11/06/2026
Ladies day 9 days away and Alec is reaching a major milestone in blue and white.
A Lindfield junior who followed in his father’s footsteps, Alec quickly became a key part of the Old Soldiers. Since arriving, he has led the club on and off the field, serving as C**ts Club Captain in 2023 and Club Captain in 2025 and 2026.
His favourite memory is the 2022 season, winning the Robertson Cup alongside his older brother and best mates.
Congratulations Alec on reaching 100 games.
Name: Alec “The Phonz” Paterson
Games played: 100
Years played: 2021-2026
Achievements: 2023 colts club captain, 2025-present club captain, 2025 club captain of the year, 2024 most games played, 2024 Subbies C**t Representative
Why I came to Lindfield: Played all my junior footy at tryon oval, plus dad played 100 games here so that was a big factor. The main factor probably was too many beers in Kingscliff with silky and deciding to come down together then first preseason session I was handed a beer before a water and knew I found my home.
Favourite memories at Lindfield: There’s too many too count from the original piggybank nights, to kangaroo courts and being attacked by a crab, to countless clubhouse lock ins and being woken up on the clubhouse couch by junior’s parents on Sunday. Might favourite memory of all would have to be the whole 2022 season, winning all those games and all the nights out we had and finishing it by winning the Robertson Cup along side my older brother and best mates.
When Phonz arrived at Lindfield in 2021 with his older brother, we had to get a waiver signed as he was only 17 and Subbies couldn’t afford to get sued when he started throwing himself at fully grown men. Little did Subbies know, everyone else was in danger. I was lucky to coach Phonz for 2 years, including our 2022 premiership.
As a ho**er, Phonz has always been fearless. He never thought twice about putting his body on the line and, more often than not, his head in the wrong position. Tough, committed and always willing to do the hard work, he became one of the players you could always rely on when things got tough. A better scrummager than line out thrower, but all good ho**ers only need one of those skills anyways…
But as good a player as he has been, he's been an even better bloke. One of my earliest memories of him was after the 2021 C**ts pre-season piss-up at the Piggy Bank, where he had such a good time that a certain doorbell camera may or may not have captured him falling off a balcony. Thankfully his durability off the field matched what he showed on it.
I’m proud to have coached you, and even prouder of you reaching 100 games. You're a great clubman, and it's great to see the Old Soldier you’ve become, following in your dad’s footsteps and now carving your own legacy by leading the club as its club captain. I’ve seen firsthand the effort and commitment that goes into being a club captain, and we are in good hands with you there.
Dan Wallis-Smith
Another in a proud line of Patersons to be added to the honour board at Tryon Rd, I was first properly introduced to Phonz in 2023 in his last year of colts but in a bit run of bad form, to the point where he'd been dropped to the bench. He offered to bench for 3s as well as colts to try and get back to starting side which I was more than happy to oblige. Too bad that within 30 seconds of him coming on for 3rd Grade, the colts coaching staff told me in no uncertain terms to "get Phonz the f*** off the field!", but this would not be the last time we'd see him a 3s jersey over the following years. I'd like to think that drive to do anything to improve was the catalyst for him that season to not only get back into the starting XV for colts but also be selected for the Subbies colts for that year, something he should be very proud of (even if his error count in the subbies colts game set a subbies record).
He's a man that will give his absolute everything for his teammates and club, even to the point like earlier this year where, having been called up to play 2s (and keeping his spot, mind you) he was playing through severe back pain, all to make sure we all had the best chance to win. A ho**er/blindside that we even tried to convert into a loosehead prop, he always throws himself into the challenge of where ever he plays week in or week (position-wise or team-wise), never taking a backward step.
That's before we even go into how much he's given back to the club in his time here - premiership winner, club captain, bar manager, 1st grade bench player (once), chief s**t-talker. If there's a job to be done, he's sticking his hand up to help where he can.
Congrats on 100 games, mate. It's been a privilege to coach you over these few years and hopefully the body holds up to play many more. Go the Bears.
Aidan Rooney
