The Band's back together at Barooga

The Band’s back together at Barooga

Nine of the 11 members of our victorious 2009/10 First Eleven Premiership team will be back together at the Barooga Over 35s tournament later this month.

Only Geoff McKeown and Dushan Raveendrakumar are missing from the Moonee Valley team which will be playing on centre stage  under lights at the Barooga No. 1 sports ground on Wednesday, January 17.

Arosha Perera, Kane Harding, Amit Chaudhary and Craig Pridham return to the Valley colors for the game after playing at other clubs, while Sean O’Kane transferred back to his original club Barooga.

As an added highlight, the three O’Kane brothers – Mark, Sean and Peter – play together for the first time under the Moonee Valley banner.

While all three have taken to the field for the Valleys – Sean in 116 games, Peter in 68 and Mokka in just the one match in 2007/08 – it had not been as a threesome.

The 2018 tournament will be our fifth at Barooga, after Sean instigated our entry in 2014 as a way of developing ties between his then club Moonee Valley and his childhood club Barooga.

We’ve had strong support for our Division 1 entry in the 2018 tournament, with our Premiership reunion match on the Wednesday the highlight.

Our chief organisers/skippers Daniel Phillips and Mark Gauci have had a tough time fitting all interested players in for one or more matches, so they should be commended on their effort.

Above: the 2009/10 premiership team. L-R. Back - Geoff Smith (12th), Matt Thomas, Amit Chaudhary, Mark Gauci, Craig Pridham, Pat Felmingham, Kane Harding. Front - Dushan Raveendrakumar, Raj Aiyappan, Geoff McKeown, Sean O'Kane, Arosha Perera.  

Other Valley players and supporters are also encouraged and invited to attend some or part of the tournament – particularly our reunion match. They should touch base with Daniel or Mark about accommodation and/or transport. Note: Charlie Walker (0411 705 381) has two spare beds still available in his motel booking for the Wednesday night.

We’ve been sounded out about any spare players for Shepparton in Division 2 in their Wednesday and Thursday morning games, as they’re a bit short, so any Moonee Valley squad members may have the chance to play there as guest team members.

Moonee Valley’s games are:

• Moonee Valley v Yarrawonga/Mulwala, Tuesday January 16. 9am on the Barooga No. 1 oval, 30 overs per side. 

• Moonee Valley v Ball Busters, Wednesday January 17. 6pm on the Barooga No. 1 oval under lights, Twenty20 match. 

• Moonee Valley v Castle Hill, Thursday January 18. 1pm on the Barooga No. 1 oval, Twenty20 match. 

Our provisional teams are: 

• Tuesday v Yarrawonga/Mulwala: Raj Aiyappan, Amit Chaudhary, Michael Cumbo, Mark Gauci, Tony Gleeson, Dean Jukic, Neil King, Michael Ozbun (wk), Daniel Phillips (capt), Jim Polonidis, Nate Wolland. 

• Wednesday v Ball Busters: Raj Aiyappan, Amit Chaudhary, Mark Gauci (capt/wk), Kane Harding, Dean Jukic, Mark O’Kane, Peter O’Kane, Sean O’Kane, Arosha Perera, Daniel Phillips, Craig Pridham. 12^th men: Matt Thomas, Pat Felmingham. 

• Thursday v Castle Hill: Allan Cumming (wk), Michael Cumbo/Anthony Leonardo, Mark Gauci, Tony Gleeson, Dean Jukic, Neil King, Michael Ozbun, Daniel Phillips (capt), Jim Polonidis, Craig Pridham, Nate Wolland.

 Teams could be subject to late changes due to non-availability, so keep in touch with Mark (0457 778 335) or Daniel (0407 841 819) if you’re up for a game.