All Categories - Northside Lions Superules Football Club

MASSIVE 200 GAME MILESTONE

23/4/2023

Paul Pitman played his 200th game for the club in Sunday's victory over Williamstown by the Over 50 Blues. Put that in perspective, 200 games at Masters level is like 400 games at Senior level, quite an achievement and our first ever 200 game player.

Paul's journey began in 2004 after finishing up senior footy Panton Hill. He has served as a player, coach and committee person, won best and fairests, been a premiership and the list goes on. The accolades list is longer than most peoples arms. Good footballer, great club person, highly respected, many nicknames, and even better bloke.

Congratulations Paul Pitman!

Rest In Peace Di

19/12/2022

It is with great sadness that the club informs you of the passing of Dianne Mathews. Di passed away on Sunday evening.

Dianne was the essence of kindness, of duty, of genuine humanity and she will never be extinguished from our minds. Di was a foundation member of the club back in 1993 and in fact probably the first non-playing member of the club helping build it from the ground up.

In 2008, Di was awarded Life Membership becoming the first of only two female Life Members to date. It was an acknowledgement of the hard work she put into the club and fitting reward for someone so dedicated to the cause.

Dianne will be lovingly remembered by her husband Allan and her family and friends. And by so many people who had been honoured to know her. Let us keep Di’s family and friends in our thoughts as they go through most difficult times.

Rest in peace Di.

The club will announce details on the funeral arrangements once they come to hand.

Lewis and Ferri Reach The Ton

8/8/2022

Congratulations to Adam Lewis (Over 45's) and Cedar Ferri (Over 50's) who both celebrated their 100th games for the club this Sunday.
#milestones

August 01st, 2022

1/8/2022

Congratulations to Jason Dean, Peter Poelsma, Michael Salloum and Tony Lombardi who all celebrated their 50th games with the club in the Supers win over Port Melbourne.
#milestones

Tony Lombardi To Stand Down After 5 Magnificent Years of Service

21/7/2022

G’Day Northside Lions,

I hope everyone is doing well and are enjoying the last few games we have for the 2022 season. Finals are upon us and we are likely to field at least two sides for another tilt at some silver wear.

At our last Committee meeting I informed the Executive that I would be stepping down at the end of this season. I have been honoured to lead this club over the last 5 years and look forward to the next chapter of my time at the club. As mentioned to the Executive my time has come to an end my tenure as President due to the pressures from a growing business and a young family.

I’m sure that the decision may raise some questions so before they do I would like to commit that Harcourts Rata & Co and Melbourne Real Estate Conveyancing will remain as sponsors of the club for the 2023 season and beyond. I would also hope to continue to play footy at the club for the 2023 season and beyond.

No club can operate without a committee and I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of the committee over the last 5 years especially Pete, Frank, Scotty & H who are all a massive assets to this club. The last 5 years have been extremely challenging, the Executive & General committees have started a Women’s team, changed grounds and identity, dealt with two years of COVID and have successfully grown the club from 3 teams to 5 teams all in a short space of time. Massive achievements to say the least.

Moving forward it will be no different. We will always have challenges to face and we will always have successes to celebrate. The key to overcoming those challenges is to ensure we work together as a club and adapt to the changing environment we find ourselves in. Then we can celebrate the successes together and enjoy what it means to be a Lion.

I write this letter today to ensure we can begin the search for a new President and gather some committed individuals to take on the roles within the committee for the 2023 season and beyond. Should you have any interest in positions within the Executive or the General committee for next season please get in contact with myself or anyone else on the Executive Committee.

The best part about our footy club isn’t the club rooms, it isn’t the logo or the team song. It’s the people and I have been privileged to know every single Northside Lion.

Thank you to every single one of you.

Chompers.

Tony Lombardi

President

Paddy and Clunesy Reach 50

30/5/2022

You have to go back to round 3, 2013 for the debut of Patrick Connell. It has been nearly 10 loyal years of ups and downs including an injury interrupted period in 2019 when he would have collected a premiership medallion. However, he has now racked up the half ton. Congratulations Paddy on 50 Games for the club.

Additionally, It's been quite a journey for Jason Clune having started back in 2006. He played in the 2009 Premiership but a couple of serious injuries set him back a several years but through persistence he has finally made it. Congratulations on 50 Games Clunesy!

