THE Wallan Junior Football Club has been recognised as junior club of the year at the Northern Football Netball League, NFNL, junior football awards on September 13.
Wallan’s hard work both on and off the field in what was another challenging season for football clubs was acknowledged ahead of finalists Hurstbridge, Keon Park, Research and Yarrambat.
Club president of the Wallan Junior Football Club, Daniel Brundell, said that the award come to the surprise of the club.
“To be honest, it come as a surprise, and there were no secrets revealed prior to finding out on the night,” Brundel said.
“Basically, we were told of the awards night and when it was happening for the juniors.
“Junior football club of the year was Pretty much the last award of the night. We made the finalists of about half a dozen clubs or so, then all of sudden the junior club of the year was Wallan.”
Brundell said that the award recognised the efforts of the club, and not just the achievements of the players on the field. He added that the award makes the club impressionable for families looking for a junior club to play with.
“It’s a whole club effort right from the players, parents, and the committee members,” he said.
“It’s been a tough two years both on and off field so this recognises a massive community effort.
“I think everyone understands the dealing we’ve had to deal with and we’ve all just done our best and been as resilient as we can be.
“In the time I’ve been with Wallan, it’s the first time we’ve won the award and I’ve been here for about six years. It’s a good look for the area when families are contemplating ‘do we want to try football’ and they realise the club has been awarded club of the year.”
Fixtures across all football leagues the last two years have been compromised due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, but Brundel said this didn’t get in the way of the junior players.
He said that the children were always occupied with football, and other commitments like school that he didn’t see the pandemic detrimentally effect the players.
“I think on that front, we’ve been luckier than the seniors in the fact we’ve had more time on the ground, which has definitely helped,” he said.
“The younger the kids are, they seemed to be well occupied as well with things like school. They were just happy to be able to play the games they did.”
Brundel also took the time to thank the club’s sponsors which in a difficult year, still committed to the club.
‘It’s been a tough years for sponsors, so I’d like to thank the sponsors that support the club. They don’t go unnoticed.”
