It’s official…Mick’s a great bloke!

-Social media doesn’t always paint a positive picture, but it’s been great to witness the comments relating to the 350th game of OFFICER/ROC legend Mick Moylan over the last week. If we had a dollar for every time Mick has been described as a great footballer, but even better bloke…we’d be very rich people indeed. Well done Mick Moylan on making your way to very unique milestone on Saturday. Lachlan Balzary and Lee Belton had the pleasure of carrying Moylan off their shoulders after the reserves game against EMERALD on the weekend.

-There’s been a lot of mixed reaction to the MPFNL’s decision to send out an Expression of Interest letter to clubs who may be interested in joining a third division of the Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League as early as next year. Clubs who have been down this road before are just hopeful that the presidents of the 22 MPFNL clubs are more open to change this time around. MPFNL rules state that 75-percent of MPFNL member clubs need to vote in favour of a change to the league’s competititon structure before anything can occur. Let’s hope self-interest is a lot less prevalent than it was on the Peninsula roughly five years ago.

-It’s great to see preparations in full swing for interleague battles that are about to take place over the coming weeks, with junior squads being moulded as we speak to represent leagues across Gippsland in this year’s Gippsland Championships. The championships are for teams at the under 16 and under 18 age group, but it got us thinking about what the future might look like for senior representative football and netball. Is the concept dead, or could we see something rise from the ashes over the next couple of years. At FOOTY SHORTS, we like the concept of an under-23 interleague carnival, where the younger and more enthusiastic players at senior level could represent our leagues with pride. Under 23 football…West Gippsland v Gippsland…we say bring it on!

-The wind was that bad at Toomuc Reserve in PAKENHAM on Saturday that it genuinely appeared that the goal posts were about to snap. A gentle tap from Leigh Matthews and we might have had a repeat of what took place at Windy Hill in the eighties. So severe was the breeze that a running shot from Josh Haggar from 30 metres out started heading for the behinds on the left side of the goals, before being pulled right across the face of goal and nearly going out of bounds.

-We haven’t heard too many complaints about crowd behaviour this year, which is a bonus, but the recent EDFL game between POOWONG and CATANI was on the radar for all the wrong reasons. An incident took place after the senior game at POOWONG on June 10 that left a nasty taste in the mouth. “We do not condone this behaviour and have always been dedicated in creating a positive and family friendly atmosphere,” was posted on the Poowong Facebook page. Well said Poowong.

-We had another host of debutants in the WGFNC on the weekend. Congratulations go to Archer Burgmann (GARFIELD), Mitch Sawyers (KORUMBURRA BENA), Finn O’Brien (PHILLIP ISLAND) and Logan Downe (TOORADIN-DALMORE) on playing their first games of senior footy. Also a shout-out goes to Ryah Maund, who played her first game of A Grade netball alongside her sister Kacey for KILCUNDA- BASS on Saturday.

-The work just never ends for presidents of local football and netball clubs these days. PHILLIP ISLAND president Chris Ross decided it would be a good idea to get on the dunking machine recently, and get dunked into a tub of ice and cold water, to help raise funds for MND. Rossy looked okay before he was dunked, but boy oh boy, didn’t his face change colour once he emerged from his icy swim. Seriously though, all clubs across the FOOTY SHORTS readership should be congratulated…because a huge amount of money and awareness has been raised in recent weeks to help with the battle against MND.

-PAKENHAM runner Tom O’Loughlin inadvertently found himself in a wrestle on Saturday as he made his way back to the bench. His timing coincided with Jordan Stewart and Michael Firrito getting to know one-another infront of the Pakenham dug-out against GEMBROOK COCKATOO. Ever the peacemaker, his wise words and cool head quickly diffused the situation, but not before Pakenham’s bench players offered the former North Melbourne champion some words of advice.

-The transfer of Josiah Kyle to HALLAM is complete, with the former Saint making his debut in red, yellow and black on Saturday against BERWICK SPRINGS. He’s expected to bring some excitement and flare to the Hawks side under Scott Kerr, seeking history in the form of their first win in the Outer East competition.

-History was made at NARRE WARREN on Saturday with the three Mutimer brothers all playing in the same side together for the first time. Jacob, the youngest of the trio, was rewarded for strong performances in the under 19s with a Premier Division debut alongside Kurt and Dylan, having played in the reserves the week prior.

-Amid the poor on-field showing for HAMPTON PARK on Saturday, it was great to see them finally get a home game at their 2023 venue, Tony Way Recreation Reserve. The brand new facility also has netball courts, with junior netball being played at the venue on Saturday. Getting everything into the venue in the days leading up to the game required a big effort from sometimes thankless volunteers, who were behind bars and canteens on the day and ensured a good viewing experience for the spectators.

-There remains, however, frustration at Doveton, which played its first home game of the year on the weekend, at Reid Oval. Not until the beginning of the season did they learn that Robinson Reserve wouldn’t be available and there seems to be continual delays which is having off-field and financial consequences.

-Congratulations to DANDENONG STINGRAYS captain Jemma Ramsdale who made her VFLW debut for the Southern Saints on a week off for Talent League for the Stingrays. The vocal defender got 10 disposals in the loss and laid five tackles, playing alongside Dandenong teammate Abbey Tregellis who combined six hitouts with five tackles against North Melbourne.