VAFA Team News

Preparations for the 2019 VAFA Premier B season are well underway at St Bedes/Mentone Tigers. At our recent meet the coaches day the club had over 80 people in attendance across all of our teams, both senior men and women and Under 19s. It was great to see so much enthusiasm and momentum being created at the club so early on.

Pre-season training commences for our men’s and women’s senior teams as well as our Under 19s on Monday 19 November 2018 at 6.15 at St Bedes College on the front ovals. Training will then occur every Monday & Wednesday until Friday 14 December. Training will be held at the St Bedes College on the front ovals until early December, at which point a new venue will be decided upon so the school can do works on the front ovals.

Unlike previous years, players will meet at St Bedes College and not at Brindisi Street. Players should wear runners and bring water bottles. There are no change rooms availabl at the College so please come dressed ready to train. Please be ready to commence training at 6.15pm.

Dan Maitland will once again be our fitness and conditioning head, working with our new senior coach Michael Hazell along with a number of coaches across all of our teams. They are really looking forward to having all teams training together to create a real sense of belonging across the entire club.

The club welcomes all old and new players as we move into the 2019 season.

St Bedes/Mentone Tigers Amateur Football Club is pleased to announce that Brad Berry has been appointed U/19s head coach for the 2019 season.

Brad returns to the Tigers VAFA section of the club after a successful four-year stint with the TAC Cup Sandringham Dragons F.C.
Brad has had a 3-decade long association with the SBMT, SMJFL and the VAFA. His remarkable coaching longevity across senior and junior footy, from grassroots through to the elite talent pathway has built an impressive C.V. A four peat of flags spread across SBMT and Old Brighton F.C and a famous SBMT U/11 junior flag amongst his favourites in the highlight package.

Brad was a member of the inaugural SBMT AFC premiership side of 1993. He is a SBMT AFC Hall of Famer and a SBMT AFC Life Member.
Commencing in 2013, Brad was appointed as SBMT first ever coaching co-ordinator, and then became the Director of Coaching in 2016 until the present day. This role has delivered an age group specific and progressive learning football curriculum to players and coaches across the U/8 – U/17 mixed / boys’ program and the U/12 – U/18 girls’ program.

Brad’s vision has helped deliver the SMJFL football program’s progression to the product that is on show today, which sees most age groups fielding teams in division one. Therefore, players, both girls and boys can move through to the VAFA senior ranks (or TAC Cup, VFL or AFL) having had the progressive learning to equip them for the next steps in their football journey.

Brad’s appointment comes at an exciting time for him and the club, with the ongoing development of a full talent pathway from grassroots to elite, a shared desire and objective.
His coaching prowess will align very closely with newly appointed senior coach, Michael Hazell, to create sustainable long-term success in the VAFA premier division.

Senior Coach Michael Hazell has said in relation to the appointment, "I am delighted with the appointment of Brad Berry as our Under 19s coach. Given his depth of experience we are very lucky to have him on board. When I applied for the senior role at St Bedes / Mentone Tigers I was very clear that we needed to build a one club philosophy. The Under 19s are the linchpin of that philosophy being the glue between the junior and senior teams at the Tigers. Just as importantly, seeing young players grow to levels of ability and performance that they never thought possible is one of the great thrills of coaching. I am therefore really looking forward to prioritising the development of our Under 19 boys, commencing with integrating them with our senior teams from our very first training session".

The St Bedes/Mentone Tigers Amateur Football Club is pleased to announce that Michael Hazell has been appointed senior coach for the 2019 season.
Michael comes to the Tigers with a wealth of playing and coaching experience in the VAFA and VFA/VFL, along with spending time as a player on Collingwood’s supplementary list.
Michael has had a long connection with the VAFA. In a journey where he has experienced both the highs and the lows, he has held senior coaching and under 19 coaching roles in the divisional level of the VAFA, coaching the teams to finals in each year.
He is a triple premiership player across both the lower and higher divisions of the VAFA, including senior premierships at Premier A and Premier B level including the Tigers 2008 Premier A premiership team.
In recent years, Michael was a Board member and then President of the VAFA. During his time at Board level, Michael was responsible for the VAFA representative football program as the director of representative football, which role included holding positions as co-coach and assistant coach for many of the VAFA representative teams including the senior representative team.
In the role as director of representative football, Michael was also responsible for the appointment and management of the coaches within the representative football program.
In appointing Michael, the club was very attracted to his emphasis on coaching the entire club, players and coaches alike.
His coaching model aligned very closely with what the club was looking for in order to create sustainable long term success in the VAFA, not just at the critical senior level, but more broadly across all the teams at our club.

The Seniors recorded their second win of the season by the narrowest of margins with a come from behind win over Old Xaverians. Trailing by over 6 goals during the 2nd quarter, the Tigers turned the game around during the 3rd quarter, kicking 6 goals to 2. Pushing on into the final stanza, the Tigers took the lead, only to have the visitors wrestle it back with 5 minutes remaining. The Tigers dug deep and Nathan Smith found himself on the end of fast break. He kicked truly, recording his 5th major for the day and putting the home team 2 points to the good. With little time remaining, the ball pinged between the defences before Old Xavs drove forward to mark on the arc on a 45 degree angle. The siren blew, leaving the result to be determined by the last kick of the day. As that final kick drifted east of its intended target, disappointment for the visitors; jubilation and inspiration for the home side. Go Tigers!!!

Goal Kickers: N. Smith 5, S. Richards 2, G. Rowlands 2, R. Iudica, J. Cowan, S. Wines, B. O''Toole 
Best Players: N. Smith, G. Rowlands, S. Tahana, K. Beveridge, L. Mirams, D. Garside

Left: Steven Tahana's spectacular 3rd quarter mark.

Teamwork and perserverance	Rewards