Gunnedah and District Bulldogs AFC held its end of season presentation at the Railway Hotel last Friday evening, honouring the Best and Fairest players, along with other individual club and team awards for respective women’s Poochettes and men’s Bulldogs sides for season 2024.

Midfielder Darcy Hill was a runaway winner in the men’s Frogmore Cup, recognised as the side’s best player for season 2024, polling a total of 56 votes as a clear runaway winner, ahead of runner up and fellow midfielder, and reigning best and fairest, Adam Curgenven, who polled 33 votes behind Hill.

Poochettes key position ruck/forward, Alexa Walker, won her maiden gong as the Poochettes’ best player for 2024, polling 47 votes ahead of runner up and captain, Katrina Rekunow, who was pipped by Walker’s 47 votes by four, with Rekunow totalling 43 votes of her own in a close count.

It turned out to be a fruitful season and evening for men’s Bulldogs best and fairest winner, Hill, who along with his player of the year award, was also voted by the club and its committee, as the clubman of the year due to his tireless efforts throughout a playing and volunteering capacity.

Hill was honoured with his best and fairest award but was quick to acknowledge and deflect the success to his team-mates and supporters for his award.

“I’m very humbled and honoured, there’s some incredible names on it (Frogmore cup),” he said.

“Definitely not something saw coming.

“But I couldn’t achieve it without team mates,” a humble Hill said.

Hill was prominent for Bulldogs in season 2024, and in just his third season of AFL, is an exemplification of how quickly a student of the game, can quickly become one of the main contributors to a football side.

Playing predominantly in the midfield, Hill has an undeniable thirst for the contest, and combined with a continual desire to improve, has developed rapidly since debuting for the club and switching from basketball protégé to take up the sport in 2021.

Hill was prominent in the midfield for the Bulldogs this season, and having previously garnered the crux of the sport on a half back flank in his previous two seasons and developed his game to become dominant in the midfield for the Bulldogs throughout 2024.

His best and fairest award is justice for a consistent season, where he also polled well in the AFL North West men’s competition best and fairest, finishing second in that vote count.

Meanwhile, Walker was also reflective when receiving her best and fairest award, acknowledging that her achievement is not possible without the support of her team mates throughout the season.

“I love my team-mates – although it’s a personal award, we should celebrate everyone who contributed throughout the year,” she said.

“I am thrilled though, and it’s reward for a couple of years of hard work.”

Like Hill, Walker is relatively new to AFL, but none the less, showed an ability across the season to play above and beyond her years and experience.

Mainly as a ruck, Walker swung forward at times for the John Woolaston-coached Poochettes, and possessed the ability throughout the season to perform a role as a full and half forward, hitting the scoreboard regularly for the Poochettes, but did her best work as the main, around the ground ruckman for the side.

Her consistency was acknowledged with the award, and in consideration to the fact that fellow team-mate Rekunow took out the AFL North West women’s best and fairest, heightens Walker’s influence on the Poochettes side where unfortunately and devastatingly, the Poochettes fell short of a premiership on grand final day.

Meanwhile, two club legends were inducted as life members of the Bulldogs club, with 2017 premiership player/coach, Greg Piggott, inducted as the 13th life member, while fellow premiership winning coach, Doug Meagher, was honoured with induction as the 14th life member.

In 2017, and during the Bulldogs’ 40th year anniversary as a side in the AFL North West, Piggott engineered a drought-breaking premiership for the club and for those efforts, was afforded life membership for not only ceasing what at the time was a 26-year premiership drought, but forging the beginning of one of the most successful periods the club has endured.

Upon work commitments meaning Piggott leaving Gunnedah, he was proceeded by Meagher as coach, and in Meagher’s two seasons at the helm of the men’s Bulldogs, he took the Bulldogs back to premiership success.

Like Piggott, Meagher was honoured with life membership when claiming back-to-back premierships in 2019 and 2020, the latter of which was an undefeated season during a chaotic COVID period.

Both men were extremely humbled at the accolade afforded to them by the club.

“It’s such an honour, I loved my time here, and still love the club now,” Piggott said.

“I keep tabs on how they (Poochettes and Bulldogs) are going throughout every and any season.

“This means everything to me.

“I miss the club and the people involved, but it’ll always be a place I’ll remember as some of my best footy memories.”

Meagher concurred: “This is such a great club with so many great people, and I have so many great memories of the place,” he said.

“I’m so humbled and honoured to be joining company with blokes like Brian Lenton, Andrew George, Scott Hardy.

“Just an amazing club and it is such a privilege,” Meagher said.

2024 Junior presentation

Gunnedah and District AFC Bulldogs and their Pups held their Junior presentation last Sunday, capping off a memorable season for junior AFL.

Growing from strength-to-strength, and particularly on a numerical basis, the junior AFL base has grown exponentially since Auskick began in 2019, to the stage now where competitive under 12s, and under 14s sides are fielded in competitive, North West AFL junior competitions.

Importantly, throughout the course of building the junior AFL system, it has emanated to the capacity of the ability to incorporate contact sport for girls and boys to play competitively, and non-competitive, equally on a regular basis in a safe and friendly environment.

Mixed Pups in both competitive age groups were dominant throughout the season, culminating in the under 12s claiming the inaugural Under 12s premiership, following a win over the New England Nomads, while the Under 14s, which joined forces with the Tamworth Roosters to field a side for the season, also claimed the club’s maiden premiership in that age group.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs also fielded a non-competitive under 10s side for the season, while also incorporating the aforementioned age groups with regular Auskick sessions, held in conjunction with the specified age groups training each Thursday during the AFL season.

Auskick and junior co-ordinator, Belinda Barrow, was thrilled with how the season progressed, not only for the success the Pups were able to enjoy through premierships but, specifically for the growth of AFL in the region, breaking down the stigma it unfairly attracts within the school yards.

“It was such a wonderful season,” Barrow said.

“We have such amazing kids and to give them the opportunity to play a sport they may have once despised cause of outside influencers, it’s incredible to see the growth that’s happening before our eyes for AFL.

“So many kids, and their parents, have come across from other codes, and really enjoyed what AFL has to offer.

“It makes all the behind the scenes hours’ worth it.”

She also elaborated on the numbers who attended the presentation last Sunday at Wolseley Oval.

“It was an amazing (presentation) day,” Barrow added.

“The parents loved it, the kids loved it, what more could you want?.”

With the rivalry between codes rugby league and AFL at a perennial high on a professional scale, the realms of kids enjoying AFL and, eliminating the constant badgering of the sport in the school yard, has seen this season in particular the biggest highlight for the Bulldogs and their Pups, 2024 season.

To order photos from this page click here