Hello Rovers Families,
Welcome! We are about to officially kick off the 2021 footy season and I couldn’t be more excited. I hope you all had a fantastic break over the Easter school holidays and didn’t eat too much chocolate!
For those of you that I haven’t met as yet, I’m Rohan Bardwell, and I’m very proud to be the President of the Hampton Rovers Juniors. I stepped into the President’s role last year, ready for a great season in 2020. But this was…well, COVID. We were never able to get the season fully off the ground, but the support from our entire footy club and community was outstanding. The commitment and support that was shown is just another reason why I love being part of this great community-based club.
There was great anticipation last weekend as I watched our teams play in their Super Sunday practice match against East Sandy. And what an entrée to the season proper it was! There was wind, rain, hail – the only element missing was snow. While it was wet and cold, you couldn’t wipe the smiles off the kids and parents faces. It was great to see footy back.
After a season of no football, there are only two sleeps to go to the start of the footy season, it feels a bit like Christmas with excitement building. I can’t wait for the bounce of the ball for our first Under 8s and Under 9s games – the first time these players will be able to play for the Rovers.
This year, the mighty Rovers will be fielding 26 teams with just under 500 players registering for the 2021 season. After the year that we have all had, we are excited to have so many players be part of the club. Thank you to all the families who are supporting our fantastic club.
This year, the AFL and SMJFL have a major focus on concussion to protect our players. Please take the time to familiarise yourselves with the SMJFL concussion policy. A child only needs to have a suspected concussion to be removed from the field and mandatory management policies applied (i.e., the child can’t return to training or play until cleared by a doctor). If a trainer or coach removes your child from the field and prevents them from returning to the game due to a suspected concussion, please support their decision.
Finally, I’d like to thank all our volunteer coaches, team managers and parents who help on game day, with training, and everything in between. Without your help, the season wouldn’t be possible.
Good luck for the weekend and have fun. And don’t forget to start practicing our Hampton Rovers song! I’m sure we will hear it many times this year.
Go Rovers!
Rohan Bardwell
Junior President
