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Senior training – we’re back on deck from January 8
Senior training for the second half of the season resumes on Tuesday, January 8.
Tuesday and Thursday sessions at our home ground at Ormond Park, Pattison St, Moonee Ponds run from 5.45pm.
Matches for all senior grades resume on the January 12/13 weekend.
The junior season doesn’t resume until the start of February, but our Under 14 and Under 16 players are encouraged to attend senior training to keep up their skills. There will also be places available for our juniors to play senior grades throughout the rest of this season.
DEBUT TIME AT THE VALLEYS
Moonee Valley has had nine players make their First Eleven debut in the half-year up to Christmas - which equals the club record for the past 16 seasons.
The debutants have ranged from long-standing Valley players - wicketkeeper Peter Golding, through to juniors - Krish Kanchan, who is still eligible to play Under 14s.
While we haven't quite found the combination that's going to regularly win games, the opportunity for players to come in at our highest level will stand us in good stead.
At right: First Eleven debutants in Round 8 - Krish Kanchan (left) and Jeet Shah.
Our First Eleven debuts this season have been handed to Mark Grenville, Peter Golding, Shiraz Badurdeen, Dishnaka Manoj, Shiwantha Kumara, Michael Ozbun, Joshua Gorry, Krish Kanchan and Jeet Shah.
The additions take our First Eleven debutants since the 2003/04 season to 107.
The last time we had nine Firsts debutants before Christmas was in 2006/07, when caps were handed to Vikash Chand, Rajan Aiyappan, Mark Forster, Ajith John, Bryce Peter-Budge, Evan Blythe, Iraklis Kolokithas, Heath Webb-Johnson and Wayne Nicol.  We added two further debutants after Christmas that year - James Rawlinson and Dino Sapuppo.
By contrast, we've had seasons with just four new Firsts players - most recently 2016/17, with Dean Coxall, Anthony Cafari, Jordon McDonald and Alex Davidson.
At left: Our 2018/19 Sri Lanka imports pulled on the Valley cap for the first time - Shiwantha Kumara (left) and Dishnaka Manoj.
We also turned over just four new players in 2014/15 - Troy Eden, Freddie Priestley, Nate Wolland and Paul Bannister.
In our First Eleven Premiership year of 2009/10, we added just five new Firsts players across the course of the season - including Dushan Raveendrakumar, who got handed his cap in the Grand Final. The others were David Roach, Craig Pridham, Simon Thornton and Daniel Gauci.
And in the build-up to our Premiership year, in 2008/09, we picked six new Firsts players - Amit Chaudhary, Bede Gannon, Nick Puccio, Kane Harding, Sean O'Kane and Peter O'Kane. Three of them - Amit, Kane and Sean - played major roles in the Premiership the following season.
Let's hope that our current crop of First Eleven debutants has the same impact at Moonee Valley.
 Barooga Over 35s tournament - here's our schedule
The Moonee Valley Cricket Club has again entered a team for the Barooga Annual Masters Cricket tournament in January, and our fixture is now available.
We still have a couple of spare spots, so anyone wanting to play underthe Valley colors should phone Daniel Phillips on0407 841 819.
Moonee Valley is playing Narre North at 9am on Tuesday, January 15 at the main Barooga Oval in a 40 over game. On the Wednesday we're up against Yarrawonga-Mulwala at 9am in a 40-over game, and we round out the tournament in a 30-over match v Castle Hill at 9am on the Thursday.
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.
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.
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: January 3, 2019.
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.
