Connecting people & communities PAKENHAM Thursday, 1 May, 2014
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SPORT
Thursday, 1 May,
2014 Page 1
Property ty Lift outt
Home goal By RUSSELL BENNETT THE Pakenham Silverbacks are a family without a home - and, like club co-founder Jarrod Collett said, “it’s not like we’re asking to borrow the MCG”. But the gridiron club begins its inaugural season this weekend and does not even have a ground to call its own. The Silverbacks have risen from nothing to become their own tight-knit community - a bunch of strangers who have fast become not only team-mates, but a second family. But on the eve of their debut Gridiron Victoria (GV) season, the Silverbacks are essentially nomads. Cardinia Shire Council has granted them the use of O’Neill Road Recreation Reserve in Beaconsfield for training after a stint at Don Jackson Reserve in Pakenham over summer. But neither have clubrooms,
permanent toilet facilities or readily-accessible drinking water and neither can host GV games. And without a home game-day venue, the club can’t earn any money from gate takings, food and drink sold, or from the bar. “If we had clubrooms we could have club dinners, trivia nights and jumper presentations without having to hire a venue. It’s just more of a cost for us, not having any clubrooms at all,” Mr Collett said. “It’s made it hard, but when you’ve got everyone who’s so committed you work with what you’ve got. That brings the club together more than any bigger club that has everything.” The Silverbacks could have well over 100 players by the close of the men’s season in late August, with dreams of also fielding junior and women’s teams from that point.
More than 30 youngsters have already expressed an interest to play. The Silverbacks’ cut-off date to find a home venue on match days was in March. “We’ve got quite a few away games - we travel to Ballarat, Morwell, Geelong and Footscray,” said another Silverbacks founder, Richie Howlett. In reality, every game the Silverbacks play this season will be an away game. They’ll play one game this side of the city all year in Endeavour Hills. The club had promising discussions with tenants of both Toomuc Reserve and the Lakeside Oval soccer ground but they just ran out of time. “We’ve been in contact with the council since October and we’ve tried to make it as clear as possible what the ideal would be to have somewhere we could have
available Saturdays and Sundays for games,” Mr Howlett said. “We never expected to be able to have everything we asked for but clubrooms would’ve been nice.” Cardinia Shire Council’s team leader of recreation and facilities Heather Callahan said the shire had not been requested to provide the club with a home ground, “as it understands its games are played at a range of recreational facilities across Melbourne”. “Only a ground for training purposes was requested,” Ms Callahan said. “The council will continue to work with the club with the aim of providing recreational reserves in the shire at which it can train.” The Pakenham Silverbacks’ first game is this Sunday from 10.30am against the Melbourne Uni Lions at Royal Park in Parkville.
Richie Howlett wants a home ground that his Silverbacks can call their own.
The Silverbacks have a growing army, including (at front) defensive line captain Richmond Stowers, quarterback Steve McLean, defensive captain Jason Siegel, offensive captain Cameron Dixon and offensive co-ordinator Aaron V. 119563 Pictures: RUSSELL BENNETT 1123561-EG15-14
Lakeside Lutheran College g
Open Day Family Fun D ay Saturday 3 May from 10am –
Ph: 5941 7544 2 Portobello Rd, Pakenham, VIC, 3810 www.lakeside.vic.edu.au
2pm