West Brunswick Amateur Football Club

🔥 SUNDAY🔥

We’ll be backing it up this Sunday for Game 2 this weekend as our Premier Reserves face Old Scotch.

Like the M2s, we’re one-a-piece this season against our opponents, with a dominant showing in our Round 10 win away.

With only 1.86 percentage points between us and OSCF it’s bound to be a tight race in a do-or-die Semi.

Bright and early at Elsternwick Sunday morning.
Make sure you’re there to cheer the team over the line!

🔥 SATURDAY🔥

Game 1 this weekend kicks off on Saturday as our Div. 1 Ressies continue their finals run after a hard fought win in the Semi.

We’re one-a-piece this season against Ormond with a win in our most recent meet. We’ll be taking that energy to Box Hill Saturday.

DO NOT MISS IT

With only 4 days remaining, we’re just 60 tickets away from hitting $3K - a huge boost for the club!

At just $5 a ticket (with 100% going back to the club) can you purchase a ticket to help support West Brunswick AND maybe win a car?

Toyota Good for Footy Raffle - Support West Brunswick AFC and Buy a Ticket Support West Brunswick AFC every step of the way and become a club legend by buying a ticket or two in the Good for Footy Raffle. West Brunswick AFC gets to keep 100% of proceeds, and you’ll go in the draw to win over $290,000 of prizes, including three brand new Toyotas. Because every dollar and ...

One week remains in this years Good for Footy raffle.

You can grab yours for just $5 with 100% of WBAFC ticket money going direct to the club.

LINK IN BIO!

We’re currently sitting at #116 on the national leaderboard. Let’s get us a top 100 finish and raise some extra cash to support our move back into Ryder Pavilion next year.

📸 Family photo

Last week our Senior W Coach, Marnee, President, Red, and Secretary, Aud attended the AFL Victoria Club Support Workshop put on for VAFA clubs at UHS.

Attending the workshop and working on the draft of our 12-month action plan was an important step for is to become a signatory to the AFL Women & Girls Community Football Charter.

We’re looking forward to sharing more with you once we’re officially an AFL chartered Club!

Thanks Marns, Red and Aud for putting in the work for us!

🖤💚

Inviting all players, members, supporters, friends and family to join us on the eve of the Grand Final Public Holiday at Alto Event Space at the Melbourne GPO as we raise a glass to all we have achieved this year!

On the evening we will present our best and fairest and team award winners with their medals, announce the 2024 recipients of our highly prestigious club-wide awards including best club person, and induct our newest life members, before we dance the night away to sets by our soon to be announced DJs.

🏆 WBAFC Ball 🏆
Alto Event Space
Top Floor, Melbourne GPO Building
Corner Elizabeth + Little Bourke Streets, VIC 3000

Thursday 26th September
6.00PM - 11.00PM
Ticket includes canapés, dessert and drinks

Dress code - Cocktail

Ticket information:
$150 Per person / $120 Student
Ticket sales close September 19th or when sold out
Available via the link in bio or on the club website

Payment plans are available for players. Please reach out to social managers Madi Stewart or Jacob Hyslop to make arrangements

Bound to be a lot of Pride tees getting around today as we face Caulfield in their Pride Round.

Yesterday was also Wear It Purple Day. 💜

By wearing purple, Australians demonstrate to rainbow young people that they are celebrated and respected, acknowledging all have the right to be proud of who they are and who they are becoming.

Originally founded by students in response to global stories of teenagers taking their own lives due to bullying and harassment, Wear it Purple Day has become an international movement of love and support.

This year’s theme is “Your Passion, Your Pride”,
“For young people who identify as LGBTQIA+, the theme “Your Passion, Your Pride is an empowering and affirming rally cry to express their true selves to the world and chase their dreams. It’s time for rainbow youth to see and feel a positive surge in successful, happy role models from the LGBTQIA+ community who are living proof it’s possible.”

These don’t come around every day - it’s a 200 game milestone!

