Dear Members

Sadly I wish to advise you I will be stepping down from the role of General Manager at the Old Scotch Football Club at the end of the 2023 football season after five years at the club. The club and I have agreed it is time for a change for both of us. This decision allows the club to consider its options on how it restructures its administration going forward. It also allows me to explore my career opportunities wherever that may lead me. I have done everything within my powers to assist with helping lift this great football club to within touching distance of the Men’s and Women’s Premier ‘A’ section premierships. When I proudly became the inaugural General Manager of this club in late 2018, the Men’s and Women’s programs were in ‘B’ and ‘D’ sections respectively. They are now playing off in finals aiming to win the Men’s and Women’s Premier ‘A’ section flags. Five of our seven teams will play finals this year, with one already into a Grand Final. The club is currently placed 4th in the Victoria Amateur Football Association (VAFA) Club Championship. On-field, things are in a great place, we have won 4 premierships in the last two completed seasons, the best result in the club’s history, and hopefully there is more to come this year.

During the past five years the club has succeeded in building its corporate partnerships, both in numbers and financial commitment significantly. We have quadrupled our number of player sponsors, have grown our membership base and established the OSFC Foundation, led marvellously by Tim Shearer and Gus McQueen, which is the envy of many community sporting clubs. We have significantly increased our revenue base however the biggest challenge has been and going forward will be to keep pace with the ever-growing cost of running one of, if not, the best administered football club in the VAFA to achieve on-field premiership success. Thank-you to our financial partners who have helped me. Special thanks to Rob Millar for his tireless efforts in making this one of our recent success stories.

We succeeded in working through COVID and the challenges it presented not only for our club but for the broader community. We came out of COVID much stronger led by then President Tim Shearer and his hard-working committee. During these challenging times the social and changing rooms were renovated, we upgraded the electronic scoreboard and installed netting behind the goals to provide excellent facilities for our club members and those who visit McQueen Park. The football club celebrated an amazing Centenary year in 2021 and into 2022 (due to COVID). The Centenary dinner at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 2022 attended by 400 guests was the culmination of many great events. Not many sporting clubs last 100 years. This football Club is truly a great sporting institution.

We have maintained the Three Seas wellbeing program and introduced various other player support programs including Love Me Love You, Tackle Your Feelings, Healthy Relationships, Leading Teams and SALT. These are visible examples of how as a club we live our core value of Care. We have built a quality High Performance program led by Jodie Palmer and first-class medical program led by David Hays, Dr. Tim Wood at Glenferrie Private and Paul Percy and his physiotherapy team at Kieser. We have also established a professional look on and off the ground with our quality apparel provided in partnership with Starsub Apparel and X Blades.

We have grown and/or forged partnerships with many community partners including Scotch College, Old Scotch Collegians’ Association, MLC, City of Boroondara, VAFA, Bendigo Bank, Camberwell Sharks Junior Football Club, Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club and Cluch TV. Thank-you to the individuals at these organisations who made my job so much easier, you know who you are. I am sure I am forgetting some important people however I offer a big thank-you to Mark Morrison, Andrew Toop, Stephen Blenheim, Geoff (Crackers) McCracken, Christine Shearer, Ian Hill and Ian Bonnitcha who are the best in their areas of expertise. A big thank-you to the man who got me here, former President Tim Shearer, it was one hell of a ride mate, but we have set up a great legacy for others to follow.

Thanks to the players, coaches, Team Managers and volunteers who I have worked closely with over the last five years, too many to name here. I will continue to follow your fortunes from afar but at least now I know my whole week and demeanour will not solely depend on two hours of OSFC football on a Saturday! I thank the many Board members who I have enjoyed working with and frustrated many with my constant striving for perfection and success. I wish current President Will Strange and the Board all the best in leading the club on to greater success in the future. Finally one of our important club goals is for individuals to leave the club in a better place than when you walked in the door. Hoping that maybe I achieved this goal. Lastly but most importantly thank-you to my partner Tracie, children Matthew, Cameron and Jessica and grandchildren Sebastian and Matilda, who have not seen a lot of me in recent years and when they have, only heard me constantly banging on about Old Scotch Football Club. They may regret me being around more, lol.

Go Cardinals and Stars!