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Firsts and Thirds make the Grand Final!The Moonee Valley First and Third Elevens are in the Grand Final, with four-day matches starting on Saturday, March 14.

And our Under 14 D team is also in the Grand Final, with two of our Under 12 teams due to play Semi Finals.

We had 12 teams make the finals, so to have five still going around is great news.

Moonee Valley's community spirit came to the fore on February 18, when a special fundraiser at Ormond Park raised more than $9200 for the bushfire appeal.

The event held special meaning for our player Heath Webb-Johnson, whose best mate and Valley player Bryce Peter-Budge lost two grandparents and an uncle in the fires.

Heath's family also sustained damage to their Kinglake home, but dad Neville still made the time to come down and umpire at our fundraiser Twenty20 match.
Pictured here are (L-R) Club president Charlie Walker, Heath Webb-Johnson presenting the man of the match bat to Raj Aiyappan, team captain Mark Gauci and player Steve Gentilin.
For more Greg Sorenson photos and a detailed report of the event, go to the "New" section in the menu bar at the top of the page, or click here.

Twenty20 Premiership - Moonee Valley's own power-play
Moonee Valley scored an emphatic win over Taylors Lakes in the North West Cricket Association's Twenty20 Grand Final on Tuesday, February 3.

Our power players came to the fore late in the innings to build on the platform set by the earlier batsmen, and our total of 7/159 off the 20 overs proved too big an ask for Taylors Lakes.
Brilliant fielding and crafty field placings put a stranglehold on the Lakes team, and it could only compile 7/131 in reply.
For more details of the big win, turn to the news pages.






Our Premiership-winning Twenty20 team at the Taylors Lakes ground: L-R: Back - Sean O'Kane, Amit Chaudhary, Arosha Perera, Jim Polonidis, Evan Blythe, Matt Thomas and Peter O'Kane. Front - Steve Gentilin, captain Mark Gauci, Geoff McKeown and coach Lou Raffaele.

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Breakthrough win by our Women's Black - our team gets the points

It was a long time coming, but our Women's Black team scored its first win with an emphatic victory over Edinburgh on Sunday, February 1.
Watched by a crowd estimated at more than 50, the girls did us - and themselves - proud, taking the initiative from the first over and never letting it go.
While players from our inaugural women's team in 2007/08 are this year spread across both our Black and White teams, the nucleus of the group that were the pioneers in getting women's cricket off the ground at Moonee Valley stayed in the Blacks. And then they doubled up a fortnight later with a thrilling win over Jacana. We looked gone for all money against Jacana until an unbroken eighth wicket partnership of 63 between Belinda Tankard and Adele Walker got us over the line with eight balls to spare.
We're all so proud of them! Well done girls!
The winning team: L-R: Back - Belinda Tankard, Jenny O'Brien, Sam Lawson, Adele Walker, Victoria Thorneycroft,
Ros Brelis, Kim Johnston and Natalie Waites. Front - Jacinta de Niese, captain Tien Ha and Amelia Radford.
****For another picture and more details of the win, turn to the item in our NEWS pages.

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Valleys on a roll with the support of Brumby's
Moonee Valley has long been renowned for the quality of our afternoon teas, and it's in no small thanks to the ongoing and generous support of Brumby's Moonee Ponds.
Manager Craig Woolley and his staff have been big supporters of our Club, and the fresh bread in our sandwiches, and the delicious rolls for our hot dogs and salads come direct from their Pratt Street ovens.
Shown here are Craig with staff member Jaclyn Munro. 
We gratefully acknowledge their support week in, week out - and with a big club such as Moonee Valley, the sponsorship of Brumby's and their supply of the bakery products is no small order.
With our 10 senior men's teams and two women's teams, we can have up to seven home games on a weekend - and Brumby's provides all our bread and rolls.
As a player and long-time supporter of the Riddells Creek Cricket Club, Craig knows the importance of the support of sponsors.
Moonee Valley president Charlie Walker thanked Craig for his ongoing sponsorship, and urged the Club's players and our families to reciprocate and support Brumby's Moonee Ponds.
"We all know from our afternoon teas how fresh and delicious the bread and rolls from Brumby's Moonee Ponds are," Charlie said.
"And what we see on our plates at the weekend is only a fraction of the range of excellent breads and other products.
"So when you go to Brumby's Moonee Ponds, make sure that Craig and his staff know you are from Moonee Valley and how much we appreciate their support."
Brumby's Moonee Ponds, at 17 Pratt St, can be phoned on 9375 7800.

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The big hitters come out on a big Valley weekend
Big shots were all the rage when Moonee Valley came to town on the January 17/18 weekend, but there were none bigger than Sean O'Kane (right).
Playing in the double-header First Eleven round at Ormond Park, Sean didn't get a hit on the Saturday against Seabrook, but really cut loose against Flemington on the Sunday, slamming 113.
But Sean wasn't the only big hitter on the weekend, as Valley teams and players piled on some big scores.
Bryce Peter-Budge slammed his maiden Valley ton in the Seconds at Seabrook on the Saturday with 107, while Under 16s player Frankie Reitano made 113 in the Fifths against East Coburg. Frankie emulated the feat of older brother Joe from some five seasons earlier, when he made a ton in the Fourths while still a junior.
And the big hitting didn't end there.
Other big scores came from Raj Aiyappan, Simon Payton, newcomer Jenny Demarte, Sam Marr, Nicole McLachlan, Bede Gannon and Jesse Felle.
The one-day rules in the Thirds denied two Valley centuries, as the game finished when we passed East Coburg's score - with Pat Felmingham 94no and Matt Gauci 93no.
Raj Aiyappan made 70 on Saturday in the Firsts, while Simon Payton made 72 batting alongside Frankie Reitano in the Fifths.
****For more details of the big-hitting weekend, click on the link to the News Pages at the top of this page.

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