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Player Blog
The boys strut their stuff for GC Magazine!
Today GCFC players Mav Weller and Matt Fowler took part in a photoshoot for GC Magazine promoting the men of Gold Coast sport.
The boys will feature in the April editon alongside GC Titans NRL and GC United soccer players.
Here is a behind the scenes sneak peak from the shoot, stay tuned for more!
Josh Toy features in Spress News
Check out GCFC recruit Josh Toy in the Feb edition of Spress Newspaper:
Tom Nicholls & Taylor Hine star in today's TXT4U
Check out today's TXT4U starring GCFC recruits Tom Nicholls and Taylor Hine!
Jack's healthy habbits!
The Gold Coast Football Club's Jack Stanlake spent time chatting to TXT4U student reporter Natalie Lane about his diet and leading a healthy lifestyle.
Locky scoops inaugural B&F
Marc Lock has capped off an excellent inaugural year winning the 2009 Best & Fairest yesterday.
The GCFC Best and Fairest event was a chance for staff, players, their a families and host families to gather together at Warner Bros Movie World for a relaxed ceremony and reflect on their successful inugural year.
Following the award presentations everyone enjoyed some time to let loose and enjoy the action around the park.
2009 Gold Coast Football Club Awards
Best & Fairest – Marc Lock
Best & Fairest 1st Runner-Up – Matthew Fowler
Best & Fairest 2nd Runner Up – Brad Rees
Best Finals Player – Luke Shreeve
Most Professional Award – Zac Smith
Goal Kicking Award – Matthew Fowler
Iron Man Award (the things you do when you don’t have the ball) – Todd Grayson
Coaches Award (Most improved) – Mitch Harley
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Marc Lock
Our new recruit is no slouch in the sprint stakes!
GCFC recruit Trent McKenzie was the new kid in town at Saturdays epic AFL Grand Final when he lined up for the half-time sprint. Mackenzie proved he was no slouch in the sprinting stakes when he finished second behind St Kilda's Reece Stanley.
To watch the race on You Tube click here
Introducing new recruit Maverick Weller
Maverick, i’s been a couple of weeks now since you signed with the club, how are you feeling about it all now and has it started to sink in?
Well coming up here this week has been really good because it hasn’t really sunk in being in Tassie, whereas now that I am up here and training with the guys it has hit me and it is really exciting. There are a lot of unknowns still, like who I will be playing with, who will sign with the club, meeting the staff members, and then the new stadium but it is all really exciting.
So how does everyone back home feel about your signing with GCFC, have you had much response?
Yeah, it was on the front and back page of the paper back home. Lots of people have come up to me saying ‘wow you must be so excited’. It all adds to the excitement but as I said before it all hasn’t completely sunk in just yet. Everything just builds up and then all of a sudden it’s just like wow I am moving to the Gold Coast. It is a big thing back home, as it’s a footy state so it’s big news for two young blokes to be drafted out of the same little town and make this big adventure up to the Gold Coast.
You and Luke Russell are friends aren’t you, it must be great to be making the move together?
Yes well I’ve known Rusty since we were about eight, we’ve played football together and we’re in the same class at school. We follow each other around a fair bit so it’s great.
How are you finding the GC weather compared to Tassie?
Yeah a lot hotter, I have done a lot of travelling through sport when I was younger. I played up in Darwin and learnt how to adjust there. Its’ going to be a hard pre-season but I know I will adjust into it. It is only 10 degrees back home, for 2 months we have had rain everyday.
You’ll have to learn to surf when you move up?
Yeah, I have been doing a bit of body surfing with the boys while I have been up here this week. Surfing is definitely on my list! I am into the water sports though like jet skiing and skiing so hopefully I will be able to pick surfing up, but I’m sure the boys will help me out.
So are you going to school when you move up to the Gold Coast?
I am in year 11 at home, so I need to finish off school. I am hoping to go to All Saints. It will be a pretty tough year but I hope to get a pretty good ticket whilst I’m there.
Who is your favourite AFL player?
Luke Hodge and Joel Selwood. I like how Luke Hodge goes about his footy, he is very courageous and gives anything for his team. I play more like Joel Selwood and model my game on him.
What is your preferred playing position?
I am a mid-fielder.
What are you most looking forward to about joining the GCFC and moving to the coast?
