Waugh Words inspire
ADF rises to big occasion

MIDN Dane Williams pushes the ADF All-Stars into attack despite the effort of an Emergency Services opponent during the curtain-raiser to the Sydney Swans vs Melbourne Demons AFL match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Anzac Day. Photo by Michael Weaver.

1ADF All-Stars: 4.5(20), 7.10(52), 13.14(92), 22.16(148) Emergency Services: 1.1(7), 2.2(14), 3.2(20), 3.2(20) ADF goals: Lord 5, Ferguson 5, Pullen 3, Wescombe 3 ADF best: Spr Brad Pullen (c), MIDN Dane Williams (vc), Pte Shane Bramley, Cpl Dan Ferguson, LCpl Damien Lord, plus team

By Michael Weaver

INSIDE the change rooms for the ADF All-Stars Australian Football team at the Sydney Cricket Ground hangs a big poster put up by Australian Test cricket captain Stephen Waugh, which reads: “The big occasion is — the opportunity you have been waiting for; the time to do something special”.

Twenty-five players from the ADF side certainly rose to the big occasion at the Sydney Cricket Ground as they decimated a combined Emergency Services team on Anzac Day.

This inaugural clash will become an annual fixture on the AFL calendar, acting as a curtain-raiser to a match between the Sydney Swans and Melbourne Demons on Anzac Day.

The ADF side, featuring seven Navy players (named below), blitzed its less experienced opponent, made up of players from the Australian Federal Police and Emergency Services.

The 128-point win marked a significant step forward for the ADF All-Stars side, which has been limited in fixtures following the national inter-service championships.

For many, it was their first taste of footy in the big league and the chance to impress on the hallowed SCG turf.
The Emergency Services team may have kicked the first goal, but the team soon went to ‘red alert’ as ADF players took the opportunity they had been waiting for, kicking 28.12 (148) to 3.2 (20).

Goals rained in from all directions as the ADF dominated virtually all areas of the ground, with a nine-goal final quarter proving to be icing on the cake.

Emergency Services battled to the end, but was outgunned by a fit and determined ADF outfit, under the tutelage of coach POCIS Jamie McGinley and manager CPOCIS John Thiele.

The game also provided plenty of experience for seven umpires, all from the ADF and accredited with the AFL, who controlled the curtain-raiser.

The seven Navy players representing the ADF were: MIDN Dane Williams, LSCSO Adrian Pentland, PO Phil Black, LSCIS Aaron Convery, SMN Luke Sergeant, LSMT Marc Rogers and ABSN Brent Milner.

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