SPORTSBRIEFS John Ford

Football and Netball Back Soon!

The Dolphins are keen to get back on track after the 2020 season was lost due to the Covid Pandemic. We are all keen to watch local football and netball, and interested to see how the club responds during 2021. There is a major redevelopment taking place at Stribling Reserve, but with innovative match fixturing the football and netball will still take place. The following article was supplied by Club President Lee Hollmer, with announcements from the co ordinators of senior and junior football and netball, and the treasurer:

A word from the President Lee Hollmer

The 2021 season will be a very challenging year for the Club as we navigate our way through COVID normal, we welcome back players, volunteers, sponsors and members and remain optimistic that all teams will able to compete throughout the whole season. The rebuilding of the Community Stadium has commenced and the new Netball Pavilion will be completed in
early March.

We have worked closely with the Surf Coast Shire and AFL Barwon to accommodate our 9 home games in temporary facilities. To this end we shall be playing the first 9 rounds at home given the likely better weather conditions early is the season. Our traditional Easter Blockbuster will again be held on 3rd April against Alvie providing an exciting start to the season. We understand there will be some inconvenience throughout 2021 but I urge all members, players, volunteers and sponsors to stick with us through these challenging times.

Netball – Carly Enticott

Interesting times certainly makes for interesting planning for our Netball department for the 2021 season ahead. Our major focus will be encouraging all our junior and senior players to return to the courts again. We look forward to the ongoing development of our young netball stars with our Net Set Go program. Currently we are finalising our coaches and teams across the Club and look forward to a very competitive year on the courts.

Football – Miah Atwell

Preseason training is in full swing with everyone eager to take to the field again. Our seniors will be aiming for ‘Three-Peat’ premiership following on from 2018 & 2019. Our playing group have been very active recruiting Guy Phelps (full forward) and Justin Baxter (full back) which will strengthen what was already an impressive spine. Possibly more exciting for the Club is the group of at least 10, 20 years olds pushing for a senior game this year, our future is certainly looking bright with this talented group. Keep an eye out for Jessie Taylor who has moved to Lorne to live with his parents, Jessie has an impressive junior football resume and is set for a big year with the Dolphins. Also keep an eye out for Jack Steven who may play a few games this year as he transitions into retirement from his AFL career.

Junior Football – Selena Walding

The junior teams are thrilled to finally be allowed back on the oval for a kick of the footy and to burn off all of that pent up energy they’ve been holding onto for the past 12 months. Coaches this year are Simon Umbers – Under 18’s, Rob Staley & Can Nugent – Under 15’s and Andy Allen (Turtle) – Under 13’s. Training has commenced in earnest with everyone looking forward to a great year ahead with many of the players playing 2 games each week.

Membership & Sponsorship – Clive Goldsworthy

As previously stated 2021 will be a challenging year across all aspects of the Club. We anticipate a very tough year financially due to the lack of facilities at Stribling Reserve. There will be a decline in gate takings, food and beverage sale and we shall be very reliant on membership renewals and our sponsors. We look forward to your support and your attendance to support the Lorne Dolphins throughout the season. One of our Fundraising committee will shortly be in touch to provide further information on sponsorship packages or membership opportunities.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment.

“Go Dolphins”

Australia Day Tennis Tournament

Lorne Country Club held its annual Australia Day tennis tournament on the Sunday of the long weekend. The weather was mild and overcast with just a gentle breeze – perfect playing conditions. Sixteen players participated in the mixed doubles format, where players were matched with different partners and opponents throughout the day. The standard was very good with some wonderful attacking shots being played, some amazing retrievals, occasional doubtful line calls and the usual spills and thrills that are part of competitive social tennis. Between sets players and their supporters enjoyed a first-rate morning tea that included a broad selection of sandwiches, baking and fruit. In fact so good was the morning tea that at the end of play the results did not really matter – everyone was a winner!

However all players were keen to perform well and have their scores recorded, and so there was the usual totalling of results to establish overall winners. The top four women players were: Jill, Julie, Michelle and Kat, with the top four men being Tom, Esmond, Alvis and Kevin. Prizes included dinner vouchers and wine being supplied by Lorne Central, and tickets to the Lorne Cinema. A big thank you to the supporters who kindly supplied the delicious home-made morning tea, and those who took charge of housekeeping including grooming the upper courts and recording all results. We now look forward to the annual Easter tournament on the Saturday.

Women’s Golf

Upcoming events:

March 2nd: Guest “Give Golf a Go” day – where we welcome women that are interested to see if they want to play golf….

we have a Pro there to help with Putting and Chipping instruction, some fun competition around this, and a lunch together with the current Women’s group.

Please let us know if you are interested to come along on this day.
(Danni 0414857481)

Coaching with a Pro:

Lesley has organised for Jason Kraan, the PGA Professional from Anglesea to come to Lorne for some coaching sessions in March – see his Lorne clinic info below.

9.30 -10.30 March 4 – Full swing
9.30 – 10.30 March 11 – Chipping & Bunkers
9.30 – 10.30 March 18 – Putting
9.30 – 10.30 March 25 – Full swing, short game, putting recap.

He can supply clubs for any newbies. Cost is $20 each per session. Also Jason would be happy to make times available for private coaching on those Thursday mornings between 10.30am & 12.30. People can also contact Jason directly on 0422 049 030.

Please call Lesley on 0437 028 169 if you want to register for a clinic, or if you have any questions.

Danni De Bon – Women’s Secretary.

Remember to tell us who you would like to see in Sportsbriefs!!! Articles to John Ford at 35 George St, or email to byswerdi2@bigpond.com