This week has been so good as I have had excellent staff around me. Like Andrew Weller, Guy McKenna and all the coaching team who have good footy brains, so I have been able to train hard and they have been able to monitor my body and tell me when to ease up. I don’t get that back home, I am in the gym with my headphones on doing my own thing. So this is exciting for me because I will be able to improve my game a fair bit with those sorts of people around me. And I guess then there’s the weather and the lifestyle too, it’s unreal on the Gold Coast. AFL is a dream for any kid and hopefully I will be able to play AFL footy with this club.
What do you get up to when you’re not playing footy?
Well in the winter it’s wet so not much, but I did a lot of athletics when I was younger in the off-season. I hangout with friends, jet ski, water ski. It is very relaxed in Tassie so you sort of just go and do whatever you want like go to the bush or on the beach and just relax.
5 Minutes with Marc Lock
Q: So Marc how are you feeling now that the season is over?
I am feeling disappointed that the team isn’t going on, but you know it’s been a long year so all the boys are pretty tired. I guess now we’ll just enjoy a bit of time off.
Q: When does the pre-season start back and what have you been up to in your first week off?
The pre-season training starts in November, so for now I’ll just play a bit of golf, hit the beach and just relax at home.
Q: What about the AFL Grand Final, who will you be supporting?
Well I hope the Bulldogs go through but I can’t really see that happening. So it will probably just be a Geelong and St Kilda Grand Final.
Q: What will you be doing for AFL Grand Final day this year?
I am heading down to Adelaide to see relatives, so I will be down there watching the Grand Final this year.
Q: What’s the plan for the pre-season?
I have no idea just yet but I hear it’s going to be tough so at the moment I am just enjoying my time off.
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Good Bunch Of Blokes
Hey Guys,
We went down a day earlier to get our preparation right for the semi final against the Falcons last weekend. We watched the Lions Bulldogs game on Friday night and at training the day before, all the boys were pumped and excited for the game. We came out strong in the first quarter so we knew our preparation was right, but unfortunately we tailed off in the second half and Bluey gave us an almighty spray at half-time. There was a glimmer of hope in the second half but intensity dropped off and Geelong beat us during the pivotal moments and we couldn’t capitalize on our chances. Disappointing finish to the season, but plenty of positives to take out of the game and the season. No-one gave us a chance of playing finals football this season and everyone in Melbourne wrote us off before the season began. Plenty of things to get excited about though if you’re a GCFC fan. As a young team coming through for the first time, we started to gel really well by the end of the year, great experience to be in the finals and now just really looking forward to next year. Looking back on the season, there were a few defining moments for us. The Gippsland game was our best win and Shreevey kicking those 5 goals in the elimination final was spectacular! The bond this bunch of blokes showed was evident when Shreevey kicked his third in quick succession when 16 blokes all went over and patted him on the backside, it showed great team unity. We now have a few weeks off until November 9th when preseason starts. I am driving up to Cairns to spend time with the family and take the boat out on the lake for a bit of waterskiing. It will be good to have a break and enjoy some home cooking.
Big thanks to all our fans, our last game had a massive crowd and we can’t say thank enough for all your support! Can’t wait for next year!
Dicko
Gold Coast Finals History
Hey Guys,
So we are firmly set in finals mode and I am really pumped for this week’s game against the Falcons. We played them two weeks ago up here at Carrara and we know what they can do. We stuck with them for the first half and I am pretty confident that we can come out and stick it to them for the whole game! The boys really want to win this game and I know how pumped we all are to play them on a smaller pitch. We made history on the weekend by winning the first ever final by a Gold Coast team against the Knights and (Luke) Shreevey was unreal! He had an absolute blinder! He was snapping them from 40, kicking them from 80 and his 5 goals shows how much of an asset he has been to the team lately. Its been a long year, the boys are starting to gel really well together and it’s awesome when you play in a team filled with a good bunch of blokes. I think that everyone has faith in each other and the trust we have in each other is why we are playing really well at the moment! Bluey has played plenty of finals football at AFL level and he has basically said that it doesn’t matter where you finish on the ladder, everyone has the ability to win on the day in finals and we just need to make sure we are ready for them to throw everything at us. CAN’T WAIT!!!
Dicko
Pumped For Finals!
