Great Southern footy festival funWednesday, May 2, 2018 - 9:57 AM

The Great Southern Festival of Football proved to be a whole heap of fun for many young footballers in the region who got the opportunity to take part in a number of initiatives run by the Great Southern Football League (GSFL), City of Albany, WA Football League and the WA Football Commission last week.

The festival kicked off on Wednesday with the GSFL ANZAC Celebration match between Railways FC and North Albany FC. The Railways coming out on top 16.7 (103) to the Kangas 11.8 (74).

The following day saw more than 40 youth-aged footballers from both Albany and surrounding districts as far as Lake King take part in a masterclass clinic hosted by Claremont League assistant coach Kepler Bradley and current WA State 16s assistant coach Sam Cousens. Players undertook a number of AFL Draft combine testings including agility, sprints and vertical leap. The day ended with a special skills sessions and a game under the watchful eye of a guest AFL club recruiter.

Later in the day the senior team of the Great Southern Storm Football Development Program (15-18 year olds) participated in a training session run by Kepler and Sam. This program provides elite training and additional educational resources to the best talent in the local region. The program has produced a number of talented footballers including the likes of Morgan Davies, Bailey Bennett, Matt Palfrey, Mitch McGivern, Declan Mountford and Darcy Cameron. The day concluded with a coach education session, which was attended by more than 30 local coaches.

More than 50 extremely excited primary school students participated in a footy clinic run by Claremont players Jack Beeck, Matt Palfrey, Tom Lee and Kane Mitchell on Friday.  All proceeds from the event went to the Proudie Foundation. Warwick Proudlove was a former Tigers player originally from North Albany Football Club who was tragically injured in a car accident a number of years ago. Claremont FC is extremely proud to support Warwick’s recovery through this wonderful foundation.

Players from both Claremont and South Fremantle attended a ANZAC Commemorative event hosted by the City of Albany at its National ANZAC Centre a day out from their Round 5 clash at Centennial Stadium. It was a very special experience for all players involved. Later in the day a WAFL umpire training session was held for more than 30 GSFL coaches ahead of a lovely WAFL club dinner put on by North Albany FC.

The final day of the festival saw a bucket-load of footy action unfold at Albany’s Centennial Park, including the WAFL League match between the Tigers and Bulldogs. The Great Southern Storm 15s team took on the Upper Great Southern region in the opening match of the day. The senior Great Southern Storm side then took to the field and battled it out against a visiting Claremont metropolitan 16s side.

WAFL clubs Claremont and South Fremantle then battled it out in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 people. Both WAFL clubs put on an impressive performance, but it was the Bulldogs who overcame the Tigers in the final term with a 12.13 (85) to 8.10 (58) win.