MWFA

Champions Cup 2023

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Manly Warringah Football Association and Northern Suburbs Football Association are delighted to confirm the third edition of the Champions Cup.

The Champions Cup is now an annual event in the competitions calendar for both associations. This event sees all MWFA and NSFA teams that have been invited to compete in the Football NSW Champions of Champions tournament play against one another in preparation for their opening Champion of Champions game.

This year’s Champions Cup will take place on Sunday, September 10th. Cromer Park will host the Girls and Women’s games, while the Boys and Men’s games will be split between Charles Bean Oval and Cammeray Oval. In total, 18 games will be played across the three venues – we are looking forward to plenty of competitive football!

Two perpetual trophies are awarded – one to the association that wins the women’s competition and one to the association that wins the men’s competition. MWFA will be looking to retain both titles after dual success in 2022.

In the event of the scores being level at full time, a draw will be recorded – there will not be extra time or penalties.

MWFA and NSFA would like to thank all referees, officials and association board members for their input and presence at the Champions Cup.

Click here for the Champions Cup programme!

 

2023 MWFA-NSFA Champions Cup

Sunday 10th September

Cromer Park Field 1
9am: 16 Girls – Pittwater RSL v Lindfield
10:30am: 18 Girls – Manly Vale v Hornsby Heights
12:30am: O30 Women – Forest Killarney v Kissing Point
2:30pm: All Age Women – Seaforth v Lindfield

Cromer Park Field 2
9am: 12 Girls – Curl Curl v Lindfield
10:30am: 13 Girls – BTH Raiders v North Sydney United
12pm: 14 Girls – CC Strikers v Northbridge
1:30pm: 15 Girls – Wakehurst v Lindfield

Charles Bean Oval
9am: 15 Boys – Lindfield v Forest Killarney
10:30am: 16 Boys – North Sydney United v St Augustine’s A
12pm: 18 Men – Lindfield v Wakehurst A
2pm: 21 Men – North Sydney United v Brookvale
4pm: All Age Men – Willoughby Dalleys v Pittwater RSL

Cammeray Oval
9am: 12 Boys – North Sydney United v Manly Vale
10:30am: 13 Boys – Northbridge v BTH Raiders
12pm: 14 Boys – Lindfield v CC Strikers
1:30pm: O35 Men – Lindfield v Pittwater RSL A
3:30pm: O45 Men – North Sydney United v Mosman A

 

Feature image courtesy Jeremy Denham – https://www.facetphotography.com.au/

MWFA Presentation Night 2023

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On Saturday, the 2023 MWFA Presentation Night was held at the Manly Pacific Hotel. Hosted by Stephanie Brantz (Deputy Chair of the Football NSW Board), the event was a wonderful occasion and a great chance to honour the highest achievers in our Women’s Premier League, Men’s Premier League, WAL1 and AL1 competitions.

There was also a special presentation to members of the legendary Seasiders Women’s team, who won 13 MWFA Championships, 6 All Age Women’s Champion of Champion titles and 3 All Age Women’s State Cups.

Manly Warringah Football Association would like to thank Stephanie Brantz, Michael Regan (Member for Wakehurst), Simmone Linay (Bendigo Bank Freshwater) and Sue Heins (Mayor of Northern Beaches Council) for attending the 2023 MWFA Presentation Night.

 

Champions
WPL: Seaforth
MPL: Pittwater RSL
WAL1: Brookvale
AL1: Forest Killarney

Player of the Year
WPL: Julia Murphy (Seaforth)
MPL (Lorna Gale Award): Tomas Pospisil (Narrabeen)
WAL1: Sarah Jackson (Brookvale)
AL1: Darragh Reynor (Forest Killarney)

Goalkeeper of the Year
WPL: Kierly Wiggins (Seaforth)
MPL: Josh Dijkstra (Pittwater RSL)
WAL1: Sam Menzies (Narrabeen)
AL1: Richard Beauchamp (Wakehurst)

Golden Boot
WPL: Nicole Saldern (Beacon Hill) & Chloe Higgins (Manly Vale) – 21 goals
MPL: Jordan Devries (CC Strikers) & Will Hodgson (Mosman) – 17 goals
WAL1: Sarah Jackson (Brookvale) – 19 goals
AL1: Darragh Reynor (Forest Killarney) & Matthew Brewster (St Augustine’s) – 21 goals

Rookie of the Year
Women: Piper Turton (Manly Allambie United)
Men: Wilson Sarkies (Wakehurst)