This weekend Andrew “Bob” Mackenzie will run out for game 200 in the reserves elimination final at Trevor Barker Oval.

Bob arrived at WBAFC in 2009 with his great mate Devo. Unsurprisingly for a player of his height, he stood out early, and quickly gained a reputation for excellent ruck craft and a desire to physically impact the opposition. His playing career has since followed the pattern of a sine wave, moving between the senior and reserve team before his first retirement after 16 senior games and a Preliminary Final loss in 2013.

After being coaxed out of retirement by coach Devo in 2015 to play in our inaugural Mens Thirds, Bob played 2 years predominately in that side, playing in the 2016 Grand Final before retirement attempt #2 - which didn’t stick either and he returned in 2018

After 2 retirements, Bob remarkably re-claimed the senior ruck role (for the most part) from 2019-2022, receiving the Senior Coach’s award in 2019 and 2021, and reaching his second Grand Final (this time in the Seniors) for the club in 2022.

Not many Westies can claim to be playing the best footy of their career in years 10-13, but Bob certainly can! His current role in the 2s is defined by a preference to play out the entire game (rotations/sport science be damned) and to demoralise his opponent by taking the ball clean out of the ruck contest at every opportunity. He has also cleaned up his loud expletive outbursts following every clange - or his skills have improved enough to not warrant the outburst!

Off the field, Bob’s contribution to WBAFC has been equally significant. Reserves co-coach since 2022 (why none of his co-coaches want to continue in partnership is a mystery), he is also a dedicated volunteer, often with Willow or Angus in tow. Bob is also a true advocate of the one-club culture, always willing to lend a hand to those on the adjacent oval, or building connections through social gatherings and silkwaters.

Well done Bob on 200 games and an excellent WBAFC career to date. We’re looking forward to many more seasons to come!

We may have ✨technically✨ missed it, but everyday day is International Dog’s Day at West

🐶🐕‍🦺🐩🦮🐕🐾

If you’ve spotted your best friend, help us introduce them. Drop their name, age and pic number in a comment for us!

Thanks and for the snaps

Some things never change around here…

Yesterday a memory popped up on Facebook -
‘On this day 10 years ago’ Josh Melican played game 150 at the club….

And still going strong!

After 2014 Melican played at least 1 game every season (with the exception of the covid years) and while he never reeeeally ‘retired’ from playing. he has made some kind of comeback over the last two seasons. 23 games, a leading goal kicking award in the 3s, and 7 games in the ressies.

Josh will celebrate 20 years at the club next season, and if all goes to plan, a 200 games milestone as well.

HOW SAFE IS YOUR CAR?

Did you know that if everyone upgraded their car to the safest within its class, the number of lives lost on Victorian roads would reduce by a third?

If you are looking at buying a new car, you can compare safety ratings quickly and easily thanks to TAC at howsafeisyourcar.com.au

They can compare safety features between cars, and also recommend cars in a similar price range to find the safest possible vehicle for you.

Slow down in wet weather conditions - unless you’re Mel, Mia or Bronte.

They took on Monash and the McAlister Oval mud in round 12, tacking the Ashes and dangerous driving with equal gusto in what was arguably the worst weather of the season.

Did you know that speeding also includes driving too fast for the conditions?

To stay safe while driving make sure you always drive to the conditions - reduce your speed if the road quality isn’t great OR if the weather conditions are risky (for example, see images)

Avoid the $240+ fine, save your demerit points, and don’t risk your license being suspended - put safety first and slow down.

12 months 🖤🤍

Always love having the photographers down to visit! They captured our Premier A Women’s games against SKOBs on Saturday in our last home game of the year on McAlister.

…which means this was also five years ago. 🏆

Can you believe it - 5 years today since the Ressies went back-to-back.

WBAFC: 3.2 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 4.4.28
MUWFC: 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.8.8

This time last week…

Having a drink this weekend?
Don’t forget to handball the keys.

If everyone avoided driving after drinking, the number of road fatalities could be reduced by up to 20%. That’s around 50 lives that could be saved every year. The safest way to know for sure that you are under 0.05 BAC is to completely separate drinking and driving.

