Demons Update - Edition 4 - March 2014

DEMONS UPDATE

EDITION FOUR – MARCH 2014

BY ANDREW OWEN

Membership Referral Incentive

The Perth Football Club is constantly trying to improve on past seasons both on and off the field.  As a part of this we are trying to increase our membership numbers and need your help. Therefore we have initiated the Membership Referral Incentive. For every new member that you sign up for the 2014 season, you will receive a $10 Phoenix Bar Voucher (for use on match days only).  This means that if you sign up five new members you will receive a $50 bar voucher.  All you need to do is sign up new members to the Perth Football Club.

To qualify:

Your 2014 membership must be paid.
The new members are people who were not members of the club in 2013.
New members need to be signed up by 30 April 2014.
Does not include Little Demons Members.
Memberships purchased need to advise the club that you are the referrer (either you supply us the completed membership forms indicating your referral or have your name noted somewhere on the form)

Currently we have 773 paid up members and would love your support in trying to reach 1000 members. In order to purchase a membership you can go to the clubs website, www.perthdemons.com.au, give the club a call on 9362 4499 or simply just pop into the club, which is located on the corner of Goddard and Bishopsgate Street, Lathlain.

Demons Dominate The Tigers

Perth opened their 2014 season in absolute style on Saturday with a comprehensive victory over Claremont at Lathlain Park by 65 points.

In warm conditions for the return of football it was the Tigers who goaled first within the opening minute through key forward Anton Hamp. Perth had plenty of the ball early on and were playing a very open forward read more

WAFL Season Launch

Last week the 2014 WAFL season launch was held at Patersons Stadium. Here’s what Damien McMahon had to say in response to questions from the media and WAFL officials.

Asked by WAFL Manager Cameron Knapton

Damien you’ve had some ins and outs this year and would be looking to build after just missing out on finals last year?

We had 10 wins last year and a couple of close losses.  We have some work to do to get us up to 12 or 13 wins.  The three biggest losses we had in the off season were Kyle Reimers, Matt Tedesco and Ali Smith.  All three are experienced players with one being an ex AFL player.

We have managed to cover these outs with some good inclusions such as Gerald Ugle returning to the club after three years at Greater Western Sydney.  Cale Morton who played AFL footy last year joins us along with his older brother Mitch who was at Sydney last year.  Overall we have some good inclusions to add to some good experienced players that have had a good solid preseason.

Asked by Dale Miller – The West Australian

Damien you made some gains last season.  How do you avoid that yo-yo affect that Perth is known for and make the progression to the finals this year?

We have tried our best to stabilise the list.  The previous couple of years we have had a number of ins and outs.  This year we have had a lot less leave and probably the same amount arrive with the same type of qualities.  We are hoping that we can build on some of the structures that we put in place last year.  We think as a football club we are a long way ahead culturally and that is something that has been holding us back for a long period of time.

Hopefully with some good inclusions they are able to pick up the slack from the guys that we lost and they turn out to be better footballers and pretty highly credentialed players that are coming to our squad.  We are pretty confident that they can surge us forward along with guys like Paul Bevan and Chance Bateman who have been at our club now for a few years.

Chance came to the club last year with not a great fitness base after having some time off from his 13 years in the AFL system, but we are pretty confident that after a full preseason he can have an impact during games for longer.  There are also guys that haven’t played a lot of football for us like Haydn Busher and Joel Houghton.  Both have been out for a long period of time with injury and are a couple of key forwards or potential backs for us and hopefully they can stand up and play some solid football and keep us heading in the right direction.

Asked by Dale Miller – The West Australian

You were in the mix until late last season.  Have you structured the preseason and done anything differently so that you are able to run out the year better?

We probably thought that we over cooked our group a little bit last year.  We had a pretty torrid preseason and we thought we needed that after the year before (season 2012) being clearly not fit enough to compete for long enough.  With such a young group we got to the last five games with injuries to guys like Matt Moody, Christian Eyres and Chance Bateman who weren’t out there playing and these were key players for us that we needed up and going at the end of the season.  This year we have tailored our preseason to hopefully go harder for longer.

Asked by Tim Hipsley – Channel 10

Damien what about the addition of all three Morton brothers.  It’s obviously pretty exciting for the club and for them to all be playing together?

There was definitely motivation for all three of them to come to the one club and it probably started midway through last year with Jarryd making the move over and really enjoying his time at the club and was a really good footballer for us in the six games that he played.

