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 The Rhode Less Traveled
The long journey of Moonee Valley batsman Brendan "Jonty" Rhodes in search of that elusive century finally came to an end when he raised his bat and saluted at Ormond Park on December 8.
It had been a long 30-year crusade for the popular Jonty before he got the triple figures on the board - and wasn't he happy with it. In his third season now at the Valley, the popular clubman and committee member was roundly applauded when he had to walk off the oval with 100 retired not out to his name.
Jonty has taken on a lower-grade selection role this season, is co-captain of the Sixths and has also started helping out with the juniors, so it was fitting that four of our up-and-comers, including two playing their first senior game, were in the team with him when they beat Pascoe Vale United.
At left: Popular batsman Brendan "Jonty" Rhodes after his maiden century - fittingly played at home at Ormond Park.
"Never thought this would happen to me," Jonty enthused after the achievement.
"Greatest day of my cricketing life, premierships aside! And even better, we won."
Jonty's popularity was evident by the number of comments and likes on his Facebook page, both from Valley clubmates, from his family and friends and from cricket mates from a past career.
Jonty had an obvious determination from the first ball in the milestone match, opening the batting with John Petropoulos and playing some wonderful shots along the way - bringing up his 50 with a glorious six.
He showed no nervousness as he approached the magical three-figures, and came off the ground to an ovation when he reached the century.
Moonee Valley posted 2/211 cc based on Jonty's knock, and won the match by 49 runs. His two sixes doubled his career tally, and Jonty doubled up a magic weekend by playing in the winning Fourths the next day.
Jonty's cricketing journey has taken him to clubs across a number of states, including playing for his home town Daysdale in NSW, Balldale in NSW, Oaklands juniors (NSW), Eaton in Western Australia, Shenfield in the UK and Barnawartha/Chiltern in Victoria. Playing for North Richmond in the Hawkesbury District Cricket Association, Jonty got to 88not out in 2010 - the closest he'd come to date on his journey. But Jonty has reached the mark now, with his adopted club Moonee Valley, and we all salute him.
And in another milestone on December 10, hard-hitting Fifths batsman and strike bowler Liam Farrell played his 50th game - now the third member of Paddy/Dom crew to reach 50.
Life Members meet with a plan for the future
 Moonee Valley Cricket Club's Life Members are set to take a bigger role in the future of our club, following an historic meeting at the Moonee Ponds Club on November 12.
Thirteen of our 28 surviving Life Members attended the meeting, with apologies from a further five.
The impetus for the meeting was a decision by our Committee to give the Life Members a key role in putting forward a name for our new pavilion, and the involvement grew from there.
There was agreement between cricket and football that the LMs would have a major say in the name or names that are to be honored on the new $2.5 million pavilion, which is due for completion in early 2019.
A number of names and ideas were discussed, and will go back to the meeting organisers to try and come up with agreement.
Above right: Life Members gather at the Moonee Ponds Club. L-R: Back - Darren Nagle, Mark Gauci, Dean Jukic, John Talone, Michael Cumbo, Bill Nagel, Ian Denny and Kevin Gardiner. Front - Charlie Walker, Danny Terzini, Jim Polonidis, Warwick Nolan and Greg Peters.
The other key action to come out of the meeting was the formation of a Life Members Committee, and Past Presidents Darren Nagle and Sandro Capocchi and Past Secretary John Talone put up their hands to move that proposal forward.
Life Member Ian Denny was the driver of the committee idea, to create a more formalised structure and process for Life Members to become more involved in the future of our Club.
Ian is keen that the LM Committee take on the responsibility for updating the club honor boards, collecting and displaying memorabilia and other key artefacts from our past, having a greater say in the elevation of future Life Members and providing a vehicle for identifying and funding improvements for the Club.
Danny Terzini joins the 300
club at Moonee Valley
Moonee Valley legend Danny Terzini entered rare company in Round 6 when he became just the sixth player in our Club's history to record 300 games.
Above: Team members from Danny Terzini's 300th game: L-R. Back - Nick Taylor, Graeme Bloom, Shaun Rayment, Brendan Rhodes, Krish Kanchan, Michael Cumbo, Anthony Leonardo, Geoff Smith. Front - John Petropoulos, Danny Terzini, Pat Taylor and Peter Smith. Below left: Danny in his 300th.
