Hello again to all supporters.

As promised, here is our first in-season newsletter and, I must admit,
not the easiest one to write given the disappointing results of the last
two weeks. It is not all bad news however and it is not a matter of
'spin doctoring' either. Below I will give you some of the positives
that have occurred so far this season.

The outstanding success of our first ever "up market" Jumper
Presentation Function was widely acclaimed for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the acceptance of Chris Judd, and his manager Paul Connors, to
not only attend but to speak to the gathering and present jumpers to the
new U19 players and new senior team players was not only magnanimous but
proved what a complete football person 'Juddy' has become. He
unhesitatingly agreed to help launch our season and generously provided
signed Carlton Football jumpers, stayed for a long time, chatted with
former school team mates, responded to parents, friends and younger
family members and signed numerous pieces of memorabilia for anyone who
asked. Chris spoke so well about his move back to Melbourne and openly
answered questions that came from the audience. Paul Connors was also
totally open and added to the occasion.

We were delighted to present Chris with a Caulfield Grammarians'
Football Club jumper, suitably carrying the number 3 (his number at
CGS), as a mark of our respect and appreciation. Is it too much to hope
that sometime in the future Juddy just may decide to finish off his
playing days at CGFC?

In summary, the greater Caulfield Grammar community can be rightly proud
of Chris' justifiable position as football's elite of the elite! It was
fantastic that his appearance drew a crowd in excess of 160 consisting
of players, families, supporters and friends.

The other major feature of the Jumper Presentation Evening was the
extension of an initiative of past player, (maybe current player for a
couple more games in 2008) Marc Cassisdy, who proposed the idea of
permanent player numbers for all those who have represented CGFC at
senior level. In conjunction with our past players' constituency (The
Fieldsmen) Marc's proposal was acted upon. Following many hours of
research of the VAFA's records, details of all senior game statistics
since 1939 were accumulated, sorted, checked and extended into a
suitable format to enable us to number each player based on the year of
his first senior game. This tradition will continue on in future
seasons. To date there are some 780 odd players that fit this category
up until and including season 2007. Part of these statistics will be
able to be viewed on our website within the next month.

Records of games played do not exist prior to 1939, however, we are
aware of the names of quite a number of CGFC players from the earlier
years and they will be awarded a separate 'heritage' number in due
course. It is also proposed to recognise the many players who only
played reserve or under 19 football in addition to the acknowledgment of
the many who did not participate as players but acted in other
capacities such as coaches, trainers, committeemen, etc. This is the
next project for The Fieldsmen along with the development of both Hall
of Fame and Legends status. Being one of the oldest clubs in the VAFA,
we have a very rich history and the club is determined to continue
develop the heritage side of CGFC.

CGFC living legend, Wally Crabtree, was awarded the number 1 jumper
position and was there on the night to receive a specially arranged
'rugby top' style Guernsey duly embroidered with the number 1. The same
style of Guernsey will be available for purchase by all past senior
players and a number of orders have already been taken from those
present on the night. We invite other past senior players to contact us
to check their number and order a Guernsey. Wally delighted the crowd
with his few words and his typical enthusiasm for all things pertaining
to Caulfield Grammar. Wally is the current President of the Buntine
Chapter of Caulfield Grammar's past student body and is a marvelous
supporter of our School and its affiliates.

The establishment of The Fieldsmen prior to the commencement of the 2007
season has created a lot of interest for past players generally. The
tradition, started in 2007, of holding a Fieldsmen Golf Day in the week
leading up to round 1 was again held this year. It was a very hot but
successful day with dinner and appropriate awards afterwards. We
encourage any past player not already a member of The Fieldsmen to look
at our membership packages at www.cgfc.com.au . Speaking of the
website, we are presently developing the site further and even have some
video footage available now. A couple of younger Grammarians have
undertaken to apply their skill to ensuring that cgfc.com.au becomes the
'first port of call' for all information relating to the club. The lads
have done a fine job to date and will continue to develop the site over
the next 4 to 6 weeks. We plan to have the most valuable website among
VAFA clubs and trust that all supporters will support us by regularly
logging in.

And what of the season performances to date, well, the seniors certainly
frittered away their chances against Old Carey but bounced back in round
2 to come from behind for an excellent win against SKOBS. Then the rot
set in as first Old Haileybury inflicted a massive loss upon us and
Marcellin did the same in round 4. All games were played away given the
restriction at Glenhuntly but we return to our own ground for round 5
against Beaumaris for the Ken Criswick Cup. Our recruitment hopes have
not quite worked out as yet plus unavailability due to overseas travel
and the usual early season injuries certainly depleted our stocks. Our
leadership group is the youngest in living memory but will continue to
develop and we have played up to 6 U19 players in each of the last two
rounds. I hasten to add the U19 players did not disappoint, have painted
a rosy picture for the future but must be enhanced by consolidation in B
Section. We were worse off at the same time in 2007 without a win and
bounced back then and should do the same again.

The reserves have struggled as a consequence of our limited list but the
U19's, despite giving up so many quality players to the senior team,
have performed very well for 3 wins and 1 loss. The total U19 squad
possesses collectively the most talented group, probably since the mid
sixties. If we can build on this strength, maybe the surge to the top of
the tree as occurred in 1970 will not be out of our reach! The Club 18
are again competing in Section 3 and provide a good opportunity for
surplus players, especially U19's, to get a game each week.

I have not mentioned individuals at this stage as the respective match
reports, found at cgfc.com.au, highlight those who are continuing to
perform or who are emerging. For those not receiving this correspondence
via email I will include some copies of senior match reports in the mail
out.

Early days yet and clearly some concerns when our senior team receives a
couple of hidings. What I can tell you however, we have an experienced
and hardworking coaching team who are making some changes to style of
play to suit the future opportunities that will come our way. I also can
unequivocally state that there has not been a greater wealth of young
talent at the club in my time (back to 1997), many of whom have already
tasted how good it is to be the best in your competition via the
School's APS Football Premiership in 2007.

I hope you will continue to support us in our endeavors as we undertake
another challenging season. If you have not obtained a membership to
date, please consider the various options. We are also desperate for
additional off-field help each match day. If you can only give us 1
afternoon during the season it would help us enormously.

Regards and Go Fields,


Geoff Reilley - Membership Manager