Cats embrace solid AFL competition with good start to 2011
The Cooma Cats have used an early season bye to take stock of their progress so far in the 2011 Canberra AFL Division Competition.
According to club president Dave Paterson, the Cooma Cats are well positioned after four rounds of the season to make a positive impact on the competition this season.
"We play in a very strong 12-team competition comprising of clubs from Canberra, Goulburn, Yass and Cootamundra - so we have a good mix of city and country footballers of all levels to test ourselves against on a weekly basis," Dave said.
"And the fact we have regional and city clubs also adds a great deal of spirit to the competition, which in turn makes for enjoyable football experience on the field each week," he said.
The Cats are currently sitting in sixth place on the ladder with two wins, a draw and a loss.
Dave said the draw against last year's grand finalists Goulburn in Round Three was both a positive and a negative result for the club.
"On the positive side, we showed we are a much stronger side this year. Goulburn thrashed us in our two meetings last year, so to not lose to them in Round Three this year is a really good sign," Dave said.
"But at the same time, it was extremely disappointing not to win a game we should have - we would have improved our position on the ladder and obviously taken a little more confidence away from the game," he said.
Dave also praised the Canberra AFL for developing a strong Division 4 competition this year.
"The club enjoys being able to play week in, week out against a variety of clubs from Canberra and the surrounding region," Dave said.
"We certainly enjoy representing Cooma, and maintaining the town's presence and identity in the AFL environment.
"We also enjoy strong support from various parts of the Cooma community, and are thankful for that as it ensures we can keep our club going," he said.
Dave agreed that all sports were facing challenges when it came to the sponsorship dollar, players and volunteer officials.
"We're no different to other clubs when it comes to these challenges, but we know we just have to work hard at maintaining what we have and always look for ways to go forward," Dave said.
"We are working hard in professionalising the Cats in an administrative sense, as well as maintaining our strong reputation as a family friendly club where everyone is welcome and any contribution is valued.
"We want our 'brand' to be synonymous with our core values: a club which is community-based, family-focused and professionally run," Dave said.
Of course not of this happens by itself.
"We have a small but very committed committee, great volunteers and terrific sponsors. Obviously, there is always room for more and anyone wanting to get involved - as a player, official or sponsor is going to be warmly welcomed," he said.
This Saturday (May 14), the Cats take on Eastlake in a crunch game at the Station Resort Hotel in Jindabyne.
“Our ‘home away from home’ at the Station resort is a great place to watch footy, It’s a great oval and I encourage anyone to make a day of it,” Dave said.
“The Cats play at 1pm, with the junior Under 14 Supercats taking on Tuggeranong at 10:45am in the curtain raiser. There will also be our popular Auskick program from the kids,” Dave said.
Last Modified on 08/05/2011 13:08