Our club requires you to pay your fees before round 1 (end of March) to be able to don the mighty UQAFC Red Lions colours. The AFLQ have requested that each player plays with the same number each week in 2012, so to secure the jersey size and number of your choice, we require you to pay at least half of your fees by February the 14th so that we can place our jersey order. Outside of that, we will be ordering enough jerseys to cover the entire club in a range of numbers and sizes from which you will have to select a jumper to wear for the year ahead.

As part of your 2012 fees you can retain or own your jumper IF you can assist the club with raising much needed funds at the Norman Hotel meat raffles. We would like you to attend twice a year, taking up a total of 3 hours of your time to simply support and represent your club at the Hotel. The time you spend raising money for the club represents over 50% of the funds we need to run the club. Without this activity, the club would not be able to provide any of the basic services you enjoy as part of an outstanding amateur club eg first class physio support, excellent functions, qualified coaches and professional training equipment. For the club to continue to grow and prosper, it is important we all participate in the raffle activity. At the end of the season, you are welcome to keep your jersey should you have fulfilled your duties at the Norman.

This year the committee has decided not to increase your fees even with increases from our suppliers and the AFLQ. Students will be $300 and Adults $400 for the season ahead. It is our privilege to have such a great group of people playing for this club and we are thankful for your understanding, cooperation and enthusiasm towards the upcoming 2012 season. Good luck this year and let’s make sure we are not only raising the standard across all teams but raising more flags at the Norman Hotel in 2012.

The Norman Roster will be at training each Tuesday night for you to check your allocation or to make a new one. For more information contact: Dugald Reid on d.reid@uq.edu.au .

For more information about securing your jersey contact: Travis Warren – (Coaching Coordinator) on travisjwarren@gmail.com or Peter (RED) Herring on president@redlions.org.au .

Link to Fees Page

The UQAFC Committee

Pre-season officially commences next Tuesday January 10th at Freers at Mt Coot-tha at 6pm. See here for details. We encourage all those keen to play with the Red Lions in 2012 to get started early and for those who have been diligently following the off season training programme to take the next step under the guidance of Quentin, Tim, Rosy and the coaching team.

Recruitment during the off season has been very successful, which, combined with a very high percentage of our very successful 2011 group returning to play this season, means a highly competitive season lies ahead for the club. Please remember the first pre season sessions are NOT at Oval 7 at UQ.

Congratulations to the coaching team of Travis, Tim, Quentin, Harves, Brownie and Pete for the work they have done in the off season to prepare the club so well for the year ahead. The quality of the facility at Freers is first class and perfect for our preparations in any weather – thanks especially to Pete Rosengren for his support of the club in providing us access and his contribution to the off season training program over summer. Let’s get started lads, big year ahead.

Cheers, Red.

While it is a great honour to be appointed to the role of President at the UQAFC, the first task is to thank all the Committee for agreeing to contribute their time and expertise to the club for 2012 which has the potential to be a tremendously successful follow up to our 2011 results. With all positions on the Committee filled and coaching appointments for all senior teams finalised, the club is in good shape to get a flying start to the new year.

The AGM provided an opportunity to thank those members of the Coaching Team and Committee who have worked hard over the last few years in supporting the club. Barry Watkins, most recently awarded a Life Membership at the club has done an amazing job behind the scenes this year ensuring our devastating experience in early January during the floods has been recognised. Barry has been instrumental in securing several grants for the club, providing us with the opportunity to rebuild quickly and complete the season in tremendous shape on and off the field. Scott Young, President for the last 3 years has received many accolades for his stewardship during this time. Many challenges faced the club as Scott assumed the Presidency and his tenacity and persistence ensured the club is a stronger and more professional organisation as a result. We look forward to Scott’s continued stewardship of the club stopwatch and now famous Oval 7 hooter in 2012.

Jarad Evans has spent the last 3 years coaching the new Division 2 teams to become a robust and competitive outfit in both grades in the competition. We look forward to seeing him at the club next year in other capacities, however Jarad is responsible for coach and building a capable squad of players ready to step up to the higher grades. A tireless worker in coordinating training and the usual chaos associated with game day ins and out, Jarad deservedly won the 2011 Clubman of the Year award and the club is indebted to him for his efforts. Chris Burgess, the 2011 Treasurer took on some reasonably red numbers late 2010 and has ensured all our outstanding responsibilities have been met and left us with a solid financial foundation for 2012. Having engineered a stunning turnaround, Chris is stepping back from the demands of the boom times at the UQAFC to try his luck eeking out an existence in that other dotcom like economic event, the mining boom.

