CEO Report – 24/7/08

Football
It is promising to be a big game against Central this week at House Brothers Oval. They are getting a few of their good players back into the team and we all know how good they are at their best.  We will need to be at our best to get over the line this week and it will be a good test for our boys after comfortably accounting for South and West over the last two weeks. It is shaping up as an important game and will go along way to securing a finals and top three berth.

Great to see all the other grades continue to notch up wins and our coaches have some work to do to ensure our players qualify in the grade we want them to play come finals time to ensure all grades put their best foot forward.

It was interesting to note that we have not had a player selected in the final squad of 25 for the U16 Championships to be held in Brisbane this week.  This is disappointing from both a Club and player point of view, especially considering we remain undefeated this year – go figure!!

It was great to see so many of our supporters take the short trip down the freeway to Johnstone Park at Murray Bridge to see our boys touch up South Adelaide.  We certainly think it was a worthwhile exercise and one that we would like to repeat given a draw that again gives us the opportunity to showcase SANFL football in our promotional zone.  A big thank you to the River Murray Football League and the Imperial Football Club for their support and excellent job they did in organising the event.

The SANFL has delayed their decision on the underage structure for 2009 and onwards while they gather some more relevant information – a decision is expected later in August.

The crowds at House Brothers Oval are up 11% on last year, which is a great effort. We look forward to strong attendances for our last three home games against Central, Eagles and South to maintain this improvement on 2007.

Sponsors
At this week’s game against Central we are hosting our valued sponsors at a marquee on the south eastern side of the oval.  We are extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful group of sponsors on board this year and hosting them at the marquee is a small way we can say a big thank you for your support during 08.

Oxfam – Close the Gap
We will be promoting the Oxfam Close the Gap campaign at our game versus the Eagles at House Brothers Oval on the 3rd August.  This campaign is gaining momentum and promotes awareness in the areas which Indigenous Australians are at a disadvantage when compared to other Australians ie health issues, life expectancy, infant mortality rates etc.  We are proud to be associated with this campaign and look forward to being involved for many years to come.

Council Negotiations
Negotiations for better arrangements with the City of Unley are ongoing, we are making progress and with a little luck we may be able to report improved arrangements in September.

Don’t forget we are holding our Club Champion and Hall of Fame induction night on Friday 18th October at the Arkaba – seats will be limited in what promises to be a sensational night.  Please call Bianca at the Club to book your table.

Look forward to seeing a big crowd at House Brothers Oval on Saturday as we tackle the dogs!
Go you Blues!

Stuart Totham
CEO

CEO UPDATE 25th JUNE 2008

MEMBERSHIP BREAKS THROUGH 2,500

We have reached our target of 2,500 members. Thanks to all those who re-signed this year. It is a fantastic achievement. Our next goal is to break through the magical 3000 figure – if you know someone who hasn't re-signed or is a supporter of the Doubles Blues get them to ring Bianca at the Club on 8271 4611 to join the Double Blues now!!

DOUBLE BLUES v TIGERS

What a cracker of a game this promises to be this weekend.  Both sides have been in good form and with a good day predicted weather wise, a bumper crowd is expected at Challenge Recruitment Oval. It should be a hard fought contest, in line with recent matches between the two sides and it would be great to see a sea of double blue down at Glenelg to support Rick and the players.

Great to see the Reserves, U19 & U17 continue to win games – Glenelg are also doing well in these grades so good luck to all players and coaches in these grades on the weekend.

SANFL UNDERAGE STRUCTURE REVIEW

The SANFL is currently going through a review of the SANFL underage structure for 2009 and going forward.  In a nutshell, Management of the SANFL would like to see Clubs operate with one “elite” competition ie U18/U19 with a modified season for U16, U15, U14 & U13. They believe that this change would result in more players drafted, a more competitive SA U18 side and provide more players for SANFL League Football.

