March 2018

LET’S GO BOMBERS

We’re pumped to take on the Gold Coast Suns At Metricon Stadium Saturday 30th June at 4pm, and to welcome back Clay Cameron:- read the full story inside this issue. If you’re free make sure you head down to cheer on the mighty Bombers!

Footy News

WELCOME BACK CLAY – VICTORY ON YOUR BIGGEST STAGE

Report: JEFF STEPHENSON

CLAY Cameron will barely hear the cheers of support when he runs out onto Metricon Stadium against

Gold Coast on Saturday to resume a career that was to all intents and purposes snapped asunder following

him being diagnosed with testicular cancer just shy of four short months ago. Instead, he’ll be in a state of euphoria. He may even be floating a little after all he has been through.

The pats on the back and best wishes from teammates, coaches and support staff will be received with the

humility that is symbolic of the Redland Bombers star forward.

They’ll be flashbacks of the bad times – particularly the rough 20-day period when he underwent intense

chemotherapy – a decision he put upon himself to “get it done”. “It was full-on,” Clay recalled this week.

“It was high intensity stuff. The chemo treatment was two cycles that went for six weeks and I was at the hospital for around 20 days for five hours at a time.”

It was hard and tough to take and made him seriously sick as his body reacted to the treatment.

But like most things that have confronted him these past few months, Clay has faced each challenge, each

stumbling block, each piece of good and bad news with the same stoic conviction.

Just like confronting a new match – another half – the next quarter, Clay has worked to overcome issues

that would most likely tip the rest of us over the top.

Even his attitude towards his cancer is bold – he was never going to let it defeat him.

“Yeah, it was a bit frustrating obviously, but I just attacked it as a short period of my life that I had to go through.

“It’s one of those things that seems to affect the people around you just as much, if not more than you.

“I myself, just slept and tried not to be too grumpy or ask for too much.”

That, in a nutshell, is emblematic of how Clay has handled the illness

that threatened him so severely.

Worried for himself, for sure, but thinking about others.

As a recently-turned 24-year-old, Clay was not prepared for what life was

to throw at him – well, what young men are? He’d had a great 2017 and was looking to this year with supreme confidence.

Selection in the 2017 NEAFL Team of the Year, winner of the NEAFL

Mark of the Year and runner-up in Redland’s best and fairest were hon-ours he accumulated in a fantastic first year with the Bombers. The pre-

season had gone well enough and Clay was into the final stages of a

tough and challenging bonding camp at the Enoggera Army Barracks

back in February when he “started to feel a bit sore”.

“It was a bit of a worry for a couple of days and then my partner (Jemma– pictured with Clay) suggested we should get it checked. “I went to the doctor, he referred me to a specialist and the next thing I knew I was

having an operation. “It was pretty quick.

That’s Liam, Jess and Alisa wearing their Redland jumpers.

Then came the chemo treatment.

“The whole episode seemed to go on for ages but looking back, it’s really all gone pretty quickly. “And it wasn’t related to the camp either – it’s just one of those things.” When Clay was unable to attend the Bombers’ jumper presentation before the opening match of the 2018 season a video of him being presented

with his a few days earlier was shown to teammates and

supporters.

The illness and the understanding of what he was going though

certainly shattered many of us, but the club continued with its

encouragement – to Clay – and to the many people offering

support and best wishes. The playing group made a determined

effort to be at Clay’s side as he fought his way back to health.

“I’m a no-fuss sort of guy – I don’t like too much being focused on me. “But the support from the club and from the players was really good. “It wasn’t over the top and that meant a lot.”

As the recovery process hit top gear, Clay started running – that

was on May 28 – and it was tough going, but the next time it was that little bit easier as was the next and

before he knew it he was rattling off some handy sessions.

“It was hard there for awhile and for a time I was wondering what I was doing and why I was doing it.

“Now it’s feeling okay and I’ve really improved my fitness dramatically in the last month.

“It’s (his fitness) obviously not where it normally is in the middle of the season, but I knew I was getting to the stage where it would soon be okay for me to play.

“I’ve looked at it as though it’s been a 10-month injury – I haven’t played since late August last year – but

I’ve been back joining in with training and feel right to go again.”

Will he be nervous on his return? “I’m a more mature player and person now than when I was younger, and the nerves normally go by the time I run out.

“The past four months or so will all be a blur that I’ll forget about for three hours. “But, yes, there will be nerves, but there’ll be confidence too.”

The former Gold Coast Suns defender has been the Redland runner these past few weeks delivering mes-

sages to his teammates and has enjoyed it because of his analytical approach to the game.

But running messages is one thing – playing another. “I’m not a great watcher as I feel like I’m always yell-ing out and making a gig of myself. “Playing is easier.”

Clay is humbled and obviously appreciative of those who have supported him – particularly Jemma.

“She’s had a fair bit to deal with like all the ups and downs and the grumpiness and the slackness like not keeping the house neat and tidy.” All that, however, is now behind him.

Jemma will be there supporting her man to the hilt, as will other members of his family, when he makes his

return and there will be many more offering their encouragement besides.

It’s always said these issues put things in perspective. They certainly do.

Winning at sport is not essential. Winning at life is – and that’s a given. GO CLAY

VPSFC REPORT

Upcoming Events

*QFA Round 12- Saturday June 30 v Alexandra Hills @ HOME (C: 9:30am |R: 11:45am |S: 2pm)

*QFA Round 13- Saturday July 7 v Park Ridge @ Park Ridge State High

(C: 9:30am @ Narangba |R: 11:45am |S: 2pm)

*QFA Round 14- Saturday July 14 v Bond University @ Bond University

(C: BYE |R: 11:45am |S: 2pm)

*QFA Round 14- Saturday July 21 v Burleigh @ Burleigh

(C: 9:30am |R: BYE |S: BYE)

*QFA Round 15- Saturday July 28 v Coomera @ HOME

(C: 9:30am |R: 11:45am |S: 2pm)

*Sponsors Day- Saturday July 28 @ Victoria Point Sharks Sporting Club

*$6000 Cash Draw- Saturday July 28 @ Cleveland Sharks Sports Club

We have just ticked over the halfway point of the year and have 2 of our 3 teams well placed for a

tilt at some end of season success. The Seniors are sitting on 7 wins and 4 losses, the Colts are 7-1

and the Reserves have registered just the 1 win to date.

