Round 2 Preview
The O&M Football Netball League was on hold over the weekend for the Hall of Fame Dinner at the SS&A Club on Saturday evening.
Five new inductees were in attendance as well as league great John Smith who became the seventh person to be elevated to legend status.
Smith played 316 senior matches in the OMFL with four different clubs – Rutherglen, North Albury, Wodonga and Myrtleford – 204 of those games were at North Albury.
Anndrea Crisp-Sullivan became just the fifth netballer to be inducted into the HOF. Growing up in the Mitta Valley she started with Myrtleford in the league’s inaugural season of 1993.
Crisp-Sullivan played over 380 matches for the club winning A grade premierships in 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2003. She also won two club best and fairest awards.
Crisp Sullivan was also named in the OM Netball Team of the Century – her brothers Bob and Alan played in Myrtleford’s only senior premiership in the OMFL in 1970.
Richie “The Tank” Castles was the first inductee on the evening after a short but brilliant 105-game career with Benalla after debuting aged 17 in 1957.
Castles would complete his milk run on Saturday mornings chalking up anywhere between 10-15 miles and then go and play football.
He was a member of the Benalla Demons’ back-to-back premierships in 1962 and 63, he took out the 1960 club best and fairest and was runner-up in the Morris medal the same year.
Castles in 1961 crossed over to play with West Torrens in the SANFL under his uncle – the great Essendon Dick Reynolds. He was named Back Pocket in the OMFL team of the Century.
Tony Pasquali who grew up on a tobacco farm in the King Valley, became the twelfth Wangaratta Rovers footballer to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Pasquali played 322 senior games with the Rovers and played in the 1988, 1991 and 1994 premierships, being denied a fourth in 1993 due to injury.
He finished in the Rovers top three in five best and fairest’s, represented the OMFL twelve times and played seven times in the VCFL team.
He coached and played with Benalla for two years in 199 and 2000 and was the winner of the Morrison Medal for the best and fairest player in the league in 1999.
North Albury games record holder Dan Leslie and Hoppers Hall of Famer was recognised by the OMFNL with his induction on Saturday evening.
In a career that highlighted every one of his OMFL matches with North Albury Leslie is regarded by many in the top 5 North Albury players of all time.
The athletic super fit Leslie could play either end of the ground and finished with over 350 goals in those e300 games where he played so much in defence.
Leslie won a senior premiership in 2002 and was club best and fairest on three occasions and was the clubs leading goal kicker four times.
Matt Fowler who started his career with Walbundrie, became the twelfth Albury footballer to be inducted into the OMFNL Hall of Fame.
Fowler debuted in 1993 and went on to become the games record holder at Albury playing 354 games and booting 812 goals.
Fowler was a six-time premiership player with the Tigers twice being part of the three-peat premiership eras of 1995 – 97 and the 2009-2011 premierships.
The burly centre-half forward had a glittering representative career that included VCFL and NSW representation, along with 16 games for the OMFL including two titles.
After finishing at Albury Fowler went on to play in another three senior premierships in the Tallangatta DFL with Thurgoona.
