Wednesday, 27 November 2024

 Nick STAIKOS (Bentleigh) (10:19): On 14 November 1984 a meeting was held at King George reserve pavilion to consider the amalgamation of the Bentleigh Bulldogs and the Bentleigh Tigers. The result was the formation of Bentleigh junior footy club – happy 40th anniversary. Initially the club was known as the Kangaroos but adopted the Demons in 1998 to better align with the senior club. So many AFL stars emerged from the initial two clubs, including Trevor Barker, Greg Wells, Gary Hardeman and Geoff Raines, and today former Bentleigh junior Luke Nankervis continues this tradition as an AFL player for Adelaide. The club will be reaching out to past players and coaches during their 40th season, and we will be holding an event to mark this milestone on 30 May next year.

For 10 of the club’s 40 years, a full 25 per cent, I have been their local member, and I was very proud some years ago to secure funding for a major upgrade of their clubrooms at King George reserve, which is continuing to serve members very, very well. I want to acknowledge all the committee members I have worked with over the years, including president Kirsten Pilatti and past presidents Paul Jemmeson and Dean Crawford. A special acknowledgement to Russell Holmesby, who was president in the 1990s and helped me with some of the historical information for this statement. While I support all the clubs equally in my electorate, on this occasion only I say: go Bentleigh!