Thirroul JFC Club Photo and Team Photos

Thirroul JFC is pleased to announce that 2017 team photos will be taken at Gibson Park on June 17/18 and June 24/25. 

In addition, a Club photo - featuring all junior and senior players - will be taken at the conclusion of the Reserve Grade match between Thirroul Thunder and Berkeley at Gibson Park on Saturday, June 17. 

The purpose of the Club photo is to recognise that Thirroul JFC is One Club, from U6s Mini-Roos to our Thunder, Thunderbirds and Amateurs players, and to mark the 125th anniversary of the club.

The sale of team photos is a major fundraiser for Thirroul JFC each season, as well as a personal memento for each player who represents the club in 2017.

It is intended that the team photos will be taken before or after each team's next home game on one of the above mentioned dates.

Thunder Youth Grade Photo Gallery

Photos: Davina Newton

Welcome to Dictate Australia as new club sponsor

Thirroul JFC is pleased to welcome Dictate Australia as a new sponsor to the club.

Dictate Australia has taken up one of the club's Sponsor a Player packages and are sponsoring Thunder player Corey Haines-Grose for the 2017 season.

Corey, who began playing for Thirroul at a young age, returned to the club after a stint with Bulli's successful Youth Grade team and is a key member of the Thunder first grade squad.

He also coaches the Thunderbolts Under 13s Division One team along with Josh Williams and last year coached the Thunderbirds Division One women's team.

Dictate Australia director Dave Holmes was keen to sponsor Corey after he scored match winning goals for the Thunder in recent games against Coniston and Kiama.

Watch Corey's goals by clicking on the links above (in bold).

Dictate Australia Pty Ltd provides digital voice solutions Australia wide. This includes digital voice recorders, dictaphones and transcription kits from Olympus Imaging Australia. We are a Gold Professional Olympus dealer.

Dictate Australia own and use both Windows and Macs and test the products we sell on both platforms allowing us to give full cross platform support.

Dictate Australia is also a leading reseller of voice recognition software for Intel Mac (Dragon Dictate 3.0) and Windows (Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12). We are a Gold Certified Dragon NaturallySpeaking reseller and we are also a beta tester for Dragon Dictate for Mac.

Site licences for education, government and corporate are available for Dragon Mac & Windows as well as standard single install licences.

Further details about Dictate Australia can be found by clicking on their logo, which is located on the home page of the thirroulfootball.com.au website.

Please support Dictate and the community of sponsors who support Thirroul JFC.

For information about sponsoring Thirroul JFC, including Sponsor a Player packages, please go to the Sponsorship tab at the top of the website.

Thirroul junior Reagan Ogle signs with English club

Thirroul junior Reagan Ogle has signed a two year professional contract with English League Two club Accrington Stanley after making his first team debut in the last home game of the season.

Reagan, who played his junior football for Thirroul JFC alongside a number of players in the Thunder's Youth Grade team, joined Accrington Stanley's youth academy on a scholarship after moving to England with his family to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time footballer.

His proud parents, Cathryn and Phil, said the contract was a reward for the hard work Reagan has put in so far.

"Phil and I are very proud," Cathryn said. "This was his dream and he has worked tremendously hard to get there.

"He is a very proud Aussie and also of his football roots being [with] Thirroul JFC. He was a junior at Thirroul for a few years before we left to live in England."

Reagan, who began playing for Thirroul JFC in 2004 as a five-year-old, detailed his journey in an in interview on the AccringtonStanley.co.uk website. 

“I had a friend who came over here and I’d been to school with his daughter and he suggested I came over to see how I’d do," Reagan said.

"We didn’t really think anything would come of it but it was good to see how I compared to English kids and English football.

"When Accrington gave me the chance more or less straight away I wanted to give it a go. I thought if it didn’t work I’d go home a better player than I was. Getting a scholarship was great but once that had happened I wanted to be a pro.”

The 18-year-old fullback was offered a two year contract and will join the first team ranks at Wham Stadium after making his League Two debut as a late sub in the last home game of the season against Luton Town.

Reagan, who had a successful loan spell with non-league Ramsbottom United, also featured in Stanley's Checkatrade Trophy defeat to Wolves last November and has been on the bench for the Reds in several other matches.

