The South Metro Junior Football League hosted the 2023 Presentation Night at the Kingston Town Hall on Sunday evening in front of a record breaking 1100 attendees across the two sessions.
The SMJFL experienced its biggest season to date with SMJFL CEO Matthew Brown sharing on the night that in 2023 the league had “almost 11,000 players playing in 451 teams, including 109 female teams, in 26 clubs. Games were played across 70 divisions and over 3500 games were fixtured, the largest number on record”.
The 2023 season included 15 Home and Away Rounds as well as the U8’s Return to Footy Carnival, two Lightning Carnival weekends, three weeks of Semi, Preliminary, and Grand Finals, and the AFL Victoria Metro Junior Development Series. “None of this would have been possible without the dedication and support of the Club Volunteer network” added Matthew Brown.
Sunday was a fantastic evening to celebrate our Best & Fairest award winners, 10-year player awards, AFL Victoria Metro Junior Development Series award winners, and recognise our Club Volunteer award winners. SMJFL Chair Richard Bowen congratulated those players who were fortunate enough to win Best & Fairest awards and extended a congratulations to those who were runners up, saying on the night “it is no easy feat to deliver consistent performances over an extended period of time”.
The 2023 Club Administrator of the Year was awarded to Caulfield Bears Secretary Matt Dry for his dedication and commitment to the club for the past 7 years. The Caulfield Bears are in awe of the enormous hours he dedicates to the club. SMJFL General Manager – Member & Business Services said on the night “Matt has been amazing to deal with over the last few years from a league level, and is just a pleasure to work with, we thank Matt for his commitments and efforts”.
This year saw six female players reach their 10-year milestone in the SMJFL, this is an amazing achievement and is a testament to the loyalty these girls have to the game, their club, and the league. It also shows the environment and pathway the SMJFL is fostering to retain female players.
The Monash University Leader of the Year was awarded to Aris Moustakas from South Melbourne Districts Junior Football Club for displaying traits of an emerging leader at the football club through his Assistant Coach role with the U8s. Eliana Ulusan, Audience Marketing Manager from Monash University was in attendance to present Aris with is award and prize pack.
The league would like to thank Gary Bradshaw Photography for capturing the night.
2023 Club Volunteer Award Winners
Club Administrator of the Year - Matt Dry - Caulfield Bears JFC
Storage King Volunteer of the Year - Melissa Murphy - Brighton Beach JFC
OpenCorp Sportsmanship Award - Under 10 Girls Team - Port Melbourne Colts JFC
Club Volunteer Umpire of the Year - Luke Moncrieff - East Brighton Vampires JFC
Monash University Leader of the Year - Aris Moustakas - South Melbourne Districts AFC
Coach of the Year - Daniel Marin - Caulfield Bears JFC
Female Coach of the Year - Olivia Grcic - SMJFL Umpire Academy & Nikki Wallace - South Melbourne Districts AFC
SMJFL Club Behaviour Award - Ashwood JFC
