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NEWSLETTER 6, 2024
VALE ALF BLAMEY (April 10, 1931- May 4, 2024)
President 1985-87, Life Member, Club Patron
PRAHRAN Football Club lost one of its most fervent and generous supporters and administrators in its storied history with the passing of Alf Blamey last weekend at the age of 93.
Alf was a Prahran supporter from the day as a six year old in 1937 he recalled his father running home from Toorak Park and telling the family ‘we’ve won the flag’. He was president from 1985-87 which co-incided with Prahran’s last VFA premiership in 1987 and later served as a club patron for many years.
In the racing world Blamey was widely known and respected as one of Melbourne’s leading rails bookmakers in the 1960s to1980s when racegoers flocked to racecourses and huge amounts of cash changed hands. Like many racing figures of the era, he loved watching the then VFA football on a Sunday, enticing many of his fellow bookies such as Sid Hill, Graeme Sampieri and Mark Read to join the throng at Toorak Park when the Club enjoyed its golden years winning a hat-trick of premierships in 1970, 1973 and 1978.
For collective years served and generosity as a club benefactor there are few more telling contributors in living memory than Alf Blamey.
These are some of Alf’s memories of his Prahran days on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
“Fredo” as his great mate Sir Rupert Steele used to call him, nominated his favourite moment following Prahran was the 1978 grand final win over Preston at the Junction Oval in front of 30,000 fans.
“It was unbelievable, it had everything, you’ve never seen fights like it. We were behind at half-time and in the end won easily.’’
“Kekka (Sam Kekovich) lifted, we wouldn’t have won without him,’’ he said.
Blamey nominated Ken Emselle as the best Prahran player he has seen.
“We’ve had a lot of good players but he was probably the best, he was so consistent. In my youth George Hawkins (who kicked 164 goals in season 1939) was the star.’’
Players in the Seniors and Reserves on Saturday will wear black armbands as a mark of respect,
Condolences to wife Kim and children Nadine, Todd, Corinne and Jessica.
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ROSS THORNTON MEMORIAL SERVICE
Family and friends are invited to join Ross's family in celebrating his life at the MCG in the Members Dining Room on Sunday 19th May 2024, 2pm-5pm.
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UMPIRES APPRECIATION WEEK
LAST weekend umpires, the unsung heroes of community sport, were celebrated by the VAFA.
More than 450 umpires are involved in the VAFA competition. VAFA Clubs are also supported by hundreds of Club umpires who take on the role of Field, Boundary and Goal umpires on a weekly basis.
Clubs can show their support of VAFA and Club Umpires by acknowledging their role on game day.
As umpires are acknowledged during VAFA Community Umpiring Round, it’s important to recognise the umpires who have recently been promoted to the VFL, click here to view the website article which highlights these talented umpires.
We especially would like to acknowledge and thank our Committee member, Matt Meier, for his great service of being our "week in & week out" Reserves field umpire - very few clubs enjoy this luxury so we are very appreciative of Matt's services, often a thankless task.
Matt Meier
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SENIORS
Osborne Rooftop and Bar Award: Jayden Williams
Hagan's Meats: Taylor Bamford
State Bank/Southbank Past Players: Mackenzie Mayne
RESERVES
Tricky Wicket Malvern: Luke Kerr
Toscano's: Dylan Walter
Grill'd Windsor: Connor Thomson
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MAX MILWARD VAFA RISING STAR
WHEN it comes to role models, Prahran forward Max Milward has one of the game’s very best - former Geelong skipper Joel Selwood.
Max, 19, is the VAFA Rising Star for his round four performance which included two goals v West Brunswick in Division 1 last Saturday. Each week a Rising Star is chosen by an independent VAFA representative rotating to include all Sections.
Averaging a goal a game, Milward has quickly adjusted to a permanent forward pocket role. The Geelong supporter is a big fan of Selwood’s attack on the ball and and describes himself as "physical small forward".
Apart from Selwood he also closely follows the career of Cats mature age recruit Shaun Mannagh.
Milward played his junior football career from Under 9s to Under 17s at Langwarrin which includes an Under 13s premiership and Under 14s best and fairest, and made his senior debut last season with Frankston Bombers in the Mornington Peninsula Football And Netball League.
He joined the Two Blues this season arriving with new coach, his father Craige who describes his son as a "footy nut". "Max has always had a real desire to get the best out of himself when it comes to his football" said Craige.