He said he could see a path to the club's senior setup from being involved with the under 18’s and now aims to establish himself in the first team.

“Having been at the club for a few years as I have when you get into the youth team you think that it could happen in terms of going pro and if you have a good season or two it becomes more realistic because you’re training with the first team and you know that’s what you want to do,” he said.

“As soon as you get that feeling you want that contract and once you get it it’s a great feeling.

“In the first year of the youth team I wasn’t really thinking about a contract, more about having a good season then in the second year I started playing quite well, went out on loan and that helped and when I came back there were clubs looking at me and I felt like I had a shot.

“When you get on the first team bench for the first time it’s something else. It’s completely different.”

Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman announced the promotion of Reagan to the first squad, along with another 18-year-old Zehn Mohammed.

“We are delighted that Reagan and Zehn have signed,” Coleman said. “They have huge potential and we are looking forward to working with them.

Both players have come through the youth ranks with the club and it’s a big boost to under 18s lead coach Andy Gray.

“We’re chuffed for them,” Gray said. “This is a great opportunity for them to progress. John and Jimmy have seen them in training and watched them. It’s great that Reagan has already made his debut, it’s a pat on the back for the the academy staff and it shows there’s a progression path from the academy to the first team at Accrington Stanley.”

125th anniversary: From Rovers to Bluebells to Thunder, Thunderbirds, Thunderbolts & GPR

Thirroul JFC will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the club with a Thunder-Mental Trivia Night on Saturday, May 20 at Thirroul Bowling Club.

The Thunder will fittingly play Balgownie on Saturday at Gibson Park, as Rangers were one of the clubs Thirroul FC - known as Thirroul Rovers - played in their first season after being founded at a meeting on May 21, 1895. 

Other teams included Helensburgh Rovers, Corrimal and Woonona Swifts, who were founded shortly after the Thirroul club.

Season draw for Thunderbirds teams

Football South Coast has released the draw for the women's competitions.

The White Division 1 team and U21s appear to be paired up as much as possible, while the majority of Division 2 team's games coincide with either the Blue Division 1 team or the 3rdBirds.

The draw for each team is below:

Thunder confirm finals ambitions

By Dylan Arvela, Football South Coast match reporter
Photo by Pedro Garcia

The Good Friday round of fixtures was headlined by a clash between two teams with serious finals ambitions. For Thirroul, this match was the second of three consecutive matches against the expected top three, with a 3-2 defeat to Warilla last weekend and Coniston next up. As for Fernhill, they saw off Oak Flats 2-0 maintaining their perfect record

Within seconds of the kickoff, Fernhill broke forward with Andy Keep putting Ilija Prenzoski through on goal, he rounded Joshua Williams but the striker was unable to put in a decent shot with a Thunder defender able to clear the ball.

The Foxes took an early lead in the next phase of play. With the ball loose in the box, Fernhill midfielder Scott Muilwyk was able to knock the ball back to Andy Keep who managed to tuck the ball into the bottom right corner from near the penalty mark. The worst possible start for the home side who were yet to get out of their own half. 

The next half an hour was relatively uneventful with both sides enjoying spells of possession without threatening their opponents goals. It wasn’t until the 37th minute that the Thunder had a proper chance on goal, which came through Daniel Bond who flicked a header over the bar from a deep cross into the box.

In the 40th minute, some of the Thirroul faithful were calling for a red card, after Julian Cesta-Incani blocked of Matthew Kellond’s run to the ball from just outside the box. This earned the Foxes defender a yellow card rather than a red as referee Nathan Wotton correctly judged the goalkeeper had already collected the ball, therefore, Kellond would not have had a goal scoring opportunity. 

The half came to a close with the Foxes still up by a goal to nil. Thirroul would have considered themselves unlucky because apart from the goal, the two sides were evenly matched.

Thirroul came close to an equaliser early into the second period when Corey Haines-Grose lofted the ball into the box. Fernhill keeper Brad Hunter failed to catch the ball before it fell to Adam Ward who wasn’t able to touch it goalbound. Hunter was able to gratefully regather the loose ball, a real chance in a game of few. 