Coach of the Year
WPL: David Laime (Beacon Hill)
MPL: Luke Tinker (Mosman)
WAL1: Danny Panetta (Wakehurst)
AL1: Paul O’Shaughnessy (Forest Killarney)

Clubperson of the Year
Women: Mikayla Natoli & Jayda Bouveng (Pittwater)
Men: Ryan McLean (St Augustine’s)

Referee Awards
Referee of the Year (Syd Russell Memorial Award): Alex Cowdery
FFA Level 3 Referee (Peter Clay Memorial Award): Ryan Berlee
Senior Referee (Sean Morgan-Smith Memorial Award): Frank Maiuolo
Under-25 Referee: Jackson Mackie
Under-21 Referee: Callum Eason

Best & Fairest Awards
WPL (Judy Head Award): Manly Allambie United
MPL (Ron Savell Award): CC Strikers
WAL1: Avalon & Beacon Hill
AL1 (Trent Patton Award): Avalon

Future of Football Workshop Series

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MWFA will be running a series of interactive and special workshops in September for coaches and any club committee members interested in where the future of football is heading, especially in youth development.

There are people’s opinions, and there is logical debate, but sometimes even these are not enough for some people to be convinced. So to resolve this dilemma, we will run some football ‘experiments’ to prove how certain things should be approached with actual players, factual data and first hand experiences.

 

1. “THE GAME AND THE COACH IS THE TEACHER, BUT DRILLS ARE NOT”
Wednesday September 6 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Cromer 5.
We will have several groups, some being taught certain skills in a typical drill based session, some in a more game-like session, and some in a purely game based session.
We will measure things like repetition and quality of football actions with and without coaching, and then switch the players around so they can experience the other type of session.

2. “SMALL SIDED FOOTBALL IS TOO BIG”
Wednesday September 13 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Cromer 5.
We will have several groups, some playing in the current formats for their age group, and others playing in more modern formats with different numbers of players and rules.
We will measure things like repetition of all types of different football actions, and then switch the players around so they can experience the other type of match format.

3. “YOUR TEAM CAN PLAY BETTER FOOTBALL IF YOU COACH BETTER”
Wednesday September 20 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Cromer 5.
We will have several groups of different ages and levels, initially playing without coaching to see their natural behaviour, and then seeing how far we can take them with effective coaching.
We will measure things like number of collective sequential passes vs. turn-overs, switching play and creating scoring opportunities in both scenarios.

 

These workshops are free of charge. We only ask that coaches and committee members register using the link below in advance and make sure they are punctual on each night.

Register here: https://manlyunited.wufoo.com/forms/mwfa-future-of-football-workshop-series/

MWFA Grand Final Results 2023

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A massive thank you to everyone who made the 2023 MWFA Grand Finals a success – it was wonderful to see thousands of players and spectators enjoying themselves across the three days. See below for the MWFA Grand Final results!

 

W12-1: CC Strikers 0-1 Brookvale
W12-2: Forest Killarney 0(2)-0(1) Manly Vale B
W12-3: Narrabeen 0-2 Harbord
W12-4: Forest Killarney 1-2 Beacon Hill

W13-1: BTH Raiders 1(3)-1(0) Seaforth
W13-2A: Pittwater 1-0 Manly Allambie
W13-2B: Harbord 1(7)-1(6) CC Strikers A
W13-3A: Seaforth B 0-1 Curl Curl
W13-3B: CC Strikers 0-2 Forest Killarney

W14-1: Wakehurst 0-1 CC Strikers A
W14-2: Pittwater 0(6)-0(5) Curl Curl A
W14-3: Brookvale 1(2)-1(4) Harbord

W15-1: Wakehurst 0-1 Seaforth A
W15-2: Harbord 4-0 Wakehurst

W16-1: Pittwater 2-0 Seaforth
W16-2A: Narrabeen 1-0 Manly Vale
W16-2B: Brookvale B 1-2 Forest Killarney

W18-1: Forest Killarney 0-2 Wakehurst
W18-2: Curl Curl 3-0 BTH Raiders

WPL: Wakehurst 0-3 Manly Vale
WPLR: Manly Vale 1(5)-1(6) Seaforth

WAL1: Brookvale 2-1 Mosman
WAL2: Pittwater 1-4 Mosman
WAL3: Manly Vale 5-0 BTH Raiders
WAL4: Manly Allambie 5-2 Narrabeen

