March 14, 2014
Former AFL superstar Brendan Fevola will make his East Gippsland football debut in 2014 after signing with Lindenow for a one-off game.
Fevola will line up in the blue and white hoops when the Cats play arch-rival Wy Yung in Round 7.
The game will be held on Sunday, June 8, over the Queen’s Birthday long-weekend and will be the only senior match played in Gippsland for the day.
Fevola, who will also appear at a Sportsman’s Night at the Bairnsdale Sporting and Convention Centre after the game, said he was looking forward to having a kick in East Gippsland.
“I’ve been fortunate to see a lot of Victoria over the past two years playing for Yarrawonga and other clubs but I haven’t been as far as East Gippsland,” Fevola said.
“The best thing about footy is it brings people together – it’s fantastic when you play a game in a small community and everyone comes out to watch. It makes it a real social event for all the locals.
“I know Lindenow have been relatively strong over the past four years and that they have a pretty young side this season so I’ll be doing my best to help get the boys over the line.”
Lindenow senior coach Paul Carroll said he got in touch with Fevola after the club’s football executive and committee threw around some ideas for a marquee match.
He said an agreement with Wy Yung to change the game to Sunday in order to attract a larger crowd had been pivotal in getting Fevola on-board.
“We’ve tried on a few past occasions to develop a marquee game for the Lindenow community and broader East Gippsland region but the circumstances just haven’t allowed us to,” Carroll said.
“After a bit of brainstorming between the football staff and the committee, the club contacted Fev and he was able to come on-board.
“The sub-committee in charge of the day has already put in a power of work to get us this far and while we still have a fair way to go, the whole place is really excited to get Fev down and hopefully draw a huge crowd.
“While having him in the goal square may give us a bit of a boost, I’m sure the motivation levels are already lifting over at Wy Yung.
“We’re playing for the Alexander Memorial, which is significant to both clubs, so hopefully it’s a fantastic game and a great way to commemorate the contribution of the Alexander family to East Gippsland football.”
Fevola was drafted by Carlton at pick 38 in the 1998 AFL National Draft, playing 187 games and kicking 575 goals for the Blues between 1999 and 2009. He won two Coleman Medals (2006 and 2009) and is a three-time All Australian (2006, 2008 and 2009). At the end of 2009 he was traded to the Brisbane Lions for the 2010 season where he kicked 48 goals from 17 games.
After being delisted early in 2011, he went on to play with the Casey Scorpions in the Victorian Football League (VFL) finishing runner-up in the league goalkicking.
Fevola has since played a key role in back-to-back premierships with Yarrawonga in the Ovens and Murray Football League as well as one-off games with various clubs around the country.
Last year on the Queen’s Birthday Monday holiday he played alongside former Carlton teammate Nick Stevens for Traralgon when they took on eventual premier Morwell. In the end Traralgon went down by 14 points with Fevola kicking a game-high six goals.
Further information on the day’s events will be announced in the coming weeks. Anybody seeking further information on sponsorship and ticket packages should contact David Dunkley on 0418 598 750.
