After the game it was pandemonium with all the Div 1 boys joining in the celebration. There’s a great bond between the 2 teams.
Congratulations
to Will Adams who won the Umpire's B&F Award - well deserved.
An interesting sidenote to this story is that Rory himself plays for St Bedes in their U17s Div 1 team. It’s ok Rory we won’t tell em.
Special thanks to Brooke Hannaford (Team Manager), Mike Mat (Assistant Coach), Phil Valoppi (Runner) and all the parents and friends who supported the boys.
Final Score: BFC 4.3-27—East Malvern 3.4-23
Well done to ‘Rory’s Rebels’ – Premiership winners
#bfcjuniors #bfc #beaumarisfootballclub #bfcU13s #bfcpremiershipwinners #smjfl
