This year brought together 15 great kids to form a brand new J5 Gold. With eight of us from last year’s Northcote J7 Rippa teams and our other seven from outside of the club, we had an opportunity to try kids at different field positions and see where they best fitted.

As most of us were completely new to tackling, the first few games were pretty much one-way traffic but as the season progressed, we began to string together some really great passages of play. What really impressed me was the way the kids all improved their skills across the season, for some it was gaining the confidence to go forward, for others it was found they were able to make some massive tackles.

Our progress in training was steady but we struggled to convert this into wins on the field. We lost a couple of our boys to off the field injuries and one of our talents to a heroic attempt to make a try-saving tackle. It was fantastic to see them turn up on the side-lines to continue supporting their team and they’re all looking forward to returning to the field next year.

Despite our season's scorecard, the boys played with passion, enthusiasm and with the heart we value so highly at this club. I’m really proud of how our team came together and would like to thank the parents, grandparents, siblings and supporters who turned out to cheer the boys on across the season.

Love the ‘cote.