Club celebrates past teams

GENERATIONS of Buninyong Football Netball Club players gathered in the club rooms last Saturday to catchup and reminisce.

Members from 11 teams from across 50 years of the club’s history celebrated their reunions, and Buninyong FNC president Ernie Amendola said there was one year in particular to highlight.

“The main focus of today is our 2002 seniors reserves and under-14s, because it’s their 20 years anniversary winning the premiership, and that’s been our last since,” he said.

“We’ve got the 2012 reserves and 1970 seniors celebrating their anniversaries too.

“And this is also giving those teams that missed out on reunions from the last two years a chance to catch up.”

Paul Harris, who played for the club’s 2002 senior reserves and was a joint reserves coach in 2012, spoke at the informal ceremony.

Their 2002 premiership win, where Buninyong beat Beaufort in 149-point turnaround from the semi-final, was shown during the catchup.

Mr Harris said he’s keen for the team to look back on their victory after two decades.

“It’s great to catch up with people I haven’t seen for a fair time and remembering what we endured during that time,” he said.

“It’s been a long time without another one for the club so it feels like you appreciate it more now than you did back then.

“It’s a nice mark in our history.”

With over 200 players, Mr Amendola said the reunions highlight the expansion of the club throughout the years.

“It’s just grown so much. From the number of players, parents, supporters, it’s been a flow-on effect from the Buninyong community itself,” he said.

“There’s still people here who were part of those celebrations back then. So, it shows we’re a very welcoming club.”