Play Your Role.

Last weekend Bridie Walsh became the first W player to reach the big 1-0-0

If you’ve had the pleasure of making it down to a West Brunswick training or event in the greater part of the past decade, you’ve likely had the pleasure of meeting Bridie Walsh.

We waxed-lyrical last week ahead of the game about the historic moment and the early beginnings of both Bridies footy career and Women’s football at the club. But thanks to Instagram’s firm caption limits, we didn’t even touch on the good stuff. .

On Saturday - donned in Bridie Walsh regalia - we watched on as Brides ran out in full force and played in typical Bridie fashion.

Bridie has a footy resume that many would envy. 2017 Inaugural Big V Squad Representative; 2017, 2018, and 2019 W Senior Grand Final Representative; 2022 Player Leader; and 2022 W Reserves Premiership Player, with a 50m right boot to boot. This year Bridie became the third W player to kick more than 50 goals for the club, moving into 2nd on the all-time W top-scorer record.

Off field, Bridie is the first to welcome a new player into the club and make them feel at home. She has contributed to West Brunswick through numerous executive and committee positions, including as our 2018 Vice President; and jumps at the opportunity to volunteer on game day, deservedly earning herself the 2019 ‘Raymond Roy Barrett’ Perpetual Shield for Best Match Day Volunteer.

Notably, Bridie is in large part responsible for ‘Halo’ becoming our unofficial club wide anthem - a song that brings us all together after wins (‘Torn’ after losses unfortunately had less staying power 😉) and reverently wraps up all Westie functions.

If you’re not convinced of Bridie’s dedication to West Brunswick yet, her commitment in marrying our beloved longstanding M Senior Team Captain Dave ‘Fez’ Ferrier should surely seal the deal. With an impressive 251 games between them, any future potential prodigy children have big shoes to fill. In the meantime, we’re grateful that Bridie takes her role as big sister, to both her four younger siblings and to the whole club, very seriously.

How good are these kits in action!

Just 24 hours left to snap up a piece of club history for yourself.

Head to the link in our bio before training tomorrow to purchase your First Nations Guernsey for just $65

Oh the memories! Flashing back to 5 years ago - 2019 - and noticing some similarities!

This week 5 years ago we qualified for the Grand Final in our first year in Premier A after taking on Old Trinity. A real upset getting to the big dance after we finished the year out sitting in fourth, and knocking off two teams in the first two finals who had only beaten us a few weeks earlier in the home and away season.

Like this time in 2019, we are sitting in fourth as of this week and will be taking on ladder leaders St Kevin’s this weekend. It may not be a Grand Final, but the stakes are still high!

Match Report from 2019:

On Sunday the real high stakes footy was being played. Down at Elsternwick Park, our women’s senior team aimed to topple a side we hadn’t beaten previously (Old Trinity), and make it to a level we’d never experienced (a Premier grade Grand Final). An unchanged lineup ran out and played a highly contested game on the expanses of EP. Old Trinity took the quarter time lead, but we kept them scoreless in the second while kicking a goal ourselves to be up by three points at the main break.

The premiership quarter saw only three behinds kicked: one to us and two to Old Trinity. The danger of a low-scoring game is the constant threat of a lapse in concentration leading to a potential match-winning goal from the opposition. Tensions were high throughout the last quarter. Mel Lindsay and Yo Jones dominated for us and helped keep OT scoreless in the final term. Late in the quarter Denise Heckmann won a free kick for holding the ball and kicked a sensational goal to give us (and the adoring West Brunswick supporters) a chance to breathe.

The siren sounded, marking an historic day for the West and capping off an incredible weekend of footy.
Whatever you do, don’t miss next Sunday’s Premier grand finals at Elsternwick Park where our women’s seniors and reserves will vie for the ultimate prize.

OT: 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.5.11
WB: 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 3.2.20

Now is your chance to get your hands on your own incredible WBAFC First Nations Guernsey.

