Victorian Gridiron Officials Association Incorporated

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ASSOCIATION EVENTS ARCHIVE.....

2000

The championship game for the senior season (Vicbowl 16) was played on Sunday, Dec 3 at the Footscray Hockey Centre, Fogarty Avenue, Spotswood. The event brought together the two strongest teams in the competition for that year, the Western Crusaders and the Nunawading Warriors.  The Crusaders were victorious on the day, taking out the game with a final scoreline of 14 to 0 over the Warriors.

2001

The Gridiron Australia senior nationals were run from January 20 to 27, in Canberra, ACT.  Three senior VGOA officials attended the event - Paul Mercer, Bryan Currie and Tony Martin.

All three gained a great deal of experience at the event, with Paul being selected by the AGOA Selection Panel as referree for the final championship match.  Six states were represented at the tournament - Vic, NSW, ACT, Qld, SA and WA, with WA taking out the championship on the final day. The junior season kicked off on Sunday 18 March featuring an additional team to the competition.  Gridiron Victoria are keen to expand the league to six teams and one of their registration requirements for senior teams is that they must field a team in the junior competition.  The Northern Blackhawks joined the existing five teams, providing us with three matches to officiate each week instead of two. The season culminated with the championship game which was held on Sunday May 27 at Sydney Pargeter Reserve, Endeavour Hills, pitting the Berwick Miners against the Geelong Wildcats.  The Miners were too good for the Wildcats on the day, taking out the match with a final score of 28 to 0. The VGOA provided a 4 man officiating crew for the match consisting of;                     Referee - Tony Martin                     Umpire  - Anthony Whitehouse                     Linesman - Neil Nitsche                     Line Judge - John Garnham In July two senior VGOA officials (Paul Mercer and Bryan Currie) were selected to officiate in Australia's first international Test Match featuring two Australasian teams.  AGOA was engaged to provide a 5 man officiating crew.  Officials from SA, NSW and Qld. were also selected.  The match between Australia and New Zealand was played at Runaway Bay on Queensland's Gold Coast on July 7, with Australia coming away victorious 24 to 0. The senior season kicked off on Sunday the 26th Aug at Sydney Pargeter Reserve, Endeavour Hills (the Berwick Miners home field).  The competition involved the 5 original teams, the Northern Blackhawks being unable to field a senior side at this time. The regular season finished Nov 25, the top three teams going on to meet in the finals.  The 3rd placed Crusaders met the 2nd placed Warriors in the Semi-final played on Dec 3, the Warriors victorious on the day.  The Warriors then met the 1st placed Rangers the following week in VicBowl XVII (the Championship game). Selected on their performance during the season, the following personnel made up the Bowl's officiating crew; Referee       - Paul Mercer        Back Judge - Tony Martin Umpire       - Reno Reginato     Field Judge - Homer Legrand Linesman    - Bryan Currie       Side Judge  - Anthony Whitehouse Line Judge  - Neil Nitsche        Clock Operator - John Frame The match was an extremely defensive affair with both teams finding it difficult to get their offensive units working.  The score line was 0-0 at the half, but all that changed on the opening kickoff for the second half, the Warriors running the ball back the full distance going in for a TD and converting for a 8-0 lead.  The Warriors used that momentum to keep the Rangers on the back foot for the remainder of the game, taking out the match with a final scoreline of 16-0. 2002 In Feb, three VGOA officials (Paul Mercer, Bryan Currie and Tony Martin) visited Adelaide to attend a series of clinics by a top rank US College Official (Dick Honig from Michigan).  The clinics were coordinated by AGOA and gave Australian officials the opportunity to be observed by Dick working games.  Paul, Bryan and Tony found the visit extremely rewarding and will be incorporating the tips given by Dick into their future work on the field.

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