From the 60th to the 70th minute, Fernhill had a couple of good opportunities through the experienced Prenzoski. First was a header from 10 metres out that Williams was able to get a hand to before collecting along the ground. The second was a half volley from the penalty box arch that lofted over the bar. Prenzoski would have hoped to have put the game to bed with one of these opportunities.

Thirroul’s best chance of the match came in the 77th minute. The Thunder rushed the Fernhill midfield forcing a counter attack, number 10 Nathan Mucci played Haines-Grose down the left channel who cut the ball back along the Foxes 6-yard box finding Kellond who was unable to get proper contact on the ball pushing it into the right post with Hunter somehow able to gather the free ball.

Fernhill had come close three minutes later when Andy Keep made a mazing run down the right wing before finding Ryan Hunter who crossed the ball into Luke McDonald. The substitute was able to get in front of his marker before hooking the ball a metre over the bar. 

The closing stages were filled with niggling fouls but little opportunity for another goal. The Thunder valiantly tried to force bodies forward but the game drifted to the full-time whistle and two straight defeats for the home side.

After the match, Thirroul boss Garth Bowley lamented his side's start, “In the first five minutes we really let ourselves down in defence… but after that, I thought we managed to get on top and did pretty well.” The loss sees Thirroul drop to 4th after Warilla’s 3-2 win over Bellambi and next up for the Thunder is another tough match against top of the table Coniston. This match is next Saturday at Thomas Gibson Park, 3 pm kickoff.

As for Fernhill, this win keeps them hot on the tail of Coniston who dropped points against Oak Flats. Coach Dan McGoldrick spoke in glowing terms of his team’s defence which is yet to concede in the league, “I’m really happy to get away with three points and a clean sheet. I’m very happy with the defence.” The Foxes next league match is at home to Bellambi but before that, they meet Coniston in the Fraternity Cup final, a chance not only for silverware but crucial momentum over their major rival in the league.

Thirroul Thunder - 0

Fernhill Foxes - 1 (Keep 1’)

Friday April 14th at Thomas Gibson Park, Thirroul

Thirroul Thunder - Joshua Williams, Daniel Bond, Corey Haines-Grose, James Hutton, Shayne Mulholland, Tyler Snelgrove, Adam Ward, Todd Davidson, Matthew Kellond, Nathan Mucci and Daniel Arthur
Subs - James Townson (on for Mulholland), Bradley Strudwick (on for Davidson), Ryan Latini (on for Arthur), Jesse Bragg and Robert Gyngell
Coach - Garth Bowley

Fernhill Foxes - Brad Hunter, Julian Cesta-Incani, Ryan Hunter, Anthony Oliver, Sean Poulton, Kolan Hmda, Andy Keep, Marc Sergi, Ilija Prenzoski, Scott Muilwyk and Dean Morosin
Subs - Dale White (on for Morosin), Andrew Breslin, Luke McDonald (on for Sergi) and James McClelland
Coach - Dan McGoldrick

Referee - Nathan Wotton
Assistant referees - Darcy Jordan and Annaliese Phipps

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This match report was first published on the footballsouthcoast.com.au website.

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Post match interviews with the coaches - https://soundcloud.com/dylaneloiarvela/post-match-interviews-after-fernhill-defeated-thirroul-1-0

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Report by Dylan Arvela on Twitter @dylaneloiarvela

Photos by Pedro Garcia

Good Friday match of the round at Gibson Park

District League Round 4 Preview

By Dylan Arvela, Football South Coast match reporter

Match of the round

Thirroul Thunder vs Fernhill Foxes at Thomas Gibson Park, kick off 3 pm, Friday 14th of April

Thirroul opened the season with two wins including a 5-0 thrashing of University but went down to Warilla last weekend in a high scoring encounter. Thunder boss Garth Bowley will be aiming to avoid back to back defeats however an inform Fernhill side is a daunting prospect. Thirroul beat Fernhill in the opening round of the Fraternity Cup before losing 4-1 against them in the semifinal

Fernhill picked up their second win of the season against Oak Flats and going into this match they are yet to concede a goal. The Foxes have a wealth of District League talent with the likes of Kolan Hmda, Ilija Prenzoski and Andrew Keep make up a formidable team. With Fernhill competing in the Fraternity Cup final on Monday, this may be a chance for Dan McGoldrick to give fringe players a chance like youngster Mitchell Turner, who came on and scored against Oak Flats, Shinsei Tanaka and Hiroki Makita who impressed in the Fraternity Cup group stage.