Disappointing loss but focused on the first half – in which we played well. Going into finals now and looking forward to playing the Northern Knights this Saturday. Hopefully we’ll come up with a better outcome than last week. We’ve had a solid session out on the track this week. I think the boys are ready for this weekend – they’re pretty pumped!
Bring On The Falcons
Hey Guys,
A great weekend for the mighty GCFC down at Visy Park on the weekend! I rate it as our best for the year. To be down in the 3rd quarter and come back to run over the top of them the way we did was a credit to our pressure. We knew if we just kept working hard that eventually we’d run them into the ground and give ourselves the best chance of winning. Was good to have a run around in the Ruck over the weekend and kick a couple of goals too which is always good. The boys will have a pretty light week given the shorter turn around for our big match against Geelong on Saturday. We’ll have recovery Monday and Thursday with skills and strength training on Wednesday and Friday. They’re a great running side and be good to get them on our terms, at our ground, in our temperatures. I guess it comes down to how much we want it. I know the boys are up for it and are absolutely pumped for the last game of the season and to test ourselves against the top side. There’s a great feeling around the Club right now and can’t wait to get out there and continue some of our recent form. Hope to see you there!
Cheers, Dicko
Pumped For The Pioneers
Hey Guys,
Had a good relaxing weekend, which happens when you have a bye, but it was head first back into training on Monday and the coaching staff absolutely hammered us! We had some progression testing and Rama (Daniel Ramage) was miles ahead in the 2km time trial. We also did some testing in the gym and I was pretty happy with improving my one-rep max by 17kgs. We had a pretty solid training session today in preparation for Saturday’s game against Bendigo. After the bye everyone is fresh, pumped and ready to go so it should be a good game and one more win guarantees a finals spot. I know if you are living up in Qld you can relate to how good the weather has been, the beach is my second home at the moment and the boys are doing well in the tan department. It’s certainly easy to spot a team mate when we play against Melbourne teams, just look for the non pasty-white bloke! This Saturday is going to be warm and Bendigo is normally mighty cold so I think the opposition might struggle to acclimatize to the outstanding Gold Coast weather! Make sure you get down to Carrara this Saturday, its your second last chance to see us play at home and it’s free!
Dicko
Surf, Swim And Special K
Hey Guys,
I am really happy with the way the boys gelled together against Sandringham on the weekend. We moved the ball really well, our pressure was hard and relentless from the forward line to the backline. From a personal point of view, kicking 5 goals was a good personal accomplishment, but I could have had a few more if it wasn’t for a few stray kicks at goal. At least the bye this weekend allows me to get a bit more practice in and the coaching staff are changing up our training a bit by heading down the beach for a surf, swim and BBQ. Last week was obviously big one for the club with the news Karmichael Hunt is going to join our 2010 playing squad. He has been playing professional football since he was 17, so the big game experience he brings is going to be unreal. Finding out what he has had to experience in order to become a professional footballer from such a young age will be invaluable information for the playing squad. I am really looking forward to seeing how he learns and adapts to AFL footy and also what skills he can teach us from Rugby that can help us in our development. Just hoping Bluey doesn’t line me up against him in the tackling drills.
Cheers Dicko
Harty And Choppers
Hey Guys
It was COLD and a bit breezy last week down in Ballarat, not making any excuses for our performance but we should have had their measure considering last time we played them we came away with the chocolates. At least this week we will be far away from Melbourne weather playing in 20 degree temperatures this Sunday. I know speaking to the rest of the boys, how stoked we are to have two proven professionals in Shaun Hart and Marcus Ashcroft as part of our coaching and development team. Harty is our midfield coach and he has also been running water for us in the past couple of games, he is a great influence because he gels within the group like one of the boys and is always giving guidance on the field. Choppers (Marcus) is very funny bloke, he is our forward coach and when he doesn’t have us in stitches he is very focused and certainly isn’t afraid to tell us to pull our heads in if that’s what he feels is necessary. To have these elite AFL performers helping us in our development is something I feel is a great privilege to be a part of.