WO40-1: Forest Killarney 1-2 Wakehurst
WO40-2: Forest Killarney 0-2 Curl Curl
WO40-3: Wakehurst 0-2 CC Strikers

 

12-1: Manly Vale 4-0 St Augustine’s
12-2: Seaforth 2-1 Wakehurst
12-3A: Mosman 3-1 Seaforth
12-3B: Brookvale 0-2 Narrabeen
12-4: Harbord 0-1 Seaforth
12-5: Mosman 0-1 Beacon Hill

13-1: BTH Raiders 2(4)-2(2) Dee Why
13-2: Pittwater A 2-1 Wakehurst
13-3: Avalon 1-0 Wakehurst
13-4: Manly Vale 1-0 Harbord

14-1: CC Strikers 5-0 Wakehurst
14-2: CC Strikers 2-0 St Augustine’s
14-3: Forest Killarney B 3-1 Manly Vale
14-4: CC Strikers A 1(3)-1(4) BTH Raiders

15-1: Forest Killarney 1(3)-1(4) BTH Raiders
15-2: St Augustine’s B 1(2)-1(4) St Augustine’s A
15-3A: Mosman 0-1 Narrabeen
15-3B: Brookvale 1-0 Manly Vale

16-1: BTH Raiders 2-0 St Augustine’s A
16-2: Mosman A 1-0 Wakehurst
16-3: Wakehurst 3-0 CC Strikers

18-1: Wakehurst 0-4 St Augustine’s
18-2: St Augustine’s 1-0 Dee Why
18-3A: CC Strikers 0-1 Manly Allambie
18-3B: St Augustine’s 0-1 Dee Why
18-4: CC Strikers 5-1 Curl Curl

21-1: Brookvale 0-1 CC Strikers B
21-2: Manly Vale 4-2 Seaforth

MPL: Pittwater 1(3)-1(4) Narrabeen
MPLR: CC Strikers 1(3)-1(1) Mosman

AL1: Forest Killarney 2-0 Wakehurst
AL1R: Forest Killarney 1-0 Wakehurst
AL2: Manly Vale 2(3)-2(4) Brookvale
AL3: Manly Vale 0-2 Mosman A
AL4: St Augustine’s 4-1 Curl Curl A
AL5: Manly Vale A 2-4 Manly Vale B
AL6: Mosman A 3-2 Wakehurst
AL7: Dee Why 1(3)-1(4) Beacon Hill

O35-1A: Pittwater A 4-0 Mosman
O35-1B: Dee Why B 3-4 Dee Why A
O35-3: Pittwater 1-4 Seaforth A
O35-4: Brookvale 0(4)-0(5) Curl Curl A
O35A: Manly Allambie 3-2 Mosman A
O35B: Curl Curl 4-1 Forest Killarney C

O45-1: Manly Allambie 0-3 Mosman A
O45-2A: Brookvale 2-0 Pittwater
O45-2B: Harbord 0(5)-0(6) Mosman
O45-3A: Beacon Hill 1(4)-1(3) Wakehurst
O45-3B: Seaforth 2(3)-2(4) Manly Allambie
O45-4: BTH Raiders A 0-2 BTH Raiders B

WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE GRAND FINAL PREVIEW

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We had a dramatic semi-final weekend, now it’s time to decide who will be this year’s Grand Final winner in the MWFA Women’s Premier League! Both Wakehurst and Manly Vale have had their struggles this season, but they have found form at the right time to ensure it is they who will be playing for silverware at Cromer Park on Sunday evening.

In the semi-finals, Wakehurst exacted revenge for their defeat to Seaforth in this year’s Women’s Challenge Cup Final. Their 1-0 triumph came at the perfect time, as the Tigers had come into last weekend on a three game winless streak. Wakehurst will also be happy to have kept their first clean sheet since June 25.

Manly Vale earned their Grand Final ticket with a 2-0 win over Beacon Hill. That was Vale’s fifth win in a row and their attack has been firing during that run, scoring 16 goals in that time. Vale have also been efficient at the back, only conceding two goals in their last five fixtures.

The two previous league meetings between these two teams both went the way of Manly Vale (3-1 and 2-1 wins), but that may not count for much when the whistle blows on Sunday.

In the Reserve Grade Grand Final, we’ll see a meeting between the top two from the home & away season, Manly Vale and Seaforth. Both teams squeaked past their opponents in the Reserve Grade semi-finals, with Vale beating Wakehurst 1-0 and Seaforth defeating Beacon Hill by the same scoreline. Manly Vale will be looking for a third consecutive Reserves win over Seaforth, after 4-0 and 2-1 wins earlier in the year.

