16/06/2026
Our 2026 Past Players Reunion was held on Saturday night and what a fantastic evening it was, with an estimated crowd of more than 100 people in attendance.
A highlight of the night was the presentation of Life Membership to Craig Skinner, a thoroughly deserved honour recognising his outstanding contribution to the Newborough Football Netball Club. Fellow Life Member Michael Hutchinson had the pleasure of presenting the award.
The crowd then heard from members of our 2016 Senior Premiership team, with premiership coach Dean Caldow joined by players Adam Kennedy and Matt Slattery. The trio provided a fascinating insight into how the team came together and what it took to achieve premiership success. Players and officials from the team were also presented with their premiership pennants.
From there, 2006 Thirds Premiership coach Bill Rilen Jnr entertained the audience while showing footage of Luke Webber’s famous after-the-siren premiership-winning goal.
We also heard from 1986 Thirds Premiership captain Darren Balfour, who shared stories from the legendary “Bull Pups” premiership season. Premiership coach Johno Johnson even brought along a unique souvenir from 40 years ago – a team-signed tablecloth from a local restaurant from that era.
1996 Reserves Premiership captain Noel Milkins travelled all the way from Townsville to speak about that premiership side and reflect on his amazing club involvement spanning five decades as a player. A huge thank you to Noel for making the journey south.
Rob Prestige, coach of the 1996 Thirds Premiership team, then had the crowd entertained with his recollections of a memorable season from 30 years ago.
The evening recognised the following premiership teams:
•1966 Thirds
• 1976 Thirds
• 1976 Fourths
• 1986 Thirds
• 1996 Thirds
• 1996 Reserves
• 2006 Thirds
• 2016 Fourths
• 2016 Seniors
In total, we celebrated nine premiership teams spanning an incredible 60 years of Newborough FNC history.
A special thank you to everyone who travelled long distances to attend. In particular, 1976 Thirds Premiership player Graham Donnet, who made the trip from the Central Coast of NSW to be part of the celebrations.
A huge thank you also goes to Darren Mitchell for doing a fantastic job as MC. As always, there was never a dull moment when “Mitch” had the microphone in hand, and as many discovered, nobody was safe — especially poor Mark Micallef!
Finally, thank you to everyone who attended and supported the evening. Thanks to your generosity, the Past Players were able to raise approximately $6,000 for junior footballers and netballers within our junior and senior clubs.
It was a wonderful night celebrating the people, teams and stories that have helped make the Newborough Football Netball Club what it is today.