Prediction - Draw
 

Friday 14th of April

Bellambi Rosellas vs Warilla Wanderers at Elizabeth Park, kick off 3 pm

The Rosellas produced the upset of the round with their 2-0 win over Berkeley. Coach Tim Hooker will be delighted with the win but even more so with his side's ability to keep a clean sheet after shipping eight goals in their opening match. This said, hosting one of the league's heavyweights will be a far greater challenge and it is hard to seem Bellambi pulling off an upset.

Warilla backed up their two-goal comeback draw against Oak Flats with a 3-2 win against fellow finals candidates Thirroul. This match starts a run of six against sides the club would be expecting to finish ahead of so the experienced Barney King will be eager for a comprehensive win. 

Prediction - Warilla

Balgownie Rangers vs University FC at Judy Masters Oval, kick off 3 pm

The Rangers have collected just a point from their opening two games but they managed to keep Coniston to one goal in their opener and netted two goals in their draw against Kiama. I expect Balgownie to begin to move up the table with a set of winnable upcoming fixtures.

After a heavy 5-0 defeat first up, the Students could have been in real trouble if they suffered a similar fate against Wests, instead, the managed to pull off a 3-1 victory giving them plenty of reasons for optimism. They are a side with potential to make finals push, but they will be to continue strengthening their defensive game.

Prediction - Balgownie

Oak Flats Falcons vs Coniston FC at Keith Bond Oval, kick off 3 pm

After heartbreakingly dropping a two-goal lead at home to Warilla, the Falcons had a strong opening hour against Fernhill before losing 2-0. They will need to reproduce that first-hour performance this Friday when they take on Coniston, a team of similar quality to the Foxes. They have the players in Jarryd Vinton and Josh De Gouveia to produce a result.

Coniston sits on top of the District League table with three wins from three. They are coming off a 3-1 home win over Helensburgh that included a brace from talisman Dinko Terzic. They should have enough quality in this match to earn the three points however with the Fraternity Cup final against Fernhill on Easter Monday, coach Willy Alarcon may rest one or two players with an eye on the first piece of silverware for the season.

Prediction - Coniston

Helensburgh Thistle vs Kiama Quarriers at Rex Jackson Park, kick off 3 pm

Despite a creditable 3-2 defeat to Coniston in the Bert Bampton Cup, Helensburgh has failed to deliver in the league so far, currently sitting at the bottom of the table with no points and a -7 goal difference. The positive is, it is only early days and they do have a young squad with plenty of potential. A result here will be important for squad morale. 

The Quarriers have produced commendable results in their opening two games, a 3-2 defeat to Coniston and 2-2 draw against Balgownie in round 3. There was concern about this Kiama side after they suffered some key injuries combined with poor preseason results but these early results are promising. Their four goals is another encouraging sign.

Prediction - Draw

Wests Illawarra vs Berkeley Sports at Unanderra Oval, kick off 3 pm

Wests started their season with a comprehensive 8-1 win over Bellambi in the league followed up by Bert Bampton Cup win over Berkeley. This early season form was abruptly halted by a 3-1 defeat to University on Sunday. Wests have improved their squad from last season and their true form is likely to be somewhere in between the Bellambi and Uni results. 

Berkeley is one of two teams yet to record a point in the league. Their three matches included a strong opening half hour against Oak Flats and a resolute 1-0 defeat to Thirroul. The concerning result for Berkeley boss, Paul Mears will be their 2-0 defeat against struggling Bellambi which means they have now gone over 185 minutes without scoring a league goal. 

Prediction - Wests

Preview by Dylan Arvela on Twitter @dylaneloiarvela

Welcome to new sponsor Bulli Medical Practice

Thirroul JFC is pleased to welcome Bulli Medical Practice to the club as a new sponsor for the 2017 season.