 

Women’s Premier League Grand Finals

Sunday 27 August

1st Grade @ 5:30pm
Wakehurst v Manly Vale, Cromer Park Field 1

Reserve Grade @ 3pm
Manly Vale v Seaforth, Cromer Park Field 1

 

Feature image courtesy Graeme Bolton.

Coach of the Week: Angie Smith

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Over the last few months, MWFA has been sending our Coach Mentors out to visit all of our clubs to provide coaches with guidance and support with their training sessions, as well as occasional match visits. During this time we have come across several examples of coaches who are doing a really great job.

This week we’d like to acknowledge Angie Smith who coaches the W8 Fire Dragons at Brookvale.

See this video to check out some highlights of their recent training session, as well as some quick interviews with both her and some of the girls!

MWFA Coach Development Manager Eugene Lawrenz said: “Angie is a really good coach for young girls, very patient and positive, and she makes everything a lot of fun and there is always a lot of action. She is also good at asking questions and getting them engaged in the session. Despite her players being quite young and new to the game, she still does a lot of exercises with some form of opposition and competition in them too, which creates problem solving scenarios and helps the players develop their individual decision making abilities. Obviously finding the right level of difficulty and challenge is important so success is still achievable for them, but it is nice to see her developing their skills in this way rather than through isolated and more boring drills, which is something a lot of coaches can learn from her.“

Well done Angie, and keep up the good work!

As a reward and recognition for her efforts, we are also pleased to provide the team with a few special gifts:

  • extra training balls, because every coach wishes they had more balls to use so they can do exercises where every player has a ball each to work on their control
  • mini goals, because scoring into actual goals always makes training more fun, and finishing is a skill we should encourage players to develop ever more
  • a whiteboard, so coaches can help players understand their positions and how to support each other visually, which is much more effective than just using words

 

Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting some other coaches from different clubs, so make sure you stay tuned to our website to see who else will be MWFA Coach of the Week.

MEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE GRAND FINAL PREVIEW

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Saturday is the biggest day in the MWFA Men’s Premier League calendar – it’s Grand Final Day! After an intense 22 week home & away season, plus an exciting semi final weekend, all eyes will be on Cromer Park for the conclusion of what has been a brilliant year of football.

The top two teams during the league season, Pittwater RSL and Narrabeen, will face off against each other on Saturday evening. This game will be a rematch of the 2023 Men’s Challenge Cup Final, which Pittwater won 2-0.

Pittwater’s Treble hopes are still alive after a 1-0 win over Mosman in last weekend’s semi-final. Defence was once again the key to their success, with the Greens keeping a sixth clean sheet in their last eight matches. Pittwater haven’t tasted defeat since June 3rd – can they keep this run going for one more game?

Narrabeen’s recent form has also been impressive, even if they did it the hard way in their semi-final, defeating CC Strikers after a penalty shootout. Their attack has been firing on all cylinders: Narrabeen have scored three times or more in seven of their last nine games, putting them in a great position to challenge the Pittwater defence.

It was honours even when these two met during the home & away campaign, with Narrabeen winning 2-0 in Round 4 and Pittwater exacting revenge with a 2-1 victory in Round 15.

There will also be a 1st v 2nd battle in the Reserve Grade Grand Final as CC Strikers play Mosman at 12:30pm. Both teams won their semi-finals by two goals, with Strikers beating Pittwater RSL 2-0 and Mosman defeating Wakehurst 3-1. The two previous Reserve Grade meetings between Strikers and Mosman were tight affairs – Mosman won 1-0 at St Matthews Farm Reserve in Round 6, and Strikers returned the favour with a 1-0 triumph at Middle Head Oval in Round 17.

 

Men’s Premier League Grand Finals

Saturday 26 August

1st Grade @ 5:30pm
Pittwater RSL v Narrabeen, Cromer Park Field 1

Reserve Grade @ 12:30pm
CC Strikers v Mosman, Cromer Park Field 1

 

Feature image courtesy Jeremy Denham – https://www.facetphotography.com.au/

WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE SEMI FINALS PREVIEW

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After a thrilling Women’s Premier League home & away season, our attention turns to the semi-finals on Sunday afternoon! Cromer Park will be the venue for these do-or-die games and the intensity is sure to ramp up with Grand Final places at stake.

