Bulldogs undertake successful visit to Carnarvon

SOUTH Fremantle made a successful and popular visit to Carnarvon over the weekend with a series of community events in conjunction with the WAFL Country Sports Enrichment Scheme fixture between the Bulldogs and Perth.

Not only did South Fremantle end up winning the thrilling WAFL league clash over the Demons 17.11 (113) to 11.10 (76) at Carnarvon Festival Grounds on the back of kicking 13 goals to three in the second half, but the entire trip to the club’s northern zone in the Gascoyne was a success.

Bulldogs roar home over Demons in Carnarvon

A small party flew up on Friday morning arriving in Carnarvon at 9.30am with senior players Adam Guglielmana and Zac Strom attending school visits at Carnarvon Christian School and St Mary’s across Friday.

It was a particularly fond experience for Guglielmana to return home to Carnarvon while Strom is also a country product for the Bulldogs, hailing from Exmouth.

At Carnarvon Christian School, the boys along with regional development officer Steve Broberg ran a series of footy clinics that were all about introducing the boys and girls to footy. Across the morning over 130 students from Years 1 through 6 were given the chance to have a kick with the boys.

Following the second session, the school generously put on a BBQ lunch for the day.

After lunch, Adam and Zac made the trek across town to Carnarvon’s St Mary’s School, Adam’s old stomping ground. Arriving during lunch time the players went through the entire school posing for photos and signing autographs for school kids from kindergarten through Year 10.

Another two sessions were run at St Mary’s with kids from Years 5, 6, 7 and 8 receiving a training session designed by both South Fremantle players. Both boys ran the warm up of the South Fremantle senior team with the kids and all the kids enjoyed the chance to train with the boys and play some modified footy games at the end of the session.

Meanwhile South Fremantle CEO Stuart Kemp and operations manager Michelle Miller hosted a South Fremantle exclusive function at the Carnarvon Race Course with president Haydn Raitt, vice president Pete Christie and director Gavin Jahn among the assembled guests on the race day.

Getting in the theme of the weekend, the fourth race was the South Fremantle v Perth Cup with Brackova taking the win.

The remainder of the South Fremantle playing group flew into Carnarvon just before 4pm and the team walked from their base of the weekend, the Carnarvon Motel to the Main Town Oval for a community event, the Bulldogs Kick Around.

The kids that were in attendance were given the opportunity to chat with and have a kick with the South Fremantle players with the good natured humour of the kids resonating with the playing group.

That night the team had a team dinner back at the Carnarvon Motel, went through their regular team meetings and broke into their line meetings for what ended up being a good night of team bonding. The following morning players rose early for another team breakfast before taking a walk through Carnarvon to get fresh for the game.

Also on the Saturday morning three engagement sessions were scheduled for the Carnarvon community with trainers Bronte Gorfin and Rebecca Boni holding a sports trainer session and assistant coaches Arthur Maskos and Brett King on hand for a coaching seminar.

An umpiring session was also held by those officiating the league game later in the day doing the honours.

Basil the Bulldog made the trip to Carnarvon and was a hit with the local children at the Festive Ground on game day, with posters, shirts, stickers and stamps hotly chased by the youngest fans of the Bulldogs. A number of the players took time out of their match preparation to sign autographs for these young fans.

Following the game, both teams, umpires, officials and invited guests attended the post-match function back at the Carnarvon Motel.

Kemp, South Fremantle’s chief executive, was the host of this event and was on hand to present to the Gascoyne Football Association a framed South Fremantle piece and a signed football to the Carnarvon Motel who were outstanding hosts for the club across the entire visit.

Overall the Carnarvon trip was a success both off field as well as on field, and South Fremantle hopes that this is just the continuation of a strong and prosperous relationship for the Gascoyne region and the football club.