Season 2021

Players Of The Year 2021

The Player of the Year awards 2021 for our Senior Mens & Womens squads was held on November 21.

We extend our congratulations to the following award recipients:

OUSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO FEMALE FOOTBALL
(Sponsored by Builders Academy)
Taylah McIntyre

JUNIOR TALENT ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD
(Sponsored by Builders Academy)
Niamh Ryan

BEST 1ST YEAR PLAYER:

Womens: Joanne Owen
Mens: Henry Taylor

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER:

Womens: Megan Seric
Mens: Michael Owen

GOLDEN BOOTS:

Womens: Jaclyn Camilleri
Mens Thirds: Dillon Norton
Mens Reserves: Joseph Cavoli
Mens Seniors: Jake McIntyre

GOALS OF THE YEAR:
Womens:
Taylah McIntyre
Mens Thirds: Daniel Adamo
Mens Reserves: Joseph Cavoli
Mens Seniors: Daniel Adamo

PLAYERS PLAYER:

Womens: Stevie Mitchell
Mens Thirds: Hayden Rush
Mens Reserves: Joseph Cavoli
Mens Seniors: Matthew Hume

COACHES AWARDS:

Womens: Lily O’Flynn
Mens Thirds: Reuben Bennett
Mens Reserves: Owen Boys (Warren, Michael, Gerard & Paul)
Mens Seniors: Sean O’Callaghan

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Womens: Katerina Karatsoris
Mens Thirds: Ryan Happ & Kristian Luketa
Mens Reserves: Joseph Cavoli & Rhys Sartori
Mens Seniors: Andy Koroneos

2021 POTY

Player of the Year lunch for our 4 Senior teams will be held:

Sunday, November 21, 2021 midday onwards

The Telegraph Hotel - Top beer garden

  • Free Entry

  • Casual Dress

  • A la carte from the Tele menu

  • Drinks at bar prices

A chance to get together and celebrate some of the highlights in what was a very challenging year for our Women’s team and our Men’s Senior, Reserve and Thirds teams.

Please confirm your attendance via our Facebook event as numbers may be restricted due to density limits.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Annual General Meeting 2020/2021

Notice is given that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Gisborne Soccer Club for the 2020/2021 Year will be held as follows:

Date: Monday 8th November 2021
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Dixon Field* and Online
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/exr-jqni-hrd
Or dial: ‪(AU) +61 2 9051 7975‬ PIN: ‪478 197 657‬#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/exr-jqni-hrd?pin=2901923938188

Currently there are no planned elections for Director roles nor other roles the Club needs. However we have lots of vacancies and will be looking for volunteers as usual.

Current Club help/administrative roles

Current Club office bearers alongside vacant roles are published here:

www.gisbornesc.com.au/committee

Coaching Roles:

As you may have spotted on social media, the Club is in the process of reappointing season 2021 coaches and hope to try to get as many as we can in place early on. This will help a lot with getting grading and recruitment done, players allocated to teams, sponsors secured and then suitably sized kits ordered and received in time for the season start.

If you are interested in taking a more active role in the running of the Club in 2022 please email us at volunteering@gisbornesc.com or speak to any committee member about what you could do to help.

Any questions please contact the club at enquiries@gisbornesc.com

GSC Committee

* Decision to hold an in person meeting at Dixon Field alongside the online option is pending COVID restrictions at that date.

Vale Ray Cakebread

It is with great sadness we hear of the passing of Ray Cakebread.

Ray was the most fair and caring coach for our Under 14-15s boys in 2017-2018, along with some assistant work with our Senior squad in 2011.

Gisborne Soccer Club extends its deepest condolences to his sons Marty and Alex, and wife Judy.

Rest in peace “Cakey”, you will always be remembered by our club as a gentle giant. May you shine bright in the night sky always as we look up.

Thank You to our Sponsors

Now that the unfortunate end to the season is confirmed and we keep our fingers crossed that our end of season presentation events might be possible in ways other than online, it remains to say a GIGANTIC thank you to all of our sponsors for 2021 (including those rolled over from the similarly impacted 2020).

Without your generous investments in our sponsorship offerings so much less would be possible at our club and for that we all thank you.