Much has been said of the remarkable turnaround in 2011 from our flood ravaged state in January through to minor Premierships in both Division 1 competitions and increasingly competitive Division 2 teams at the end of the season. Everyone at the club should be proud of our achievements after such a difficult start however the new year brings new challenges. Planning for many of these challenges has already commenced. The focus for the committee in the coming weeks as we prepare for pre-season to commence in January (only 10 weeks away) includes:

1. The UQ U18 Bulldogs – a vibrant and well resourced U18 presence for the UQAFC/WJ is paramount to success in the senior ranks in future years.

2. Develop the arrangement with Wests Juniors AFC to the benefit of both parties throughout the season.

3. Promote the idea that Oval 7 and surrounds has the potential to be an active community hub and premier sporting precinct on campus.

4. Finalising the appointment of the inaugural UQAFC Scholarship winners for 2012.

5. Increasing the resources available to the football department including playing talent, equipment, ground access and coaching.

6. Increasing the presence for the club on campus, in the Brisbane AFL community and in the local community to grow volunteer numbers to provide greater support to the playing group.

7. Finalising a robust and achievable budget for 2012 including new sponsorship arrangements and expense planning while keeping fees at the 2011 levels.

8. Increasing student engagement with AFL across the campus.

9. Agreeing a program of social and formal club events for 2012.

10. Encouraging greater alumni involvement and re-engagement with the UQAFC.

This is an aggressive program however is all part of continuing our drive to become a highly professional and successful club on a sustainable basis.

Sadly, on October 11th, the club was devastated by the unexpected passing of Life Member Marty Bennett. An incredibly passionate Red Lions and Collingwood supporter, Marty was a rallying point and constant around the club for a large group of players and friends from the 70’s and 80’s. The service for Marty was incredibly well attended with many of his friends and team mates enjoying an afternoon of reflection with Marty’s family, all of whom were wonderfully appreciative of the club’s support for one of their greats. Marty only weeks before had enjoyed grand final day with our boys and delighted in the success of the Reserves that day. Marty will be sadly missed at the club. Steve Haddan’s fitting tribute to Marty is available from Anthony Lee.

We look forward to seeing you at the club in 2012 as a player, a parent, supporter, volunteer or as someone who is simply interested in finding out more about AFL. All those who are part of the Red Lions are welcome to contact the Committee at any time with suggestions or comments at secretary@redlions.org .au. Thank you again to the Committee for their support and we look forward to another great season ahead for the Red Lions.

Peter Herring
President UQAFC

In order to ensure that all Player Fees are finalised before the AFLQ Registration cutoff on June 30th, the UQ Red Lions AFC Committee has developed a Payment Plan Policy to see all players with outstanding fees paying them out by June 30th.

The Payment Plan Policy can be viewed here:
Payment Plan Policy V1 – 20110504

The required forms are attached here:
UQRLAFC Membership Form – Player
UQRLAFC Payment Plan Form
All forms should be returned to myself at training, or your coach if I am not available, by next Tuesday at the latest.

The current list of outstanding fees is attached here:
UQ Red Lions AFC Payments Due 20110511

I urge all players to check this list to make sure they are not on it. Please also check the “Registrations” tab to make sure you are in fact registered with the club. Please note that there may be errors in this spreadsheet. If you see any errors with Registrations or with Fees Paid, please contact me at president@redlions.org.au immediately.

Please pass this message on to all your friends within the club to make sure all players are aware of the situation. Any questions or concerns, please contact me as soon as possible.

It’s been a long and tough pre-season at the UQ Red Lions AFC with some wins and some losses both on and off the field, however the outlook for 2011 is bright. Now that things are settling down we’d like to bring you up to date on what has been happening and what is planned for 2011 and beyond at the Red Lions.

Committee and Coaching Changes
During March, Tim MacKinley has been appointed Division 1 Senior Coach for 2011. Tim has an excellent track record at the Red Lions as a successful coach since 2006 including:
• Assistant Coach to Kym Lynch in Div 1 Reserves – 2006 (Premiership Winners)
• Co-coach with Andrew Nuske in Div 3 – 2007
• Coach of Div 3 – 2008 (Grand Finalists)
• Coach of Division 1 Reserves – 2009
• Assistant Coach to Ian Carter in Div 1 Seniors – 2010

Assisting and mentoring Tim in the Senior Coaching role will be our Coaching Co-ordinator, Travis Warren. Travis brings significant experience as a player and coach to head up the coaching group and we are delighted to secure his ongoing involvement and support. AFLQ have also recognised Travis’ skills and experience by appointing him as Queensland Under 18 coach for 2011. Congratulations to Travis on his appointment and we wish him every success.