"He was part of the Frankston VFL academy for a couple of seasons, and I think this really identified to him what was required to elevate his game to the next level. Since that experience, he has developed his strength and endurance to an elite level. He looks after himself with diet and prepares for training and game day with a real focus".
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SPONSOR OF THE WEEK- HAGEN’S ORGANICS
HAGEN’S ORGANICS has been a valued player Sponsor of Prahran Football Club for more than a decade.
The family business’ association traces back to Ollie Hagen who played for the Two Blues for several seasons from Under 19s to seniors.
Hagen’s Organics is a second-generation, family-run butchery with five stores located around the city at Beaumaris, Bentleigh, Prahran Market, Queen Victoria Market and South Melbourne Market. Hagen’s Organics provides the community with organic, ethically raised and locally sourced meat.
Now Ollie, sister Ruby, and their mother Susan run the business from their Richmond warehouse base.
Hagen’s Organics originally began in the 1980’s when Royce and Susan Hagen ran an organic fruit and vegetable store in the Prahran Market. This was at a time when organic produce was a niche product, with a smaller yet defined and loyal following. It wasn’t long before their customer base started encouraging them to retail organic meat.
In 1999 Hagen’s Organics made a shift from fruit and vegetables, to beef, pork, poultry and lamb, with Royce opening Hagen’s Organic Butchers at the Prahran Market.
Like his father, Ollie is committed to bringing his community premium quality meat that is of the highest ethical standards, with a focus on organic and biodynamic principles. They are committed to sourcing organic meat through partnerships with farmers that care about their product.
Their team is made up of passionate and skilled butchers who value quality meat and work to supply a product that reflects the effort and energy the farmers have put in to raising them. Hagen’s retail team consists of knowledgeable and friendly men and women who, as customer-facing team members represent the Hagen’s Organics brand each day in-store.
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BCNA DAY - MAY 11
AS in past years, Prahran is committed to supporting the VAFA’s "Play 4 BCNA" fundraiser on the Mother’s Day weekend, May 11, 2024.
VAFA have registered a league fundraising event to help support the 20,000 Australians that will be diagnosed with breast cancer, this year alone.
We know that we can all show amazing support to the families in our community affected by breast cancer, whilst continuing to create awareness and hit this target together.
Please join our fundraising efforts by donating what you can on our Prahran Football Club "BCNA Pink Sports Day" online donation page.
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UNDER 18 BOYS
NO game last Sunday as Waverley Park Hawks forfeited.
However, the pressure ramps up this week with Prahran, undefeated in Division 2, now promoted to Division 1 to take on Bentleigh.
UNDER 18 GIRLS
The U18 girls had another 3pm game at Centenary Park, Bentleigh on another excellent 20-degree sunny day. With our representative girls available for this weekend, we were pretty much at full strength and really showed how far we have come with a fantastic win against the top of the ladder and the only other undefeated team in Division 1.
Getting off to a fast start, Prahran set the tone for the match and took advantage by kicking the first 6 goals of the game. An uneventful second quarter had the Two Blues leading at halftime 85-2. With St. Peters/Bentleigh showing a lot more fight in the third quarter, we could only manage one goal, but we kept the opposition scoreless, which was a really strong sign again.
In the final quarter, the girls really showcased their talent and fitness, kicking another five goals to nothing to run out 123-point winners and show they are a force to be reckoned with this year in the Division 1 U18 category.
Next Week – Unsure at this stage due to grading being done and awaiting the fixture to come out. With a 4-0 start and clearly on top as the only undefeated team, we're in a strong position.
PRAHRAN 6-7 12- 13 13-16 18-17 (125)
St Kilda City 0-0 0-2 0-2 0-2 (2)
Goals: Hoban 3, McLachlan 3, Mildenhall 3, Ignjic 2, Wallace 2, Williams 2, Juricic, Kogler, Newtown-Brown,
Best: Williams, Mildenhall, McLachlan, Wallace, Kogler, Hoban
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SOCIAL CALENDAR
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RENEW/BECOME A VALUED MEMBER OR SPONSOR
Our Club relies heavily on our Memberships and Sponsorships - we will greatly appreciate whatever support you can provide - simply click on the following link & select how you wish to support:
Sincere thanks to all our members and sponsors who have already renewed for 2024 - your support is greatly appreciated. For the latest Club news and to become a member, visit our website.
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Joey Bell's spectacular one hander mark