Bulli Medical Practice has taken up one of the club's new Sponsor a Player packages and will sponsor Thunderbirds player Alex Pritchard.

Alex, who is a registered nurse at Bulli Medical Practice, is a great club person and role model.

Besides playing for the Thunderbirds Division 3 team, she also coaches the Under 15s Girls team and was last year named the 2016 Thirroul JFC Senior Club Person of the Year.

Another member of the Thunderbirds "Thirdbirds" team, Keely Mar, also works at Bulli Medical Practice, which has a proud history of supporting the local community and is a regular sponsor of Illawarra Folk Festival, Scarborough Board Riders and the PCYC.

Further details about Bulli Medical Practice can be found by clicking on their logo, which is located on the home page of the Thirroul Football website.

Please support Bulli Medical Practice and the family of sponsors who support Thirroul JFC.

For information about sponsoring Thirroul JFC, including Sponsor a Player packages, please go to the Sponsorship tab at the top of the website.

Thunder 18s v Bulli Photo Gallery

Thunderbirds Cup report and photos

Albion Park reaffirmed their standing as the state's best Under 18s women's team by winning the Thunderbirds Cup at Gibson Park for a second consecutive season.

The 2016 Football NSW Under 18s Champion of Champions winners beat Shellharbour Under 16s in the final of the tournament, which was played last Sunday as part of Female Football Week celebrations.

The win completed a successful start to the 2017 season for Albion Park, who will this year play in the newly created Football South Coast Women's Under 21s competition, after earlier defeating Bulli Under 17s and Bulli Under 21s.

With eight teams from Thirroul, Warilla, Shellharbour, Bulli and Albion Park, the Thunderbirds Cup again featured some of the best young female talent in the South Coast region playing in a round robin format.

Thirroul, who will also field a team in the FSC Women's Under 21s competition after the club's success in last year's Champion of Champions tournament, beat Warilla Under 17s in the Plate final.

The organisers of the tournament would like to thank all of the teams who took part and everyone who helped make the third annual Thunderbirds Cup a success, including the referees.

A gallery of photos taken by Lin Hampton are below.

Zoe Grew to represent Thunderbirds and FSC in All Stars game

Congratulations to Zoe Grew on her selection in the Football South Coast Women's All Stars team to play Sutherland Shire Football Association All Stars at Macedonia Park on Sunday, March 12.

Zoe, who plays for the Thunderbirds Division 1 team and was also a member of last year's Under 21s Champion of Champions team, will represent the region against a hand-selected All Stars team from each of the clubs in the Sutherland competition.

The All Stars match, which kicks off at 3.30pm, will be the culmination of a day of Female Football Week celebrations, including a FSC U12/13 Girls pre-season tournament, featuring Thirroul JFC's Under 13s team.

The inaugural clash between FSC and SSFA will be a highly anticipated game with both associations having club teams who have enjoyed recent State Cup and CoC success.

Thirroul JFC celebrate Female Football Week

Thirroul JFC will celebrate Female Football Week by hosting the annual Thunderbirds Cup at Gibson Park on Sunday, March 12.

The tournament, for Under 16-18s girls, will again feature some of the best female talent among those age groups in the South Coast region, including the Albion Park team which won last year's FNSW Under 18s Champion of Champions final.

In total, eight teams from Albion Park, Bulli, Shellharbour, Thirroul and Warilla will contest the Thunderbirds Cup, now in its third season.

The previous winners were Woonona in 2015 and Albion Park in 2016.

Kicking off at 9am, the tournament will be played in a round-robin format, with each team guaranteed a minimum of two games.

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Football NSW ready for Female Football Week

As part of the Female Football Week festivities there are a number of activations taking shape across Sydney focusing on the development of the female game from a player, official and referee perspective.

Football NSW Game Development Officer for Women and Girls Servet Uzunlar was eagerly anticipating the week and encouraged everyone to get behind what will be a fantastic week for the female game.

“It’s great to see such an initiative dedicated to the Female game.

“We have several key activations across various areas from around Sydney that will help support and show awareness of the female game.