#northsidemilestones

Theo Grimaldi Reaches Magnificent Milestone

15/5/2022

Life Member Theo Grimaldi joined an elite group of players at the club reaching milestone of 150 games on Sunday. He becomes just the 8th player at the club to achieve this magnificent milestone. Theo debuted back in 2005 and has played mainly as a small forward kicking 80 goals (recorded from 2013) for the club and winning the Legend’s goal kicking award on 5 occasions (2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017). He became a Life Member of the club in 2014 and was named as a forward pocket in the Team of the Decade 2002-2012. Congratulations Theo on this massive achievement.

Frank Conto Hits His Century

15/5/2022

On Sunday, Frank Conto became the 26th player at the club to reach the 100 games milestone, an exceptional achievement. Frank joined the club in 2006 and has played mainly as a Ruck-Forward kicking 22 goals (recorded from 2013). He won the goal kicking award in 2014. Congratulations Frank on the excellent achievement.

Milestone Achievement

2/5/2022

A big congratulations to Life Member John Haddad on reaching his 100th game for the club which was celebrated on Sunday in the Over 45's. And a shout out to Michael Egan who said he "limped" to half century on Sunday in the Supers.

A Big Welcome To Our Newest Sponsor - Twenty2 Property Maintenance

4/4/2022

A big welcome to our newest sponsor...

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Welcome Gazi Assi

16/2/2022

Welcome Gazi Assi, who joins Northside Lions Superules as an Assistant Playing Coach to Senior Coach Derek Shaw.

Gazi who has been a fixture at North Heidelberg Football Club since 2011 will join sharing his time between North Heidelberg and Northside Lions.

He'll be an excellent edition to the coaching panel and an asset on field for the Lions. We wish him all the best.

Welcome Derek Shaw!

24/12/2021

As 2021 draws to a close we start to look towards 2022 for a multitude of reasons.

Certainly, mateship, managing our mental health and an excuse to get out an exercise are all at the top of those lists. Sporting success and a new coaching leader are also high on the priority lists.

At the conclusion of the 2021 season our Football Operations Manager Frank Massara put together a panel of selectors to find and engage the right person to lead our club from a coaching perspective. The panel consisted of Frank Massara, Scott Ryan, Kane O'Brien, Jamie Wright and myself.

The coaching panel undertook long and thorough search to find a respected and experienced individual who can lead the club in 2022 and beyond.

I would like to thank the panel for their efforts as we have now found our man!

Welcome Derek Shaw!

Northside Lions Superules is excited to announce that former Collingwood VFL player Derek Shaw has been appointed as Senior Coach of the club for season 2022.

Derek who started his football career at Bundoora as a junior, played 47 games and kicked 32 goals for the Pies between 1978 and 1984. He also won a premiership with South Fremantle in the WAFL in 1980. Post VFL he played with both Greensborough and Macleod in the NFNL.

He comes with a wealth of coaching experience with several successful stints at Macleod, Northern Saints, Heidelberg West and Whitehorse Pioneers.

Derek will start the preseason in first week in February so stay tuned for more information in the new year. We wish Derek all the best in season 2022 and welcome him to the club.

The stage is now set for a perfect start to the 2022 season. We have locked in our first training date and we have starting planning our practice matches. I'm sure we all can't wait to get back out on the track and begin our 2022 journey.

Now we must turn our attention to celebration, family and friends as we commence the festive season and enjoy the year that was.

Enjoy your break, eat lots, drink plenty, indulge in the weather and most of all stay say over the break.

Happy Festive Season to all!

Tony Lombardi
President

Statement From Vic Metro on the Abandonment of Season 2021

19/9/2021

Hi All,

Unfortunately, the Victorian Government’s recent announcement extending our lockdown has meant that our Semi Final games scheduled for August 29th will now need to be abandoned.

There is also strong concern that the lockdown may be extended further, or at the least travel restrictions be imposed.

The Board met last night to consider the only 2 choices available to us:
· Abandon the rest of the Season
· Endeavour to play Grand Finals on September 12 as scheduled.

In considering the possibilities of staging these games we had to take into account many factors, the welfare of players returning from such a long break with minimal training, possible travel and crowd number restrictions, and their commercial viability.

With so many uncertainties in play, the Board have made the decision to abandon the balance of the 2021 Season.

We hope you all stay safe in these troubled times and will continue to send you information about our Constitution review and confirmation of the AGM date.