The design features artwork by former and current Westies Steven Hanning, Arrernte and Anmatyerre, and Jethro Calma-Holt, Kungarakan and Iwaidja, and we were lucky enough to have Jethro come and speak to the club ahead of First Nations Round about the design elements.

For those who missed it, scroll through to read more about the design and meaning behind the artwork, which has been displayed proudly in our (temporary) clubrooms since, and is shown here held by Steven.

You only have until close of business Thursday to get your hands on yours so don't miss out on this very special run.
Head to our website via the link:

https://westbrunswickafc.com.au/shop

Thumbs up to keeping our roads safe.

It’s been tough with no clubs rooms this season, and having been off our ovals for the last few weeks for training, so you might not have spotted our 2024 posters. We thought we’d share them here just in case you’ve missed them!

Keep yours eyes peeled this weekend at our last full home game for all the posters up around the rooms.

Good luck to all of those in the midst of last minute costume creation. Here’s some inspo from last years W&B themed event.

See you all at W2K in a couple of hours!

📸

Last game of the season for the W3s today, who will be hoping for some final siren feels like these ones from a few weeks back.

Catch them this morning at 9.20 at home.

📸

This weekend we will not only be celebrating a huge personal achievement for one of our players, but also a historic moment for the West Brunswick Amateur Football Club, as Bridie Walsh runs out for her 100th game in the Black and White.

She’ll be pulling on the boots this weekend in the seniors match at home with first bounce at 2.00pm. If you were on the fence about getting down to the club this weekend, this should get you there. It is club history in the making and you have a chance to be a part of it.

Bridie will be the first WBAFC W player to hit the milestone, adding another accolade in an already stacked trophy cabinet, and another item etched next to her name in the club’s history.

When in 2016, a bright-eyed Bridie ventured down to a West Brunswick training session - despite the fact that a VAFA W league had not been conceived of as yet. She quickly found a new home - albeit one without a team that she was able to play in.

With the support of the clubs, Bridie set about building the foundations for that team by rallying players and coaches alike, taking to the field in the inaugural West Brunswick W exhibition match in 2016 (pictured 10). When the VAFA announced its inaugural W competition in 2017, the West Brunswick W program was ready to bloom.

When Brides reached her 50-game milestone in the interrupted 2021 season, not only was she the first of the West Brunswick W players to get there, but she was also – to our understanding - the first VAFA Women’s footballer to play 50 games in the competition. A true trailblazer (and media darling) of the VAFA, Bridie led the games tally for the league for much of her career.

It is no secret that the W program at West Brunswick would not be where it is today, without Bridie bringing her passion, talent, ambition, and endeavour to everything she does at the club. A club is only as good as the people in it, so we count our lucky stars that as both a person and a player, Bridie is pretty bloody good.

The clubs inaugural W player, it is only fitting that Bridie Walsh is the first at West to reach 100 games.

Let's go Brides!

A 1-point win for the 150 gamer.

David Ferrier – 150 Games

As if there wasn’t enough to celebrate this weekend, we also get to watch a champion run out for game a milestone.

Fez arrived at the club in 2015 after almost retiring from football. An Echuca product, he has how given the club almost 10 years of service and 149 senior games. A Bruce Ivey medalist in his first season (2015) at the club, Fez is very much a quiet achiever. He captained the senior team from 2016 through to 2023 which included seeing the club promoted twice (from Division 2 into Division 1 in 2018 and 2023).

His footballing strengths range from his unrelenting hardness over the ball, resilient football hardened body and polished kick, in particular his goal sense (within range of course). He has served the club unbelievably well over his time with his positivity, selflessness and unpretentious manner.

Rituals include pre-game Friday night pasta to Saturday morning juggling an essential post game beer. He’s only one milestone game ahead of his wife (due for her 100th next weekend). He’s someone you want to be sitting next to and playing alongside, he’ll ask nothing of you but give his all.

Long time captain, Senior BnF, Best of the West, and soon to be 150 gamer. Congratulations Fez.