The SANFL has asked all Clubs for their view on the restructure; we are in favor of keeping the current structure in place. As a Club we are not adverse to change but feel that more work needs to be done by the SANFL on the structure of junior football in the state ie what junior football structure will underpin one SANFL underage competition and the funding model for a new structure. We feel this is an extremely important decision for the future of football in SA and prefer that more time is taken to gather all relevant information to ensure the best decision is made for the long term of football in the State.

A decision on the SANFL junior structure for 2009 and going forward will be made by the SANFL Commission by the end of July 08.

CLUB CHAMPION & HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

The Club will be holding the Club Champion and Hall of Fame induction night at the Arkaba on Friday 17th October.  More details will be released shortly – promises to be a fantastic night - pencil it in your diary.

MAJOR LOTTERY

Our major lottery is drawn on Monday, night the winner will be published in the public notices in the Advertiser 7th July – Good luck to those who have bought a ticket!

NEXT HOME GAME – JULY 13 MURRAY BRIDGE

We are looking forward to getting down into our country zone at Murray Bridge to play South Adelaide on SUNDAY 13TH JULY; the game will be at Johnstone Park (the oval on the right hand side as you are driving into Murray Bridge). Let’s hope the weather is kind to us and we get a great crowd to see what SANFL footy is all about.

GO YOU BLUES!

STUART TOTHAM
CEO

CEO Update 30-5-08

State Representation

Congratulations to Jade Sheedy, Brant Chambers, Luke Crane, Nick Wark, Ian Perrie & Charlie Sharples for being selected to represent SA against the Vic’s at Adelaide Oval Tomorrow.  All these players have been in great form throughout the first part of the year and will represent the State and Sturt Football Club with distinction.  A special congratulations to Jade Sheedy on being selected Captain of the State Team, a well deserved honor for Jade whose leadership skills continued to be recognised.

We also have five players in the State U18 squad who take on Tasmania in the curtain raiser – Corey Jones, Alex Wilson, Angus Clarke, Paul Cahill & Matthew Thompson.  Good luck to you all in this year’s carnival, I am sure you will do yourselves, family and Club proud.

1968 Heritage Guernsey

We celebrated our 1968 Premiership Victory against Port Adelaide with a wonderful President Lunch, including 11 of the heroes from the day.  As you would also be aware the players also wore a Commemorative Guernsey on that day.  You can now get your hands on the Guernsey’s by bidding over the internet on the eBay site.  If past eBay auction are anything to go by these Guernsey’s are keenly sought, so if your interested log in and get bidding! Please refer to www.sturtfc.com.au for more details.

Council Negotiations

Negotiations between the Club and Council are continuing.  Some progress has been made with the Council agreeing to reduce the Match Day Hire and cover the temporary fencing costs incurred on match days.  Whilst we are pleased the Council has reduced this fee, it is still 26% more than the next highest charged.  At the time of writing I do not have any further information from the Council regarding the status of the Oxford Tce lease and lease arrangement for training at Unley Oval.

Wine Auction

Last Saturday night the Club held its major fundraiser for the year in the form of a Wine / Gala Auction at the National Wine Centre.  It was a quality event with excellent DeBortoli products consumed and a vast range of wines and other auction items for sale.  I am pleased to report the night was a great success and the net funds raised will exceed budget.  Thank you to Ryan Scott and his organizing committee, SFC staff and all sponsors and donors on the evening for making the night a success.

Lottery

We have deferred the draw date of our major lottery till the 30th of June.  If you still have your book please send them or drop them off to Bianca at the Club as soon as possible.  I also apologise to those people who received a letter requesting they return their book after they had already done so, this was an administrative error.

Next Home Game v North Adelaide

It will be 23 days between games for our senior team when they clash will North Adelaide on Monday of 9th June.  It will be the first time we have played on a Monday at House Brothers Oval and I look forward to seeing a bumper crowd on hand to front up against a talented Roosters outfit.

Membership

Our membership number is currently at 2,420. Not far to go to reach our target of 2,500 for 08, if you have not joined up give Bianca a call and join the Double Blues today!

Go you Blues!

Stuart Totham
CEO

Bays too good!
The Bays came to play at House Brothers Oval on Saturday and after a great tussle were ahead by 15 points at the final siren.  Our lads put in a solid effort but in the end Glenelg were just a bit cleaner and stronger in close, which on a wet slippery day proved decisive.

