Gut Feelings III - a weekly collection of musings from deep inside the Magpie nest
Andrew Thomson
A healthy crowd saw the Pies wear down the visiting Labrador after a tough physical contest in the first half. It was a good day for the Pies with the Reserves withstanding a Labrador comeback to hold on for a welcome victory.
The Colts stamped themselves as a top three prospect once again with a strong win. The Colts have 35 players to select from which causes selection dilemmas but it is a sign of a healthy club.
To top the weekend off the Woodsmen had another win over Collingwood Park to make it 3 out of 3 for a good start to the season.
In addition to the Colts numbers, there were 78 players at training last Thursday night which included about 15 Colts eligible players. So for Seniors and Reserves there are over 60 players to select from which again is a good sign of the club’s progress. Players who do not get selected for the Reserves can be eligible to play for the Thirds (Woodsmen) on Friday nights which is as it should be.
Didn’t the Oval look an absolute treat on the weekend?!
Aaron Highlands had a big game on Saturday, taking 2 speccies and booting 3 goals as well as containing the Labrador key play maker. He polled the maximum 10 votes in the Syd Guilford medal voting (voted on by opposing coaches) on the weekend and also was named the Pies BG Award winner, which recognises the player who showed “courage and commitment” to the cause and is named after Brett Gwyther, who always showed these fearless qualities as a player and who passed away in 2007 from cancer not 4 months after playing in the 2006 premiership. The BG Award is highly prized at the club, so much so there is an honour board in the rooms with the name of the annual winner. Highlands was the winner in 2017. The award is sponsored by the McEvoy family, who had a very close relationship with BG.
The Seniors, Reserves and Colts Squad had a Western themed evening after the game, and special mention must go to Luke Mitchell for a quality outfit, but easily best dressed was young debutant Riley Greene in a quality set of chaps! Thumbs up RG!
Saturday’s match against Labrador had a good contingent of past players and officials and the work Shane Bridley and Terry O’Shea are doing to reconnect with past players is starting to pay dividends.Shane produced the first edition of the new “Magpie Chatter” last week which will be added at the end of the column. Past players are advised there is a Past players Facebook site “ Sherwood and Western Magpies Old Boys”
Past players in attendance and enjoying each other’s company and also enjoying the resurgent Pies second half were Rob Lawson, Barrie Johnston, Dick Jakavicius, Bruce O’Neill, Rob Vowles, Terry O’Shea, Bill Carey, Vic Beerling, Steve Mitchell, Paul Hope, Lee Rush and no doubt plenty more!
The Pies and Gorillas play in the inaugural QAFL Good Friday match at Hickey Park, Stafford tomorrow and the Pies and it will be interesting to see what the crowd looks like. Gut Feelings thinks this will grow and grow to become one of the highlight’s of the season with the Pies to host the fixture in 2020.