 The milestone is a testament to a loyal player who has stuck thick with Moonee Valley in good times and bad, and who can always be relied on to lead by example both on and off the field.
And it was only fitting that Danny shared his milestone game with 2013/14 Premiership teammate Pat Taylor, who brought up his 150th game.
Danny and Pat were "the only show in town" - as the Sixths were the only one of Moonee Valley's teams to get a game in on the rain-soaked November 24/25 weekend.
They couldn't prevail over Caroline Springs, but Danny top-scored for the Valley in a run chase that fell short.
They were able to celebrate the milestone with three of their teammates from the drought-breaking Premiership in Shaun Rayment, Sam Carbone and Michael Cumbo, and there were Life Members on hand to cheer Danny on - including Premiership teammate Joe Ansaldo along with Mark Gauci and Bob Sciacchitano. Other supporters also made the trek to Caroline Springs to show their respects.
Danny has done a lot for Moonee Valley - and captaining the Sixths Premiership in his 248th game is just one aspect of it.
Danny is one of just seven Valley players to score more than 6000 runs, and is a past winner of our prestigious Lindsay Jones Best Clubman award.
He's captaining the Fifths this season jointly with Brendan Rhodes, and brings a level head to the games.
There's not much that Danny hasn't done on the field over his career so far - five centuries, including a high of 152 not out scored last season, capable hands with the wicketkeeping gloves and 37 wickets with his deceptive darters.
At right: Milestones: Pat Taylor (left) with grandson Jackson in his 150th match, alongside 300-gamer Danny Terzini.
Danny has won batting awards in the Thirds, Fifths, Sixths and Sevenths, and twice took out fielding awards in the Thirds.
He was one of the driving forces along with then-President Darren Nagle in nurturing our young talent when Moonee Valley first formed juniors in 1996/97, and has continued to display a strong interest in junior development ever since.
It's perhaps fitting that three of the young men he helped guide through juniors were Premiership teammates with Danny in the 2013/14 flag.
 Barooga Over 35s tournament in January
- who's in?
The Moonee Valley Cricket Club has again entered a team for the Barooga Annual Masters Cricket tournament in January, and we're now seeking to confirm and finalise the members of the team.
This will be our sixth year in a row at the over-35s tournament, and it has become a regular part of Moonee Valley's annual schedule.
Our fifth appearance at Barooga, in January this year, also doubled as a premiership reunion for our 2009/10 First Eleven and our 2014/15 Sixth eleven, and more than 40 Moonee Valley players and supporters made the trek to the NSW border town for the occasion.
The 2019 tournament runs from January 14 to 17, and Moonee Valley will play three matches - with potentially one of them under lights at the magnificent Barooga No. 1 oval.
The event will also give us a chance to meet up with Sean and Peter O'Kane, who are both Moonee Valley Premiership players and who grew up in Barooga. Four Moonee Valley players - Sean O'Kane, Daniel Phillips, Neil King and Mark Gauci - have played in all five of our Barooga years.
Daniel Phillips (0407 841 819) and Mark Gauci (0457 778 335) are organising the Moonee Valley team, and interested players - both current MVCC players and people from outside the club - should phone them if interested.
Match fees are collected for each game to cover the cost of tournament entry, umpires and balls.
There is a range of motel and holiday park accommodation in Barooga over January, and Mark and Daniel can give advice on the options - including family-friendly facilities for players who want to turn the tournament into a holiday for partners and children.
Main Club contact details:
* Charlie Walker - President 0411 705 381; 9370 1802
* Peter Golding - Treasurer 0419 009 721
* Mark Gauci - Vice President 0457 778 335
* Nigel Cowan Snr - Secretary 0412 410 942
* Peter Pickering - Junior Co-ordinator 0414 800 145 pjp@vicbar.com.au
* Channa DeSilva - Membership Co-ordinator 0402 833 592
Email: mooneev@club.cricketvictoria.com.au
For more contacts, see " Office bearers & Officials " under "Club News & Info" at the top of the page
Last updated: December 10, 2018.
For more of our history, including our Premierships, click HERE
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Senior training - it's on NOW
Moonee Valley Cricket Club runs senior outdoor training at Ormond Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5pm.
