Congratulations to Sean ‘Rooster’ Hanrahan, Phil ‘Thommo’ Thomas, Wayne Hunter and Tim Holt who were awarded Beaumaris Football Club Life Memberships at the biennial Life Members & 100 Game Players dinner held at the club last Saturday night.
It was a time to celebrate recent premierships and reminisce on past glories. It was a fabulous night where the ‘Sharks’ reigned supreme.
Guest speaker Leigh Mathews was a captivating raconteur, recounting his celebrated days as a player and coach. Thanks to Steve Perkin for his insightful questions.
Many thanks to Ron Nicholson for organising and MC’ing the event.
Here is a summary of the achievements and endeavours that earned each new Life Member their special recognition:
Sean ‘Rooster’ Hanrahan
Sean Hanrahan was recruited to the Beauy F. C. in 1994 by Senior Coach Garry Nicholson and Sean’s best mate, Phil Thomas, a Beauy Senior player, with an illustrious footy CV which included stints in the VFA with Prahran, with Maffra under Geoff Geischen and with St Bedes/Mentone where he won a Senior B & F Award.
He quickly settled into the Beauy family culture and made an impact on the field at CHF where he played in the 1995 & 1997 Grand Finals – kicking five goals and six goals respectively in those two Premiership winning games. Sean also became a very popular Member of the Senior football section of the club with his relaxed easy-going manner which belied a very competitive spirit once he took the field, and this led to him being appointed Senior Captain under Brett Marchant in 1998. Again, the team led by him made the finals and then after winning the second semi they had taken the club to the VAFA B Grade section for the first time.
Unfortunately, after a very tight Grand Final played in extremely wet conditions on a water-logged Elsternwick Park, the Sharks lost the Grand Final on the last scoring shot of the day after being tied with a minute to go. After playing a major role in three Grand Finals over a four-year period Sean retired and then twelve months later, he took on the role of Club Secretary, a position which is the most time-consuming role of all and over the next two years he was an excellent administrator for the BFC.
As we all know he has recently been involved with the Past Players sub-committee and is probably best known for having sent out a decades’ worth of communications to the Sharks Past Players & Officials network as well as helping organize various functions such as the 60th Anniversary activities of 2023.
So, all in all, Sean has spent the past thirty years actively involved with the Sharks:
Congratulations Sean Hanrahan
Phil ‘Thommo’ Thomas
Phil’s history with the BFC goes back a little further than Sean’s as he also played some Junior footy with the Sharks and started his Senior career a couple of years earlier.
Thommo was a dedicated Senior Beauy player when he helped Garry recruit Sean Hanrahan to the Sharks in 1994. After that their roles and trajectory at the club move along remarkable similar lines.
Thommo also played in those two Premiership teams of 1995 & 1997, and he was Vice-Captain of the ’97 team that defeated Mark Neeld’s Old Geelong in the Grand Final.
Phil played well over 100 games during his time at the Sharks and retired a little after Sean but then, remarkably, he also took on the role of Club Secretary for two years in 2002 & 2003 and was a very passionate and component Executive Member.
Like Sean he has also stayed active with the club, even though he lives a far distance away in Pearcedale, and he has been a dedicated contributor on and off the field for well over thirty years. Phil also is a member of the Past Players and Officials Committee and helped with the 60th Anniversary activities in 2023.
Congratulations Phil Thomas
Wayne Hunter
Wayne has had a close association with the Beaumaris Football Club for over 50 years as a player, President, supporter and sponsor, epitomising the motto "Once a Shark Always a Shark”. Wayne commenced his involvement with the club as a junior player in the early 70s having moved with his family from Sydney. He quickly adapted to Aussie rules and was a key member of the star studded 1973 Under 15 premiership team and went on to win an under 17 Best and Fairest. After a short stint at Sandringham he returned to the Seniors. In his senior years he was renowned as a hard hardworking and hard running player going on to play over 150 games and earning the nickname, ‘Tractor’, for his relentless and fearless attack on the ball. Not surprisingly he was selected in the Team of the Decade (1980's).
In 1989 at the age of 31, newly married and with growing business commitments, Wayne took on the role as President when the club was really struggling. He worked tirelessly to get the club back on track over the next two years. Wayne put a strong committee together, including his wife Lesley, who was Treasurer and executed an excellent business plan.
Wayne, via his various family businesses, has also provided long term support to the club. Firstly, through the family business, Hunter Industries, which has been the club’s longest serving sponsor since 1975, and then as a partner of Hunter Chemicals, which has been a major sponsor, and which has also, importantly, provided numerous employment opportunities to Beaumaris players.
Wayne is the epitome of a what a sporting club is all about – hard working, selfless, loyal and dedicated.
Congratulations Wayne Hunter
Tim Holt
Every good sporting club needs two things, helpers and characters.
There is one person who is the embodiment of both at the BFC – Tim Holt.
Life Membership is a tremendous accolade for Tim and the club is enormously pleased that Tim’s hard work around the club has been recognised by presenting him with Life Membership.
Tim, who is married to Carli, herself an amazing contributor to the club, has two boys playing in our Juniors, Liam and Jye. Tim is a former Junior and Senior premiership player and notably forged a great on field partnership with his brother Jono.
Tim’s passion and commitment to the Beaumaris Football Club is second to none. He played over 100 games as a junior, was a premiership player with the Seniors and was also a Reserves ‘Best and Fairest’. He has participated actively within the Auskick program and has coached his sons at junior level, very rarely missing training or a game. In addition, he looks after the ground set up and pack up at Banksia Reserve every Sunday. Marking out the ground on a Friday and checking everything is packed away on a Sunday. He has offered his time and expertise to perform maintenance at the club, saving the club thousands of dollars and is a great bloke to have around the club. He is a very worthy recipient of a Beaumaris Football Club Life Membership. He embodies true community spirit.
Congratulations Tim Holt.