Cheers
Off The Training Track
Hey Guys,
This week the coaching staff have changed our training schedule because of the next two games being played on Sundays. Normally we train on Monday, a heavier session on Wednesday and a light one on Friday. This has been changed to Tuesday and Thursday, and a recovery session down at Broadbeach on Friday. Guy and the coaching staff have made it an integral part of their coaching that we need to be role models in the community as well as being good footballers. So, the change up in the training schedule is good because it also allows me to head down to my ‘other’ work down at Eagleby as an apprentice Carpenter. A few of the boys have apprenticeships like Jack Stanley who is an apprentice Sparkie (Electrician) and most have some part-time work. Apart from waking up at 5am, the carpentry work is enjoyable, it also helps that there are a number of Southport Sharks senior players there working as well. Wish us luck down in chilly country Victoria.
Dicko
Sheeds
Hey Guys,
We were fortunate last week to have former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy meet the playing group and talk to us about all things AFL and life. For Kevin Sheedy to talk to us as a playing group was pretty unreal! He was a completely different person to what I originally had perceived and also a very funny guy. One moment he was speaking to us like a normal conversation then he would reinforce his point quite loudly and emotionally and most of the boys looked at each other and said how up-front and straight forward he was. He kept reiterating that even at this level that we need to seize the moment – Carpe Diem (Seize the Day!). He certainly helped some of the boys by stressing how important it is to put your head down and tail up and make the most of the opportunities we have. He told us how he was dropped from Melbourne as a youngster with the club saying that small on-ballers are easily replaced. But his attitude was what separated him from the rest and making sure he backed his own ability. Meeting Kevin and hearing from him had an enormous impact on myself and the rest of the boys. Great bloke and great inspiration.
Cheers Dicko
Redemption
Hey Guys
Well what can I say about last weekend? It was a pretty disappointing performance and by far our worst of the year. We have had a fairly busy three weeks but not using that as an excuse because we should have put on a better performance than that. This week we are cleaning the slate and coming at these Northern Knights 100 percent so we can redeem ourselves. We have been having much lighter sessions in the past couple of weeks, to cope with the heavy workload but we will be able to resume our more consistent training program from now until the end of the season. As a developing young football player and apart from the game itself, Recovery is the most important aspect of our development. Stretching, ice baths, getting down to the beach post game is certainly a much more attractive proposition considering how good the Gold Coast beaches are.
Cheers Dicko
Surf's Up
Hey Guys,
Last weekend we had a nail biting loss to VIC Metro in the dying minutes. I am pretty disappointed by the loss, but at least we know we can match it with the best and Bluey was happy with our effort. Our recovery session at Broadbeach on Sunday couldn’t have been further away from the bitter cold of Melbourne. The sun was shining, the water was so warm, the surf was awesome and coaches had more trouble trying to get us out of the water than in. With the main playing group still down in Victoria getting ready for the game against NT, I and the rest of the playing group had a weights and running session gearing ourselves up for this week’s game against the Murray Bushrangers. Hopefully we will have a really strong side this week, it should be a good game and we are looking forward to playing at Carrara bathed in sunshine, so make sure you come down and get behind us. It’s a very warm 26 degrees and without a cloud in the sky so I am heading off to the beach to catch some waves. Hard to believe it’s winter on the Gold Coast! See you on Saturday.
Cheers Dicko
Bring On Vic Metro
Hey Guys,
So this week we have a big game against Vic Metro. I didn’t play last week because I am recovering from the flu and the coaching staff thought it would be a good idea to give me a rest. I had my first training session back today and look forward to this weekend. It’s going be a tough game and we are going in as the underdogs but I can’t wait to match up against the ‘big guns’ of the competition and show them what we are made of. The boys are out to prove to them and the competition that we aren’t pushovers. We have had a tough couple of weeks on the training paddock leading up to this week. So, the coaching staff have given the boys a few lighter sessions this week because of the two games in quick succession on Saturday and Wednesday. Don’t forget to come down to Gold Coast Stadium next weekend to watch us against the Murray Bushrangers.
Cheers Dicko.
Dicko
Hi Guys, call me Dicko.
On behalf of the playing group I will be adding a blog or two each week to let you know what we are doing. Lot’s of training, gym work and learning tactics at the moment. It's great to have a group of coaches such as Bluey, Harty and Choppers who are all Champion players for all of us to learn from. And the boys are all starting to bond together really well which I think is starting to show on the field with some good performance in the past few weeks.
We’d love everyone to come down and support us when we are playing at home so check the fixtue.
See ya next time.
Dicko.
