20 DAYS TO GO | Vermont junior president Russell Ternan spoke to EFNL Media ahead of the 2020 season, all thanks to Yarra Valley Water & Choose Tap.
Overall, were you satisfied with what the club achieved, both on and off the field, in 2019?
Russell Ternan: Last year it was especially pleasing to be able to offer local girls the opportunity to play football at our club, from under-10s through to under-18 level. Fifteen of our teams played finals, across both boys and girls competitions and while we were able to achieve premiership success, this is not the only way to measure the strength and value of a community club like ours.
Our mantra for the junior club has been to support every child who wishes to play footy and do whatever we can to try and ensure they have an enjoyable, safe and nurturing experience. I believe that we achieved that last season.
Approximately how many teams do you think you will field in 2020?
RT: We will field 24 teams, the same number we had last year.
What has the feeling been like around the club over the pre-season?
RT: Our under-15 and under-17 boys and under-16 and under-18 girls teams began training prior to Christmas, with the remaining competitive age groups kicking off their preseason in February. The feeling has been great with a number of new families coming to the club across a range of age groups and I’m looking forward to meeting them all at our upcoming Jumper Presentation Day on Saturday 28th March. The VJFC is also looking forward to being involved with the senior club’s centenary celebrations this season.
If you had to pick one, which team do you think is the club’s best chance of winning a premiership this season?
RT: With six of our competitive teams making grand finals last year and four of them winning it, we’re hopeful that a number of our teams can experience some finals success again. We expect our U12A Boys to be hard to beat, having gone through the season undefeated last year in the U11’s. We’re also hoping that one of our Girls teams can take out the club’s first junior premiership, following on from our Senior Women’s success two seasons ago.
Is there a particular age group of players that you need as soon as possible to fill a team ahead of Round 1?
RT: A couple of our younger age groups in U8s, 9‘s & 11’s and our U18 girls will need a few more players and we’d love to welcome some new young Eagles in those groups. We are very fortunate with good numbers in most of our other age groups but we do have some limited places still open.
If any players are interested in playing for your club this season, what do they have to do?
RT: Go to our website: www.vermontfc.com.au/juniors/junior-club-registrations or send an email to: registrar@vermontjfc.com.au and we will let you know if we can fit you into one of our younger age group teams.