Whether its the 5 year olds charging about on a Saturday morning, the 11 year olds learning the ropes, the young adults strutting their stuff in the Gisborne sky blue or the 55 year olds hobbling home on a Wednesday evening after training. The people that mark the pitches, that buy the kits and equipment, that ref the games, that coach and manage the teams, that put out flags and cones and put them away again and the committee that make the decisions and keep the plates spinning.

THANK YOU for making soccer in this community the best it can be!

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Number 5

This article is bought to you by the Number 5.

With FV officially calling off the remainder of the season we’ve noticed that our Seniors, Reserves & Thirds have all finished in 5th place.

Whilst the ladder means nothing given there’s no Champion being awarded this season, no promotion or relegation, we thought it was a bit of a fun fact to point out.

Here’s hoping the end of Season 2022 is bought to you by the Number 1.

Update from the President

SEASON CANCELLED BY FV

Confirming what everyone was expecting but today FV formally cancelled all leagues our teams play in for the rest of the season. Directors will meet next week with a full committee meeting on Monday 13th Sept (online of course) to work out where we go from here. Needless to say all GSC activities remain cancelled until further notice.

https://www.footballvictoria.com.au/news/metropolitan-melbourne-2021-season-status?fbclid=IwAR1UiDaacf51VOHl91JOOjLsY39c7rf0zQsru_8JhX2xDMDHxiXbhnL6Ozg

Update from the President

WEEKENDS GAMES CANCELLED BY FV

FV have cancelled all matches for the foreseeable future, due to the latest Covid-19 lockdown orders from the State Government. Accordingly all GSC activities remain cancelled until further notice.

https://www.footballvictoria.com.au/news/immediate-cancellation-regional-football-activities?fbclid=IwAR1JFFPkWNpERWHkj71T4zuV43FpTrcHyM0mwfFvOJAOqHYHwLY8a1ASvdI

The Season So Far...

Senior Mens coach Danny Moore reflects on Season 2021 to date.

I think it’s always better to have a positive outlook during challenging times, and as much as we’re all wishing for the end of this latest COVID lockdown, it has at least given us a chance to refresh and reflect on how the season has panned out so far. Unfortunately, this football pause has come at a time when momentum was swinging in our favour, but having worked so hard to acquire it once, we know we can recapture it again. 

Looking back on our first nine rounds of the Men’s State League 4 West competition, having started off tentatively, I feel as if we’ve grown into more of a reliable rhythm in the way we play, but importantly we’ve strengthened our mental fortitude too. Belief is a very powerful tool and it’s something we’ve spoken about a lot. How to find it, build it and use it. 

Even before the season kicked off, there were a few practice games in particular against higher placed opposition where we saw indicators of what we could be capable of. Results in those games are meaningless, but the performance levels perhaps helped to sow the seeds of self-confidence and character. 

Our opening day loss against Barnestoneworth in Round 1 followed by the 1-1 draw with Melbourne University in Round 2 – both very good sides – were sobering in some respects as they opened our eyes to the challenge ahead. Whilst I didn’t feel we were outplayed, there were obvious opportunities for learning and like any setback, it presented us with a chance to improve. 

The long Round 3 away trip to Surf Coast became a match with added importance to give ourselves the spark we needed, and in many ways that’s exactly how it panned out. The manner of the victory rather than the points themselves (which we happily took!) combined with some strong individual performances and the general grit and tenacity shown really ignited our season from that point. 

The following three rounds saw us go undefeated with a 2-2 draw away at Melbourne City sandwiched between solid home wins against Spring Hills and North Melbourne Athletic. It was the tangible sense of disappointment in the dressing rooms after the City stalemate that gave further rise to the feeling that our desire and craving for more was building. 

Then came the Round 7 loss away to league leaders Laverton Park where, if anything, there were ‘non-football’ barriers which proved the most difficult to overcome which resulted in a missed opportunity. It was a result that stuck in the back of my throat and one which brought a lot of reflection as I considered our merit among those who would be vying for the top positions in the league.

Our next game against Golden Plains, a 3-1 home win, somewhat corrected our path but not in a way that looked or felt convincing. However, it was certainly a moment to appreciate that football isn’t always pretty or easy. But when the outcome is desirable and achieved, you take it.

