WINTER is well and truly coming; with local winter sports returning to the fields following the summer break – stronger than ever for each code’s 2024 season.
The Glasshouse Hinterland AFL Lions’ juniors are scheduled to play their first game of the season at the end of April, and while the seniors start date is yet to be confirmed, it will mostly likely be early to mid April.
Club president, Dean Crooks, said he was very excited for the start of the season, with an explosion of junior players joining the club in 2024.
“We’ve got 85 registered auskickers this year which is a 40 per cent increase from last year. Our U9s and U11s have excess numbers, which is really good,” he said.
There are a number of improvements to the club’s shed and fields this year too, which Dean said was really exciting.
“We just finished fitting out our new shed, we also had our new $100,000 scoreboard put up and running for the first time for the 2024 season,” he said.
The senior men’s team is entering into its third season back in the competition, and this year they will remain in division 4. This is following their impressive turn around from their debut season in 2022, making it to the semi finals.
Dean said although the team lost a few players this year, they ultimately gained nine new players to make up for it.
“We picked up Dylan Roe from Maroochydore, brothers Locky and Ben Jamieson from Noosa, and their dad Matt Jamieson has come on board, who has spent time with GWS and the AFL, so the boys are pretty excited for that,” Dean said.
The club has been working on starting a senior women’s squad for the last few years, and they are now one step closer, fielding the club’s inaugural U13s girls team.
“This year we have an U13s and U9s girls team, and by next year we will be eligible to apply to have a senior women’s team, so fingers crossed on that one,” he said.