“I want to thank everyone for their support and wish everyone the best of luck with the running of their special events.” 

Below is a list of detailed activations taking place at various locations across Sydney:

Sunday 12th March

Thirroul Junior Football Club – Gibson Park 9am - U16-U18 Girls Tournament

Bankstown Association – Coaching Course

Sutherland Association - All Stars Match - SSFA v FSC Women’s All Stars match (U10 FSC and SSFA U10 GSAP teams playing beforehand)

Bankstown Association – Girls Gala Day

Monday 13 March

Northern Suburbs FA School - Charles Bean - Free Girls Skills Night

Tuesday 14th March

Bankstown Association - Professional Development Session – “coaching female players”

Sutherland Association (TBC) - SSFA & FSC GSAP Games

·         U10s 6pm

·         U12 7pm Women’s Football Development Guide

Wednesday 15th March

Northern Suburbs FA - Grassroots Coaching Course 6pm - 9:30pm         

Friday 17th March

Northern Suburbs FA School - Free Girls Skills Night      

Venue 1- Willis Centre

Venue 2- Mills Park                                     

Sunday 19th March

Bankstown Association – Level 4 Referees Course

Manly Association – BTH Raiders v Mosman FFW

Roselea FC – Womens 4 a side competition

Gordon Soccer Club (TBC) – Girls Only Gala Day

Football South Coast – The Fraternity Club Futsal Courts 9-11am - Grassroots/Skill Training workshop 

Member Federation Supporting Activations

9th March

Football NSW & Football United Gala Day,

Valentine Sports Park. 

9am -1:30pm  

18th/19th March

GSAP Gala Day – Valentine Sports Park

16th March

NPL and NPL2 Coaching Female Workshop – Valentine Sports Park (TBC)

Gibson Park drainage: Before and after photos

For those who have endured years of frustration and anxiety whenever it rained about cancelled games and training at Gibson Park these photos may seem hard to believe.

The top photo and several others were taken today, Saturday March 4, after more than 120mm of rain. The other photos are from last year, after similar heavy rain.

The difference is stunning and will be a game changer for Thirroul JFC this seasons and in the years ahead.

The ground is closed for the weekend, along with all Wollongong City Council grounds, but during the season Thirroul teams will be able to play when they previously couldn't and training wouldn't be constantly disrupted every time it rains.

We also expect the playing surface to be better for longer as it won't be effected by grass die off from flooding or teams being forced to train on degraded areas.

To help preserve the surface, teams will be discouraged from training on ground 1 as much as possible as other areas should be in good condition. 

A big thank you to everyone who helped make this possible by supporting the club's fundraising  through the annual Race Nights or by buying Junior Team Photos and playing senior Summer 7s on Sunday afternoons while the grounds were out of action due to the drainage works.

Thirroul JFC would particularly like to thank the Member for Keira, Ryan Park MP, for $35,000 funding from the State Government 2015 Community Building Program and Wollongong City Council for a $30,000 grant to enable the club to do both grounds.

It is estimated that the drainage improvements also cost Thirroul JFC a similar amount through the club's contribution to the costs and lost revenue from Summer 7s this year so please continue to support our fundraising events and through the sponsorship packages on the thirroulfootball.com.au website.

Finally, Thirroul JFC would like to thank Turspec for doing such a fantastic job.

After 120mm of rain, Saturday, March 4, 2017

2016 after similar heavy rainfall

Eastern side of Ground 1, near where the dug outs are usually situated.

The same area last season.

Northern end of Ground 1

2016 photo..

Honours Even Between Thirroul and Wests

Wests Illawarra and Thirroul Thunder shared the spoils in a competitive cup tie that could have gone either way at Memorial Park on Sunday.

Chris Twigg scored one in each half for Wests, while two goals either side of the half time break from Jesse Bragg and Adam Ward saw the Thunder come from behind and take the lead, if only briefly.

Chris Twigg scored one in each half for Wests, while two goals either side of the half time break from Jesse Bragg and Adam Ward saw the Thunder come from behind and take the lead, if only briefly.

The result leaves Thirroul in pole position to advance to the next stages of the Fraternity Cup, but leaves the door open for Wests if they can overcome Balgownie in the last pool fixture next Thursday.

