2024 Newcastle Football Presentation Night
On Friday 25th October 2024, Newcastle Football held its annual presentation night. This night is for our clubs and their committees to celebrate the season that was. This season was a big one as we as a zone navigated wet weather, loss and change within the association.
Across all 30 clubs we had a total of 11,028 players, 242 registered club volunteers, 1596 registered coaches & managers, 31 registered club referees & game leaders & 89 registered match officials that took part in 73 MiniRoos groupings, 105 Interdistrict competitions & 8 Zone Football League competitions.
Community Football is something that cannot work without the dedication of volunteers and committee members. This night was for them & to recognise their achievements.
At our presentation night we like to recognise the hardwork and dedication of people in our zone to the game. We annually award Coach of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Referee of the Year, Club of the Year & The Gail Morris Award.
2024 Coach of the Year - Lee Conybear Stockton Sharks FC
Our 2024 coach of the year has invested countless hours into their club, creating development pathways for their youth players into Senior teams and Premier Football. They have developed a Football Curriculum for all players while bridging the gap between Community and JDL programs. Actively involved in Holiday Clinics and he holds the responsible role as Technical Director
2024 Volunteer of the Year - Dave Paterson Hamilton Azzurri FC
Volunteer of the year is presented to someone that puts in effort behind the scenes at the club. We are very lucky at Newcastle Football that all our clubs are full of volunteers that complete the above and without you our game would not run so we thank you. This year we acknowledge a member that has been involved with their club since 2002, 22 years of service. They have worn many hats at their club, registrar, treasurer, Association and Council liaison, ground maintenance, President and not to mention player. Year after year they made a difference at their club and our community.
2024 Referee of the Year - Josie Fratus
Our referee of the year is a valued and promising young official within Newcastle Football Match Officials. Her development as an Official in a short space of time has been extraordinary and her willingness to grow and develop is something that all are very excited about. Already ear marked for bigger things, we accept the fact that she will eventually climb the ladder to the next level beyond. Mature beyond her years, resilient and focussed in all that she takes on.
2024 Club of the Year - Mayfield United Junior Soccer Football Club
This award gives us the chance to recognise a club that goes above and beyond. The 2024 season was as difficult as we have encountered for many seasons. Difficult not only for players, but for club volunteers and administrators. Getting games played was a struggle at a lot of our venues across the region.
The club aims to assist the wider football community. They have always offered to assist other clubs to host fixtures, and year after year host one or more legs of the final series for Newcastle Football, some years at very last minute.
2024 Gail Morris Award - Lambton Jaffas Juniors Football Club
Gail Morris was an outstanding member of our association; she was a lady that wore many hats and was the backbone of Newcastle Football. In memory of Gail Morris, we would like to recognise a member of our association that we believe lives up to the same qualities that Gail showed year after year. Qualities such as commitment, fairness, cooperation, and leadership are values that help this person strive in making a difference in our community. The recipient of this award has been involved in their club for so long, she is synonymous with local community football. Earlier, our award winner was honoured with a State Government Award for a Sporting Administrator.
Congratulations to all clubs for a successful 2024 season.