Division 1 Reserves this season will be coached by long term club members and experienced footballers, Darren Harvey and Justin Long. We look forward to the Reserves enjoying a successful year under their direction.

Jarad Evans has returned for the third year running to head up Division 2 as the Senior Coach, with Old Boy Peter Rosengren stepping up to Coach the Division 2 Reserves side. Assisting both Jarad and Peter across Division 2 will be Ben Hollis, who assisted Jarad last year with Division 2, and Adam Fry, who is new to the club from coaching roles in Rockhampton with junior sides.

With the appointment of Tim MacKinley as Division 1 Senior Coach, Barry Watkins has offered to relieve Tim of his Vice President’s role on the Committee for 2011. Tim remains as a Committee member as Club Advisor. Barry has been heavily involved with the club as a player and administrator for over a decade in various senior Committee roles and brings plenty of experience to the VP role.

The Committee currently comprises:
• President – Scott Young
• Vice President – Barry Watkins
• Secretary – Dugald Reid
• Treasurer – Chris Burgess
• Coaching Co-ordinator – Travis Warren
• Club Advisor – Peter Herring
• Club Advisor – Tim MacKinley

We welcome feedback from supporters of the club and encourage you to contact the committee if you have any questions, comments or offers of assistance to help out the club in any way. Contact details for all Committee members can be found here: www.redlions.org.au/about/office-bearers/.

Volunteers
We are also delighted to welcome two wonderful volunteers to the club who are fantastic assistants to Jarad and Pete in the Division 2 group. Under the watchful tutelage of Jim Derrick, Kofi Afari has accepted the role of Manager for the division. Kofi’s medical studies are carefully balanced with helping out on game day and at training and we’re sure he’ll be delighted with his exposure to the regular injury count of an AFL season. Keeping the guys on the track each and every week in Div 2 is Johan Homstrand, a Masters of Physio student from Sweden. Johan, his partner Linda and their young lad Erik are spending the year in Brisbane with Johan offering to act as a dedicated physio for the Div 2 group. Thanks to all 3 gentleman for their support of the club.

If you can help the club on game day or even at training (scoreboard attendant, goal umpire, time keeping, canteen help – all good fun!) or know of someone looking to help out a club in any way please contact the club at president@redlions.org.au.
We would be delighted to have supporters of the club help out in any way they can.

Withdrawal of the UQ Bulldogs from 2011 Competition
Unfortunately the club has had to withdraw the Joint Venture Under 18s team, the UQ Bulldogs, from the 2011 competition. Due to the recent floods in Brisbane we have spent a large majority of our preseason training away from the University grounds while Oval 7 has been under repair. With this lack of exposure to the University for such a crucial period of the year, we have found that player enquiry in that age group has been significantly affected.

Player numbers at training have been extremely low (averaging between 5 and 10 players) and regular, widespread messages to all eligible players yielded only a small group of 5 to 10 players. Extensive consultation took place with the joint venture parties, the U18 coaching team and the AFLQ U18s Competition Co-ordinator whereupon the decision was taken withdraw the team. This decision was taken to avoid the significant and long term penalties enforced on clubs that enter teams without enough players.

It is highly regrettable that we are unable to field a team as the U18s serve as an important link between West Juniors and the Red Lions, whilst also serving as a place to nurture new players commencing at the University of Queensland. All current Under 18 players committed to playing this season have the option to play in the Senior ranks or move to another U18s club in the area. Please contact the club to receive this information immediately.

Based on the learnings from this season, planning has already begun for the 2012 Under 18s UQ Bulldogs return. As a vital source of talent and participation for students especially keen to play AFL, we would ask any supporters keen to help with the U18’s program to contact the club immediately.

Return to Oval 7
Much to our relief, Saturday 2nd of May saw us return to Oval 7 for our first home game of the season. We have been training back at Oval 7 for three weeks now unfortunately without change rooms, however on Saturday the change rooms became available with only minor work still to be completed. The canteen still remains out of action for a further 2-3weeks however the builders are committed to a more efficient refit of this space to better suit our needs. In the meantime we are working with a simplified canteen and bar arrangement to provide food and drinks on game days.