Wests dominated the opening exchanges, forcing two early corners, but Thirroul’s organised defence packed the area and allowed no way through.

It didn’t take long for Wests to realise that their most effective weapon could be the long ball for their pacey wingers and forwards to run onto. In the 5th minute, Daniel Boyd sent a ball through to Twigg, who reached the byline before cutting it back for Jordan Hughes, who forced a good save out of Chris Wearing in the Thirroul goal.

That was just a dress rehearsal for Wests’ next move, though, and in the 8th minute, they got it just right. Again it was Boyd who launched a long ball from his own half for Twigg who out-paced his marker and fired home for the opener.

It was totally against the run of play when Thirroul equalised just before the break. But it was poor marking at the back that let the Thunder in. Nathan Mucci was allowed far too much space, giving him time to pick out Bragg in the box, and the Thirroul forward made no mistake with virtually their first chance of the game in the 33rd minute.

The second half had barely begun when the Thunder found themselves in front.

This time the Wests back line froze as they looked for an offside flag that never appeared. Bragg was provider for Thirroul’s second, his back header landing at the feet of Ward, who fired a left foot shot past a helpless Kyle Booth.

To read Simon Duffin's full match report on the FSC website, click here.

Thirroul FC – 2 (Bragg 33’, Ward 37’)

Wests Illawarra FC – 2 (Twigg 8’, 48’)

Assists:  Thunder: Mucci, Bragg; Wests: Boyd, Puljic

Thirroul FC: Chis Wearing, Daniel Bond, Corey Haines-Grose, Tyler Snelgrove, Shayne Mulholland, Daniel Arthur, Adam Ward, James Townson, Jesse Bragg, Nathan Mucci, Jonathan de Lyall (subs: Joshua Bond, Todd Davidson, Scott Woods, Nelson Reid, James Hutton)

Wests Illawarra: Kyle Booth, Luke Melkerts, Jordan Hughes, Ben Sallabank, David Cuda, Godfrey Franco, Diego Andrade, Nick Kougious, Jake Bailey, Daniel Boyd, Chris Twigg (subs: Nathan Puljic, Nick Tortorella, Joe Youssif, Pal Burleigh, Jordan Timpano)

Sunday 26 February 2017

Memorial Park, Corrimal

Referee: Aden Crawley

Assistant Referees: Steve Bozic, Emajen Crawley

Thirroul U18s photo gallery

Thirroul Under 18s did the club proud with a spirited 1-1 draw against Wollongong United last Saturday in only their third game together.

The boys, who went down to 3-1 to Cringilla in another gutsy performance last Wednesday, overcame the first half loss of Eric Nelson to injury to secure a draw through a late Callum Oliver goal.

The Thunder's last pool match in the Under 18s tournament against Bulli has been rescheduled from 5.45pm on Wednesday, March 1 to Saturday as Macedonia Park was closed due to wet weather.

Below are photos from last Saturday's match, which were taken by the Wollongong United club photographer. 

MINIROOS - Meet Your Teams 2017

Don't forget to come along to Meet Your Teams for the Miniroos. Dates and times below:

Socks, shorts and other merchandise will be available for purchase on the night.  Socks are $10, Shorts - size 4-14 $35, Small-XL $40.

The Boatshed Bistro is offering kids meals for $10.00 on any of these nights:

Steak, Chips & Salad
Fish, Chips & Salad
Classic Pizza or Pasta
Schnitzel (Veal/Chicken), Chips & Salad or upgrade to a Parmy for an additional $3.

Thunder off to winning start in Fraternity Cup

By David Atherton

Round 1 of the Fraternity Cup saw District League ever-presents Thirroul and Balgownie face off at Crehan Park. Who would've guessed it - Matthew Kellond lead the line for Thirroul and lead them to victory once more.

It may be the way teams predict Thirroul to play, but it is continuing to work this season with a straight-forward win over Balgownie.

Proceedings were very in favour of Thirroul from the outset, seeing a cross from Marcus Rusbourne find the head of Kellond on 6 yards to grab the opener after only 5 minutes.

