Endeavour Hills Junior Football Club celebrate their wins.By Marc McGowan
THE family values at Endeavour Hills Junior Football Club could not have been better displayed than at last month’s Dandenong District Junior Football League grand finals.
The club added three more premiership cups to its considerable trophy cabinet, with victories in under 10 Division One, under 12 Division One and under 14 Division One competitions, which matched last year’s effort and was just one short of the four flags the club won in 2000.
Endeavour Hills also had the chance to achieve a double in the under 14 age group, but its Division Two team went down by 13 points.
Making the effort even more notable was the fact that four families had multiple appearances in the triumphant efforts.
Matthew (under 14) and Nicholas (under 12) Beer, Liam (under 14) and Lachlan (under 10) Cummins, Adam (under 14) and Shaun (under 12) Fricot, and Lachlan (under 14) and Brandon (under 10) Cram all shared in the success.
Endeavour Hills vice-president Mario Aiezza praised the four families in question and pointed out the scarcity of the feat.
“There would not be too many clubs in the league with four lots of brothers winning grand finals,” he said.
“They all come from very close-knit families and most of them have known each other for a number of years.”
Aiezza said the club’s family focus was more important than developing a winning culture, but the two could come together.
“We have probably grown more into a family club through the fact so many siblings are all playing in successful teams,” he said.
“Premierships come when you have happy and prosperous families. It’s a culmination of the hard work by all the people at the club, and a justification of our family-first attitude.”
Adding to the interest of Endeavour Hills’ great success was the pivotal role Bailey Rice, son of former Carlton and St Kilda footballer Dean Rice, played in the club’s under 10 premiership.
Dean is a regular at Charles Green Reserve as the club’s junior coaching coordinator, but Aiezza believes his greatest value comes in the type of individual he is.
“We are hoping to get Dean on the committee this year. It’s enormous having him around – it’s a tremendous boost for us,” Aiezza said.
“It’s not the fact he’s a former AFL player, but just that he’s a quality person.”
