First of all, an apology. A lot has happened since the last game of the regular season back in October - a lot that should have made it onto here well before now. Sorry for that.
Anyway, we made it into our first JAFL grand final last season. It was a long and tiring trip over to Yokohama. After the usual wrong turns, problems with the GPS, and fights between navigators and drivers, we made it to the ground with about an hour to spare. We got a good warm-up in and took to the field with fire in our bellies. Unfortunately, the Goannas had blue flame in theirs. They were able to skip out to a solid lead by the first break, and despite our best efforts to cut the deficit, we just weren't able to kick consecutive goals. We dominated patches of the game, but time and time again, we couldn't find a target across the half-forward line. No matter what we tried, we struggled to penetrate the Goannas' defense.
In the end, the Goannas ran out comfortable 49-point winners. Congratulations to them on another fantastic season. Congratulations must also go to Dean Dowey for being voted the best Redback in the grand final.
Goannas: 12. 15. 108 (McGrath 3, Mitchell 3, Atkins, Komiyama, Levnedor, Sullivan, Woods, Anderson)
Redbacks: 5. 8. 38 (Jenkins 2, Dowey, Abraham, Gifford)
I'd also like to take this opportunity to give a special thanks to Adrian English. Adrian is an Australian resident who made a connection with the Redbacks three years ago. He has a Japanese wife and a young family. He also has a real passion for Aussie rules. Three times last year, Adrian came to Japan to play footy for the Redbacks and to visit family. That is a massive outlay, and one I wish we could have rewarded with a grand final victory. Unfortunately, we weren't able to deliver that, but we do want Adrian to know just how much we appreciate his efforts over the last three years. We're all hopeful we get to pull on the jumper with him again in 2011. Thanks a lot, Adrian.
While we didn't have the greatest weekend for the grand final, it didn't take long for the news to get better. The following week at the JAFL presentation night, Dan Jenkins walked away with the 2010 goal kicking award, and more importantly, he walked away with the Peter Wilson medal for the league's best and fairest. With Dean Dowey claiming the Peter Wilson in 2009, the Redbacks clearly boast some top talent. We're really hoping our 2nd and 3rd year players can step up another notch this year to complement the guys at the top, and help us add the premiership cup to the Peter Wilson Medals.
A few weeks later, the Redbacks held our own presentation night at the Red Rock Bar in Sakae. It wasn't a big surprise to see Dan Jenkins walk away with the club best and fairest, the Hardy Micallef Medal. He also took goal kicking honors, while Phil Rankowle took out the Rising Star, Ashley James got the Best Clubman award for a fantastic stint as president of the club, and Dion McKay received the Coach's Award for a great season cut short by a freak injury.
Thanks must go out to everyone who pulled on a jumper for the club in 2010. We really appreciate your spirit, dedication, effort, and friendship. Let's hit the track hard and have another great year in 2011.