Minutes later, Rusbourne took his chance at glory with an acrobatic volley from the left of the box directing a deep cross onto the crossbar, only to fly out for a goal kick.

Balgownie could have easily shot back into the game as Matthew Bubb read a backpass and nabbed possession, but Joshua Williams rushed out of his box to effect a crunching tackle and win back possession.

Thirroul were not letting off, and the quarter-hour mark had them up 2-0. A free kick from the Rangers was defended easily, Kellond picking up the ball on halfway and mazing past two defenders. The Thunder talisman cut back past a third in the box and fired a wonderful curling shot into the left side-netting from the edge of the area to double the lead.

To read the full match report by David Atherton for Football South Coast, click here.

Thirroul Thunder 2 - Kellond 5', 15'

Balgownie Rangers 1 - Vandareff 66'

Friday 17th February - Crehan Park

Thirroul Thunder - J. Williams, D. Bond, C. Haines-Grose, J. Hutton, S. Mulholland, D. Arthur, A. Ward, T. Davidson, M. Kellond, N. Mucci, M. Rusbourne

Subs - J. Bond, T. Snelgrove, J. Townson, D. De Lyall

Balgownie Rangers - A. Tambakis, M. McCoy, A. Caruso, L. Verey, A. Stefanelli, N. Morgan, M. Bubb, K. Dorahy, K. Duggan, J. Dummett, A. Vardareff

Subs - S. Dallas, K. Ingram, A. Stratilas, J. McCreay

Referee - J. Ruscica

Assistants - D. Jordan, D. Dennelly

Female Football Week events for junior girls teams

Thirroul JFC will again host an official Female Football Week event, with an U16s-U18s girls tournament at Gibson Park on Sunday, March 12, while tournaments have also been announced for U12s, U13s and U14s girls teams.

An U12-13s tournament will also be played on Sunday, March 12, while Shellharbour JFC will host a tournament for Under 13s and 14s girls, as well as U12s boys, on Sunday, March 19.

Under 12s boys and girls teams are also invited to enter the Cono Cup at Coniston on Saturday, March 26. 

Football South Coast has also approved a series of gala days for Mini Roos teams, to be played throughout the season.

For further details see the table below:

Thunder pre-season matches

The Thunder's pre-season preparations step up a gear this weekend, with Youth Grade playing Woonona in the first round of the Fernhill Cup and First Grade taking on Kirrawee Kangaroos in a trial at Kareela Oval on Sunday.

The following weekend will see the Thunder again travel to the Sutherland Shire, with First Grade playing State Cup winners Lilli Pilli and Youth Grade meeting U21s champions Menai Hawks in a double-header at Kareela Oval on Sunday, February 12.

First Grade are then scheduled to play Balgownie in the opening round of the Fraternity Pre-Season Cup on Friday, February 17, followed by matches against Wests and Fernhill.

Youth Grade's tough pre-season preparations continue when they play Port Kembla in round two of the Fernhill Cup on Monday, February 20 ahead of their final pool match against Wests on Saturday, February 25.

The full schedule of pre-season matches so far is below:

Saturday, February 4
FERNHILL CUP - Youth Grade v Woonona at 1.30pm at Ray Robinson Field, Fernhill

Sunday, February 5
TRIAL - First Grade v Kirrawee Kangaroos at 5pm at Kareela Oval

Sunday, February 12
TRIAL - Youth Grade v Menai Hawks at 3.30pm at Kareela Oval
TRIAL - First Grade v Lilli Pilli at 5.30pm at Kareela Oval

Friday, February 17
FRATERNITY CUP - First Grade v Balgownie at 6.30pm at Crehan Park, Cringilla

Monday, February 20
FERNHILL CUP - Youth Grade v Port Kembla at 5.40pm at Ray Robinson Field, Fernhill

Saturday, February 25
FERNHILL CUP - Youth Grade v Wests at 11am at Ray Robinson Field, Fernhill

Sunday, February 26
FRATERNITY CUP - First Grade v Wests at 1.30pm at Memorial Park, Corrimal

Sunday, March 5
FRATERNITY CUP - First Grade v Fernhill at 1.30pm at Wetherall Park, Primbee