Sixteen members of the Rushworth senior football premiership of 2004, along with president Hayden Gleeson, recreate the post-game celebration photo of the club’s only Kyabram Disrict Football League premiership
Twenty years after the greatest day in its 26-year affiliation with the Kyabram District League, footballers and netballers from the Rushworth Football Netball Club returned to reminisce about their glory days on the weekend.
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At the forefront of those celebrations were a husband and wife team that were instrumental in leading the on field and on court success of the club - Jamie (senior football premiership captain) and Mo Waasdorp (A-grade netball coach).
While quick to deflect any undue attention over their roles in the football and netball premierships it was clear how heavily the contributed to the outcome.
They travelled from the north west of Tasmania for the reunion, where they now live with their young family.
“This is the first time we’ve been back in a long time,” Jamie said, explaining his role in the victory was very much in the recruiting space.
“We got a few players across from Tongala and Scotty (Hansen, the club’s premiership coach) had been playing at Rushworth. We got Danny Winterton from Darwin and it all came together,” he said.
Jamie was the league’s best player two years earlier, the 2002 McNamara Medallist, while his wife was also recognised as the best player in the Kyabram District League’s A-grade netball competition.
Rushworth joined the Kyabram District Football League in 1998, but has only won the one senior football premiership - in 2004. The same year the club also won the A-grade netball title.
She was a key to Rushworth playing in five grand finals (winning three) in a row, coaching the 2004 victory.
She is still playing the top level of netball with Smithton in Tasmania and the couple’s two sons, Hendrix and Lenny, are forging similar paths to their parents in junior football.
Also in that 2004 A-grade netball team were Laura Raglus, Rebecca Dodd, Natalie Martin, Fiona Perry, Neisha Roberts, Eileen Curtis, Samantha Carnie and Alana Cruz.
Amy Francis and Laura Gordon were also members of that successful era and were watching Saturday’s reunion match with interest. They are the sisters of former North Melbourne star Daniel Harris, who returned for the game on the weekend.
Amy’s son Liam also plays in the senior team.
Rushworth's A-grade netball premiership team of 2004 was successful in a golden era for the club, making five successive grand finals in the Kyabram District League.
The Waasdorp connection extended to Jamie’s brother Scott (also a decorated player with the club) and to Mo’s younger sister Neisha (a member of that netball flag).
Also among the winning football team was Jodie Canavan (108 goals for the season), former coach and star player Brett Pateman, four members of Rushworth’s famous Perry family (Tavis, Jedd, Clinton and Sam), Darin Ohlsen, Keiran Brennan, Adam Nichol, Daniel Vance, Troy Snelson, Daniel Bevan, Jamie Emanuelli, Sam Parker, Danny Sinclair, Stephen Pyle, Paul Morgan and co-captain Adam Thompson.
Rushworth was also celebrating its 1999 reserves premiership, coached by Rod Hoyling, along with the 2014 reserve grade champions and the 1999 C-grade netball premiership.
Premiership president Hayden Gleeson, who led the club for three years and was a reserve grade premiership coach himself with the club in its Heathcote league days, explained his strong connection to the Tigers.
“My dad was president here in 1973 and my elder brother Linton also played here,” he said.
Rushworth 2004 netballers Rebeca Dodd, Moana Waasdorp, Laura Emanuelli, Fiona Perry and Alana Cruz at the Saturday evening reunion function.
Gleeson explained it was Jamie Waasdorp who was responsible for much of the recruiting success, first turning down the coaching job to pursue ruckman Hansen for the role.
“He turned it down, but then went out and got a heap of blokes on board. I remember we got Jodie Canavan from Tongala for a pair of Adidas football boots,” he said.
Canavan had been a star in the league since the 1990s, with both Stanhope (116 goals in 1998) and was a member of the 1993 Ardmona premiership team.
Having the premiership stars on the sidelines for the last home game of the season was fitting recognition for the club which withdrew its senior team last year before returning this year to the league’s top level.