League Champions Seaforth are set to face fourth placed Wakehurst on the main field at Cromer Park. They held their nerve over the closing weeks of the campaign to edge out Beacon Hill for the title by one point, with a run of six wins and a draw in the last seven games proving key to their title defence.

Wakehurst are coming into Sunday’s knockout clash on the back of a 2-2 draw with Curl Curl. The Tigers pushed Seaforth all the way to a penalty shootout in the Women’s Challenge Cup Final, so we can expect another close game when these two meet in the semi-finals.

This year’s two WPL games between Seaforth and Wakehurst both ended up as single goal victories to Seaforth (3-2 in Round 5 and 1-0 in Round 12).

League runners-up Beacon Hill will play third-placed Manly Vale on Cromer Park Field 2. Beacon Hill were the league’s highest scorers with 45 goals scored in 14 games, and they come into this game on the back of four consecutive wins. With only three losses in all competitions this year, Beacon Hill have been very tough to beat.

Manly Vale also head into this clash with a four game winning streak and Vale had the WPL’s second highest scoring attack (41 goals), so there is every chance of seeing a shootout on Sunday. Their form has been excellent after a tricky start to the campaign – only one loss in their last 11 league fixtures.

Beacon Hill completed a league double over Manly Vale with a 1-0 win in Round 2 and a 2-1 triumph in Round 9.

We’ll also have the Reserve Grade semi finals on Sunday, with Manly Vale playing Wakehurst on the Cromer Park main field and Seaforth facing Beacon Hill on Field 2.

 

MWFA Women’s Premier League Semi Finals

Sunday 20 August

1st Grade @ 2:30pm
Seaforth v Wakehurst, Cromer Park Field 1
Beacon Hill v Manly Vale, Cromer Park Field 2

Reserve Grade @ 12:15pm
Manly Vale v Wakehurst, Cromer Park Field 1
Seaforth v Beacon Hill, Cromer Park Field 2

 

Feature image courtesy Graeme Bolton.

MWFA Coaches Supporting Female Football in Brazil

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Gabriel de Castro Morais is a freelance copywriter from Brazil who wants to show people back home that there is another reality in countries like Australia, where girls and women can freely play football.

The Brazilian National Women’s Football Team have long been fighting to leave the shadow of the men’s team, until recently. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is the first tournament where the team has had their own jerseys (previously they had to wear the men’s leftovers), and the first time Brazilians can watch and support the team on free to air TV (previously they had to pay).

“I realised how special this World Cup would be for them, but I also realised that despite some of the positive changes, they still didn’t have their own mascot. The men’s team have an angry looking canary, but it doesn’t represent the women’s team, so I came up with one for them myself to honour our women’s team and encourage more people to support them.”

Within only 4-5 weeks, Gabriel had created the mascot and was on a flight to Australia for the tournament. He found a woman in Adelaide in a Brazilian Facebook group who was keen to wear it, and she loved the experience so much that she has travelled with him to Brisbane, Melbourne and now Sydney. This mascot is called ‘Canarinha Guerreira’ which translates to ‘Little Canary Warrior’.

“We are not just here to support the Brazilian team, but also women’s football in general. I want to inspire people back home and show them that it is normal for a girl to play football, because this mindset doesn’t exist in Brazil.”

Gabriel and Canarinha visited Forest Killarney’s U11 Girls recently to share their story and meet the team. Coach Nina Sallenave, who is also a Coach Mentor with MWFA, can very much relate, having also grown up in Brazil.

“Having the mascot come to our training was so much fun! The girls were proudly wearing their yellow and green shirts, sharing the same passion for the sport.”

Canarinha had a great time having a kick with the team, even trying to replicate Cortnee Vine’s match winning penalty!

“They were amazed by the way we have soccer available to everyone here. If only we had that in Brazil. Women’s sport is growing so much. There is still a long way to go, but the movement has started, and it brings us so much joy to be a part of it. This World Cup just brought us all together. We need to keep inspiring girls to find their spark and to believe that anything is possible.”

MWFA Coach Development Manager Eugene Lawrenz, who has been helping the pair during their time in Sydney, said that supporting projects such as this one is important for the bigger picture.

“We can all clearly see what this tournament has done to inspire young girls and unite everyone in supporting women’s football in this country. What Gabriel is doing is an important reminder that sport can also bring about change in society, across the world, and I encourage everyone to also get behind him and his project.”