I am sure Rick and the boys will take the loss hard and look to bounce back against an improving Eagles outfit this week at Thebby.

Our Reserves, U19’s and U17s continued to win games, face a test this week against the Eagles, who have strong teams across all grades.

Andrew Whiteman 150th
Whitey will play his 150th game this week against the Eagles at Thebby. You can only but admire the way Whitey goes about his football, he is as tough a competitor as you are likely to see on a football field.  Whitey is now part of the leadership group and sets a super example both on the field but also off the field in his preparation for each game.  Congratulations Whitey and all the best for Saturday.

City of Unley negotiations
As you would be aware we are currently negotiating the terms for all out agreements with the City of Unley.  These agreements include the hire of House Brothers Oval for training and matches, as well as our lease for 39 Oxford Terrace Unley.  It looks as though this could be a lengthy process as the City of Unley undergoes a Strategic Building review at the present time.  I will keep you posted as we work through the issues with the City of Unley.

U17 Country Champions
As you may have heard our U17 Country team won the Division 1 competition last week.  The team was made up of talented youngsters from our zone, both in the Hills and River Murray areas.  The team was coached by David Greenslade and Ray Billings.  I have no doubt that this positive result is a direct result of the “Player Pathway” programs run in both the Hills and River Murray of which both David and Ray are involved – congratulations to all involved.

Receptionist / PA Position
You may have noticed an advertisement for a Receptionist / PA at the Club.  We received over 100 applications and have commenced interviews for the position.  I would expect an appointment to be made within the next week.

Wine Auction
The Clubs major fundraising is now only a few weeks away and with tables filling fast be sure to ring Bianca at the Club on 8271 4611  to secure your table.  Thank you to Ryan Scott and his committee for the work going into ensuring that the event is a success and a big thank you to those that have donated wine and other items to the event.

Membership
We are currently sitting at 2370 members for the year – only 130 to go to reach our target of 2500 members.  Let’s all encourage those supporters that have not renewed or joined for 2008 and surpass the 2,500 mark for the season.

Go you Blues!

Stuart Totham
CEO


27/03/08

HERE WE GO!
The start of a new football season is always an exciting time, this season is no different. I am sure we are all looking forward to seeing out teams in action tonight. Our players have been well prepared, shown good trial game form and it all points to what should be an exciting opening round.

I hope to see all of you at Norwood Oval supporting Rick and the boys.

Tim Weatherald
As you would all be aware Tim has decided to retire from SANFL Football. Tim has been a great player and ambassador for the Club over the past 14 seasons. The Club will be recognizing Tim’s service at an appropriate time.

Staff Changes
Huntley Armstrong commences as our Sales and Marketing Manager in April, replacing Sam Harrold who is heading off overseas. Best of luck to Huntley in the new job and to Sam and Stella on their great adventure.

Lyndall Carpenter, our longest serving staff member is also leaving the Club. Lyndall has been a great employee and will be sadly missed by many of our Members and supporters. Best of luck Lyndall with our new role and I am sure we will see you at the Club from time to time.

We also welcome aboard Carly Vivian as a trainee in our finance department.

Membership
We currently have 2050 members this is more than last year but still short of our target of 2,500. Thank you to those that have renewed and if you have a mate or family member that is always “gunna” join, keep onto them and get them on Board for the ride in 08.

# We have experienced some delays in getting Membership packs distributed – thank you for your patience.

Player Auction
We still have some bargains available in our player auction – please refer to the website for further details. The pool of money to be distributed looks bigger than ever, so log on to sturtfc.com.au, check out what’s available and call Lyndall on 8271 4611 to make your bid today!

Wine Auction
This year’s major Club function will be held at the National Wine Centre on Friday May 24th, hosted by Julian Burton. It promises to be a superb evening with wine bargains to be had as well as other major auction items. Please look out for further details shortly.

Shout Loud Be Double Blue Proud!

Stuart Totham
CEO