Chris Spencer
General Manager
Vic Metro Superules

More Club Appointments

18/11/2020

The Club continues to work through off season appointments in the lead up to the 2021 season and we are please announce the following Club and Coaching appointments:

Life Member Paul "Feathers" Pitman has been reappointed to the position of Men's Over 45s Coach for season 2021. Paul has been coaching since 2015 and enters his fifth year as a Club coach.

Another Life Member and Club stalwart Allan "Tappa" Mathews will continue on as Team Manager for the Over 50's in 2021 complimenting the appointments of Tony Liberatore and Frank Veri.

On the Committee front, Jamie Arnold has stepped up to fill the vacant Property Manager position on the Management Committee 2021. It will be his first time on the Management Committee after serving in a coaching capacity previously.

We take the opportunity to congratulate the Feathers, Tappa and Jamie on their appointments and look forward to further announcements next week.

Coaching Appointments: Libba & Chops Onboard

11/11/2020

The Club is pleased to announce the first of its coaching appointments for season 2021.

First up Tony Liberatore has been appointed as Men's Over 50s Coach. Libba, an accredited Level 2 AFL Coach, joined the club in 2018 and has always been on hand to provide advice to players and coaches alike. Now he will take the reigns of the Legends!

Joining Libba as the Men's Over 50s Assistant Coach will be life member Frank Veri. Frank has had previous coaching stints at Coburg over his 14-year journey at the club and will now make excellent support to Tony.

Katie Annetta, better known as "Chops" has been reappointed to the role of Women's Over 35s Coach after her debut season as coach was foiled due to COVID-19. Chops is looking forward to the challenge ahead.

We would like to take this opportunity congratulate Tony, Frank and Katie on their appointments.

Stay tuned as we make further announcements on coaching appointments over the coming weeks as the Football Department works through applications and interviews.

Transgender Guidelines For AFL Masters Vic Metro

18/3/2020

The AFL Masters Vic Metro Board released their guidelines for season 2020 in regard to Transgender Players on the March 11, 2020 as follows:

The following is the cover email received from the General Manager of AFLVM

Vic Metro have been constantly requesting guidance from the AFL about a Transgender Policy.

We have been informed that the Policy has been written, but is awaiting approval from Their Board.

Our League made a commitment to have a policy in place for 2020, so the Executive Directors and Football Department have drafted the attached Permit for the immediate future.

Your Club can now register Transgender Players, subject to them reading and agreeing in writing to the attached Permit conditions.

The following is the guidelines received from AFLVM:

AFLVM Guideline for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in AFLVM gender specific matches

Introduction and Background

In 2019, the AFL Masters Victorian Metropolitan Superules Football League Inc and affiliated clubs (AFLVM) received a formal request from one of its competing clubs to issue a permit for a transgender club member to play in the Women’s competition.

The request highlighted that the AFLVM need to implement guidelines to clubs on how we can be inclusive of transgender and gender diverse people while also protecting the health and safety of all players and the AFLVM values underpinning footy for fun.

AFLVM declined the player a permit for the remainder of the 2019 season pending the development of an appropriate AFLVM rule for the 2020 season and beyond at which time AFLVM would review the player’s request.

In 2019 the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Sport Australia and the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (of which the AFL is a member) (COMPPS)issued Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport (the Guidelines). For ease of reference, this publication can be found on the AHRC’s website at https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/publications.

The AHRC Guidelines are all encompassing and the AFLVM and our clubs already generally comply relating to inclusion of transgender people in a non-discriminatory way.

This guideline will focus only on the question of whether a transgender person should be issued with a permit to play in a team of their choosing.

AFLVM Position in Principle

The AFLVM in developing rules for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in AFLVM gender specific matches will have regard to the following Principles:

As much as possible align the AFLVM position with that of the policies and guidelines adopted by the AFL from time to time
To comply with its legal obligations under the federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Act)
To maximise the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in our game.
Protect the health and safety of all players
Adhere to AFLVM values underpinning footy for fun

Current Situation

With AFLVM 2020 season upon us and with the AFL “Community” Football transgender policy release further delayed, the Board proposes an interim permit be issued to transgender and gender diverse people wishing to play in the team of their choosing subject to the following criteria being met:

The applicant meets the minimum age requirement (i.e. 35 years or older in the season in which the permit is sought) to register as an AFLVM player.
The applicant acknowledges and accepts that some clubs may not have appropriate facilities (change rooms, showers, toilets etc) in place and some compromise may be necessary to accommodate all players’ needs.
The applicant acknowledges that the AFLVM places footy for fun and the health and safety of participants ahead of winning and this is reflected in the modified rules, harsh penalties for unfair play and encouraging a culture of inclusion and social engagement.
The applicant acknowledges and accepts the Board reserves the right to assess each application individually and on its own merits based on the attached Application Form.