Mitch was a bit of an unlikely one, obviously retiring from AFL football and no one was quite sure what he wanted to do.  But he made it pretty clear pretty quickly that he wanted to play with his two brothers and with Cale obviously being delisted pretty late they got their wish in the end.

All three of them will roll out over the next couple of weeks and we will see three brothers play in the WAFL which will be a great story if they can get it together.

Gary Poole Reserves Coach

The Perth Football Club is pleased to welcome Gary Poole on board as reserves coach for the 2014 season.  We wish Gary all the best for a long and successful year.

Redlegs Bar

The Redlegs Bar is open again for the 2014 season.  Come down every Thursday at 5:30pm in the President’s Lounge and have drink with fellow supporters while watching the team train.  Everyone is welcome, partners too!

PP&OA Update

The Past Players and Officials Association is off to a brilliant start for the 2014 season with a packed room at half time of the Perth v Claremont game last week.  The Demons have one of the biggest Past Players in the WAFL with most home games at full capacity and a good representation at away fixtures.

Look out for the following events throughout the season:

All grades past players reunion lunch
1976/77 premiership jumper presentation
Combined past players family and friends annual race day at Belmont on Wednesday 28th May
Simulated race day where there will be a tiny track, tiny horses but big prizes
AFL Grand Final function which gets bigger every year
Moora Cup Race Day which will be held after the season

Also don’t forget to purchase your 2014/15 entertainment books.  To get one contact Brian Sweetapple on m: 041 113 3038 or e: Brian-kerry@eftel.net.au

See you at half time throughout season 2014!

Perth Demons Junior Holiday Clinics

When: Tuesday April 15th

Time: 9:30am to 3:30pm

Clinic Includes:

6 hours specialist coaching
Perth Football Club Showbag
Morning tea and lunch
Dockers players signing autographs between 3:30pm and 4pm

Don’t forget to bring your football and your water bottle on the day!

Sponsors 2014

The Perth Football Club would be no where if it wasn’t for the support of our wonderful sponsors. This year we have seen Porter Matthews Vic Park, michaelkeil.com and Work Clobber come on board for season 2014. While we have also seen Tyrepro and Mechanical come on board as a major sponsor of the colts.

The Lifting Company who were a great sponsor of the District Gala Day and Robert Wiley Development Squads in 2013, has increased their sponsorship in 2014 and come on board as a Principal Community Partner.

Included in this is the support of our major sponsor Provident Capital Partners who are back again for another season.

Southside Mitsubishi is also continuing their support this year as well as Southside Volkswagen.

The Perth Football Club is appreciative of all sponsorship no matter how big or small and looks forward to a great season together in 2014.

For a full list of sponsors please click here

Player Sponsorship 2014

By purchasing your player sponsorship this year you will be assisting the player directly and contributing to the playing squad’s medical fund.

For $350 + GST you get:

One supporters membership
Invitation for two (2) people to our complimentary Player Sponsor function
Framed photo of the player to hang in your home or office
Acknowledgment of your company as a Player Sponsor

To become a Player Sponsor click here, fill out the form and send it to PO Box 48, Victoria Park WA 6979. Alternatively you can email it to the club at admin@perthdemons.com.au or you can deliver it in person to the club which is located on the corner of Goddard and Bishopsgate Street, Lathlain.

Events Coming Up At the PFC

Luke Hodge Breakfast Event at the Royal Perth Golf Course on Tuesday May 13th.  Cost is $75 per person.  To book call the Perth Football Club now on 9362 4499.

Banquet Auction, Saturday July 26th.

Butcher Medal, Saturday October 4th.

Redlegs Radio Back In 2014

The Redlegs to Demons Half Hour is back again for 2014.  Listen to weekly interviews with current and past players; get all the fallout from the weekends match as well as previews for the matches ahead and get information about what is happening in and around the club.

If you have missed the opening two shows, click on these links to have a listen

RTDHH Episode 1: Click here

RTDHH Episode 2: Click here

If you want to send a text in during the show, the number is 0429 913 913.

Redlegs to Demons Half Hour, every Wednesday at 7pm on 91.3 Sport FM.

Perth Demons Take On South Fremantle

Round two of the 2014 WAFL season see’s Perth take on South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval.  Perth are looking to make it successive victories to start the season while the Bulldogs will be looking to make it a special night for Kris Miller, who will play his 300th WAFL match. Click here for more.

The Perth Football Club would like to thank Major Sponsors:

For a full list of Perth Football Club sponsors click here