President’s Report

President’s Report – 2021 / 2022

I have been with the Hawks since 1998 and I have never seen a Post Xmas season and Winter season interrupted so much by wet weather. Even in the flood years of 2011 we still didn’t miss as much cricket as we did this year. Many grounds were severely damaged. Albany Creek dodged much of that destruction and we certainly didn’t have damage done to our facilities like many other BNJCA clubs did.

This year we had three teams winning BNJCA Premierships. Prior to Xmas our U14 Tomohawks coached by Matt Gould and Col Ward won their division. The Tomahawks repeated their efforts in the Post Xmas season. We had two of our U13 teams, the Night Hawks and the Eagle Hawks, winning their Post Xmas divisions. Congratulations to Chris McGill and Adam O’Sullivan on their respective coaching efforts.

We had eighteen boys who were selected in Brisbane North representative teams which played all over the State before and after Xmas. We also had two girls who were selected in Brisbane north rep sides. These players made wonderful contributions to their rep teams and I am sure their club sides have benefitted from their experience.

Of our three senior teams playing in the Warehouse competition, the B3 team made it through to the Grand Final which was played back in March.

The 2022 Winter Warehouse season finished last weekend with the Hawks playing in six Grand Finals. Three of our teams were successful in winning their competitions. Congratulations to our senior B2 and C3 Sunday teams and the U16 Eagle Hawks who won their respective divisions.

We did apply for a grant to put lights on our eastern nets. Unfortunately this application wasn’t successful but we have rolled that over to the next round of Community Gambling Fund Grants which is released early next year. With all the damage done to sports clubs in the south-east, our club’s bid for lights wasn’t high on the priority list.

At this time of the year there are many people to thank as clubs of our size do not just happen. To all the people on the committee and their partners / spouses, I thank you for the countless hours of dedicated service. Eddie Mills has been tireless in her efforts with the Hawk Talk. Paresh Khatri has assisted me each Friday in preparing the pitches for our little guys. Peter McFarlane has kept our web site maintained. Leon Marais and Francois Basson have excelled in their roles as Treasurer and Secretary respectively. I would like to say a special thank you to my wife, Kathy who has been registrar this year as well as being the club statistician. She has been responsible for the compilation of our trophy lists for both Summer and Winter seasons. Our club would not be the same without all her unseen activities. Thank you to Barry McDougall and Lincoln Jones for their efforts in keeping our senior teams on the field.
The Ian Healy Cup was very successful again this year and I would like to thank Kathy Casey, Peter McFarlane and Ross Duncan for their efforts throughout the week. Thank you one and all.
A special thanks also to all our coaches and managers who have put in the hard yards on a weekly basis. Many of these people have been at the club for five or six years or more and their contribution has been invaluable. The fact that these coaches keep coming back says a lot for us as a club and is responsible for the stability and confidence that you as parents have in the care that they exercise over your children.

To all the parents who have assisted with scoring and generally organizing the boys on Saturday morning and Friday nights, I extend a huge thank you.

Our major sponsors LJ Hooker of Albany Creek and Acorshe Cleaning Solutions have certainly allowed us to keep our fees down and thus keep more children on the fields. We have several minor sponsors as well whose ongoing commitment to the club are much appreciated. Please continue to support these wonderful local people. Thanks for your support.

As always it has been my absolute pleasure to be President of this great club and look forward to the future knowing that Albany Creek Cricket Club is held in high esteem throughout the Brisbane North area.

Steve Casey, Presdient
Albany Creek Cricket Club