Next Steps

The AFLVM wishes to ultimately establish rules and criteria for determining eligibility of transgender and gender diverse people wishing to play in the AFLVM that are consistent with the AFL and community football generally. Therefore, it reserves the right to amend this interim guideline in the future including how eligibility may be assessed.

Vale Peter "Bags" Bagley

30/1/2020

Coburg Superules wish to extend their deepest sympathy to wife Faye, family and friends on the passing of Peter Bagley on Thursday afternoon, 29 January 2020.

Peter was a well-known and well-liked figure at our club, performing the goal umpiring duties at our home matches and organising umpires on our behalf. A true professional on the field and a great bloke off the field. He will be sorely missed.

The funeral for Peter will be held at Plenty Arts & Convention Centre, 35 Ferres Blvd, South Morang on Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 10.30am.

Peter Bagley (24/10/1951 to 29/1/2020), Rest in Peace Bags.

Vic Metro Best & Fairest Tallies

3/9/2019

AFL Masters Vic Metro released the final best & fairest vote tallies for season 2019. We already know that Craig McKay took out the Over 45’s best and fairest by the slenderest of margins in a very tight voting block. Here’s the breakdown for Coburg.

In the Women’s Cath Rees continued her consistent form topping the vote count.

Craig Muir, Joe Basilone and Carlo Renna were equal leaders for Coburg in the Over 50’s. Don’t be surprised if all three poll well for the club best & fairest award.

The Over 45’s was tight with the winner, as previously mentioned, Craig Mckay on 12 votes. Tony Callea finished 4th, while Bruno Scuilli, Mark Gillman and John Haddad all had top 10 finishes.

The runners up honours in the Reserves was shared by Kane O’Brien and Shane Frederickson, two obvious candidates that would have taken votes off each other throughout the season. Richard Collins finished equal 4th and Carlo Federico equal 5th.

The Supers had two stand outs at the top of the tally both from other clubs and then there was daylight with a packed list in which Tony Liberatore finished equal 5th.

Mens Over 35's Reserves
9 Kane O'Brien, Shane Frederickson
5 Richard Collins
4 Carlo Federico
3 Wayne Duggan, Clint Nichols, Daniel Allen, Paul Turner
2 Mark Medley, Jared Willits
1 Anthony Meek

Mens Over 35's Supers
5 Tony Liberatore
4 Jamie Wright
3 Scott Matthews, Peter Poelsma
2 Mark Gillman, Jason Dean, Jay Shewan

Womens Over 35's
3 Cath Rees
2 Peita Price
1 Kate Francis, Sylvia Lushaj

Mens Over 45's
12 Craig McKay
9 Tony Callea
6 Bruno Sciulli
3 John Haddad, Mark Gillman
2 Peter Cummins, Ron Torcasio
1 Gary Jeffery, Mark Medley

Mens Over 50's
3 Craig Muir, Joe Basilone, Carlo Renna
2 Charles Charalambous, Frank Veri
1 Nick Duryea

Vic Metro League Awards 2019

27/8/2019

The AFL Masters Vic Metro League announced their league awards on Monday evening post semi-finals weekend. Coburg players featured in the awards.

Craig McKay took out the Over 45's North League Best & Fairest. He polled 12 votes throughout the season. The midfielder had a great season and will likely go very close to winning the club best and fairest in 2019. Congratulations Macca.

It's also congratulations to Adam Lewis who has now officially been crowned Over 35's Premier Division Reserves Leading Goal Kicking with 28 majors for the season. Despite a slow start he twice kicked a bag of 5-goals in rounds 8 and 10 to have his best season in front of goals for a quite a while.

Junior Hits The Front Bar

8/8/2019

Our very own Brenda "Junior" Arnell appeared on The Front Bar.

There's also a brief cameo from Kim Robbins in the Front Bar "Pear".

See the highlights, CLICK HERE