96 players have pulled on the Sharks jumper across the 3 teams.

SENIORS

Players Used: 43 Played all games: 2 Leading Goal Kicker: Dale Lynn (19)

Extra: 16 debutants, 8 of who play for the Colts

RESERVES

Players Used: 68 Played all games: 1 Leading Goal Kicker: James Brooks (17)

Extra: 36 debutants, 25 of who play for the Colts

COLTS

Players Used: 29 Played all games: 6 Leading Goal Kicker: Bailey Hewitt (25)

Extra: 25 of the 29 players used have played Seniors or Reserves

Milestones

Congratulations to James Brooks, Darryl Pyper and Ash Le Cerf who played their 50th games

for the club in the last month.

- 8 MAJOR SPONSORS-

PLATINUM SHARKS GOLD SHARKS SILVER SHARKS

BRONZE SHARKS

PARTNERS

We would also like to thank the ongoing support of our major sponsor SHORELINE who have been a valued

sponsor since 2015. We thank all our returning sponsors and welcome on board new partners including

GOPUMP, AKWIKA, JOPA, SUTTON CONSTRUCTIONS and YMCA VICTORIA POINT.

The club looks forward to seeing all of our supporters for our next fixture.

Nic Aldridge

VPSFC Chairman

“Like” our Facebook page @ Victoria Point Sharks

Football Club, to keep up to date with all the happenings at THE TANK!

$6000 CASH DRAW $100 for a ticket that includes:

*A chance at the major prize of $5000

*5 x $200 prizes

*Roast dinner

*Beer, Wine and Soft Drink

*Entertainment from Sharks favourites “The Big Duo”

All held at the Cleveland Sharks Sports Club on Saturday July 28 from 7:30pm

Phone the club on 3207 7865 to purchase your ticket today!

NEW BOY BROCK’S READY TO ROCK AND ROLL

VICTORIA POINT SHARKS JAFC

Report by Tyler Hayes Junior Football Operations Officer

Three quarters of the season is over however it feels

like it's only just begun for me. I would like to firstly

thank everyone for welcoming me into the club with open arms and

supporting me through this busy time

The club currently is running like clockwork with a great committee

all going above and beyond in their duties to provide all our kids with

a game of footy each week. The results are mixed amongst all the

grades and if the season finished today VPJAFC would have 5 teams

playing finals.

The girls program is progressing at a rate of knots with the Under 15’s second on the ladder and Under 13’s Red sitting on top. This season also sees VPJAFC with representation in Division 1 in every age group

both male and female. This is a true testament to the ability of our

players and will also lead the VPJAFC into some very successful times

at the top level

This past Tuesday the Under 12’s squad combined their training ses-sion with the Sharks seniors. The night was full of fun and high energy

and the young men held their own against the slightly bigger bodies.

Junior footy in the Roys – U11’s space is in great shape thanks to Mur-ray Pendlebury who has been a driving force for this. In 2018 we have

highlighted the slightly better talent in each age group and started a

rookie list. These rookie-listed players have all been playing up a

grade when needed.

This has shown great dividends in their development as young foot-

ballers. This weekend the U11’s have made a combined VPJAFC rep team to play in the Michael Voss Cup out at Morningside on Saturday

and should do quite well from what I have seen so far in 2018.

In a community side of things, we had our annual Mozzie night which

was a huge success with over 120 kids coming out on a Wednesday

night to have a kick with the NEAFL players.

We’ve also had all our players aged 14 and up take part in the Outside The Locker Room program which has been a fantastic initiative to

upskill our young men and women in areas so prevalent in todays

society.

Please keep an eye out on all things junior footy as things start to heat

up in the latter part of the season.

Go Sharks!

Thank you to everyone involved!

Such an awesome night. Well done!

ANZAC DAY JUMPERS

John Worrall from Victoria Point Chiropractic sponsored these jumpers. They are available for purchase now, and all funds raised will be donated to Legacy Brisbane.

Jumpers on sale now for $100 each please contact Maree 0407 300 435

Our jumpers have been specially designed by Shara Delaney.

Shara explains the meaning behind her design. Inspired by the colours of the Redland Football Club, this jumper is to be worn with pride to celebrate the 2018 Indigenous Round. It represents the Redlands which is apart of Quandamooka Country known to the traditional owners as the Moreton Bay Area.

For thousands of years Quandamooka has been home to our people. We will always continue to keep a connection to our home lands, passing knowledge and customs down to our younger generations.

There are three clan groups known as Nughi of Moorgumpin (now known as Moreton Island) and the Nunukul and Gorenpul of Minjerribah. The circle represent everybody coming together as reconciliation between teams and communities. The colours also represent the sand and sea.

Jumpers on sale now for $100 each please contact Maree 0407 300 435

INDIGENEOUS JUMPERS AND ANZAC DAY JUMPERS

New Redland Football Club Website.

We have some exciting news!!

Our new website has now been launched.

Thank you to Cath Koch fromWild Cat Design - Brisbane Web Design. Brilliant work Cath!

Cath pictured here with Maree Thomson (Business Manager for RFC) learning about our new website.

Thank you to Mayor Karen Williams for the grant to help make this happen.