Then came the match-up against top team Bell Park. When I look back on it now, what’s most pleasing of all as a coach is that we took parts of our best game prior to that versus Surf Coast along with parts of the lessons learned against Laverton and combined them to come up with a display that hit all the right notes. We were bright, bold and aggressive at the ball, but above everything we harnessed the self-belief that had been slowly simmering. 

Regardless of what others on the outside thought about our 5-1 win, it gave us our own signal, within our own camp, that we had it in ourselves to exceed what was expected.

Nothing has been achieved and like all trees we keep our feet on the ground, but always aspire to reach the sky. There’s still an element of uncertainty as to how and when the season will restart, but one thing’s for sure and that is we absolutely cannot wait to get going again.

Resignation of Director

It is with great regret that must inform you that John Turner has resigned from his position as a Director of Gisborne Soccer Club and his role as Sponsorship Director.

With a significant amount raised from sponsorships this year following a very difficult period with COVID, the Club's financial position seems significantly less at risk than it was at the heart of the pandemic and John's contribution to that has been significant. However he has now found it necessary to take the decision to resign in the face of increasing business responsibilities of his own that require his time.

John is a long standing member of the Club having coached previously and with kids having played here. Despite this resignation, he remains one of our generous sponsors, a commitment he has made to the Club over a number of years via the Black Forest Motel. Additionally he will continue to strut his stuff in the vets team (hamstrings permitting) and advocate for the Club he has devoted so much of his time to down the years.

Thank you John for stepping into the breach at what was a tricky time for the Club and we look forward to your unmistakable presence around the grounds over the remainder of this season and for seasons to come.

President, Richard Smart

Update from the President

I'm delighted to announce that last week's Committee Meeting saw the appointment of Steve Hamilton to the role of Assistant Secretary and Director of Gisborne Soccer Club. Steve joins myself (Richard Smart), Mick Spasojevic, Kathy van Emmerik, Mikki Maheras and John Turner bringing our total number of Directors to 6 (constitutionally we need between 5 and 7).

Steve has two children playing at Gisborne Soccer Club this season and has been involved with the club for a number of years. With knowledge and experience in other Victorian local council capital and infrastructure processes he will no doubt prove invaluable as we try to tackle our floodlights issue and progress the Dixon Master plan, amongst other areas of workload in which we need some more help.

Welcome Steve!

Nike FC Cup draw

Our Senior Women’s team are once again competing in the Nike FC Cup, Football Victoria’s Women’s knockout cup competition.

We face Geelong Rangers SC in the Qualifying Round on Sunday March 14, time & venue to be confirmed at the time of writing.

Geelong Rangers SC compete in Division 1 of the Geelong Regional leagues, where they have finished top of the table in their last 2 seasons, 2018 & 2019.

The winner of this clash will progress to Round 1 of the knockout competition.

State League Fixtures Released

Our 2021 State League fixtures are now online.

We will start our campaign with 2 games at home starting with Barnestoneworth, who were promoted from SL5 in 2019, followed by Melbourne Uni a week later.

Our return fixture against Melbourne Uni will be played on a Friday night, it is the only fixture not being played at the 1:00pm & 3:00pm Saturday kick off times.

We have two away games in a row in Geelong, however a catch-up round is scheduled in between these fixtures.

The final fixture for the season is scheduled to be away at Truganina.

You can view the full season fixtures here. Sunday league fixtures are still to be announced.

Resignation of Director

I'm sorry to announce that Olga Bartasek has had to resign from Gisborne Soccer Club as a Director and our registrar due to the volume of her other personal commitments. However I am also pleased to let you know she has committed to continuing as a general committee member and is already providing input on how we can tailor our constitution so as to more clearly apply to situations the club might encounter.

Olga has been involved with the club for many years with kids playing here in a number of age groups and has even dazzled with her skills herself in the Soccer Sevens tournaments. Her willingness to step up recently, at a time of relative crisis was vital to the continuation of the club over the past year or two and her experience in the way community clubs operate effectively has guided us through with minimal damage. Additionally her contributions to boosting the status of women and girls at the club has been much valued and she has even found ways to get some of the kids contributing to the workload with her son Liam producing a promotional video for us! Just because we can't send them down the mines nowadays doesn't mean they can't make themselves useful! ;o)

Thank you Olga for your efforts and pleased to know you will still be around to help out.

President, Richard Smart