The field itself at Oval 7 is in reasonable condition but still has some fairly obvious areas requiring work. Thanks to all club members for their patience when it comes to these issues, as further work may not happen immediately due to the massive task in front of UQ Sport in repairing playing facilities across campus.

Fundraising
In addition to securing the valued sponsorship or the RE Hotel again for 2011, through the fantastic efforts of the entire club we have continued our successful fundraising activities at our Major Sponsors, the Norman Hotel. Thanks go to Peter Herring and Dugald Reid who have been organising and training players to run the raffle activities on Friday and Saturday nights at the Norman Hotel. Thanks also to all players who have volunteered for the raffles and especially those who have volunteered more than once.

In addition to providing the club with urgent funds to help the entire playing and coaching group each and every week, the club has long term plans to keep fee increases to a minimum, offer player scholarships and coaching development programs. These activities make the club a better place and we urge every player and supporter who has not yet volunteered to please contact Peter Herring peterherring@lumineye.com.au or Dugald Reid d.reid@uq.edu.au to offer your help. It is a simple activity that takes only 90 minutes with very little sales ability required and it makes a massive difference to the club. Please get involved!

Donations & Equipment
A big thanks must go out to all of the people so far that have donated time, energy an resources to the UQ Red Lions AFC over the past few months. We will shortly be posting a list of people and organisations who have donated to the club as thanks for their generosity.

Much of equipment lost in the flood is now being replaced including goal post pads, tackle bags, the siren, first aid and physio equipment. Canteen items such as fridges and freezers are next on the list. If any club member or supporter can assist with retail drink fridges in particular, please contact the President president@redlions.org,au.

Social Calendar
Please find attached the Calendar for 2011, including fixtures, holidays and the draft Social Calendar for 2011. Dates of note are the proposed Old Boys Days (of which we will have two this year – one with Div 1 at home and one with Div 2 at home) and the Red Lions Golf Classic, as these events may need to be planned in advance by any interstate attendees. Please check out the Calendar and make sure you book in those dates!

Calendar 2011

Message of Thanks
Thank you again to all the players, administrators and supporters who have assisted the club get back on its feet after the flood. We have some work still to do however I urge you to stick with the club, because we have an exciting year ahead!

Please keep up to date with all the Red Lions news at www.redlions.org,au and we look forward to seeing you down at Oval 7!

Kind regards

Scott Young
UQ Red Lions AFC President.

These jumpers are exactly the same as the ones currently being worn by both senior teams at the club.

The following conditions apply:

1. You may only purchase this additional Guernsey if your 2011 club registration fees have been paid in full with confirmation from the president
2. You must pay this additional $40 to me in full before the close date, cash only.
3. Orders will close on the 1^st of April and the selection of numbers requested will be worked on a FIRST IN FIRST SERVED BASIS
4. Regardless of what team or division you play in you can wear your jumper on game day should you wish
5. Guernsey’s should arrive in 3-5 weeks
6. Please email the size and number request to me ASAP to secure your number; I will be accepting payments at training from Wednesday the 16^th of March until Monday the 1^st of April at Oval 7, cash only.  If you’re from Division 2 you can give your money to me or RED at training but please email me directly with your details.

Many thanks,

Tim Mackinley

Vice President UQAFC

0412802260

All players are reminded that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will any player be permitted to play without having paid full fees.

The following players have paid full fees so far:
Dugald Reid, Adrian Schoch, Michael Kanowski, Tom Gould, Chris Podbregar, Sam Robb, Joey Shanahan
These are the only players who are eligible to play so far in the entire club!

The following players have paid partial fees:
Waz Derrick, Doug Meikle, Chris Cook

It is absolutely appalling that a week out from Round One we have only seven fully paid players. Please make sure you are getting on to the <a href=”www.redlions.org.au/fees/”>Fees page</a> and paying your fees ASAP otherwise YOU WILL NOT PLAY.

Registration Night
All players will be given the opportunity to complete their Registration Forms for the 2011 season over the two nights. Players are also encouraged to pay their fees on the night as well. Internet connections will be available for those wishing to pay via Paypal or Credit Card.
Students will also be required to present their student cards to finalise registration.
Reminder: As per the club Membership Approval Policy, all fees and registration forms must be completed in full before you are permitted to play!

See you all down at Oakman Park tonight.