RedRoy Mail - 25 March 2022

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RedRoy Mail - your update from Fitzroy Football Club.

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Round 1: Senior Men's Season Preview Jellis Craig Game Day Lunch—book now!

Welcome back to Brunswick Street Oval for our Jellis Craig Game Day Lunch at our first Senior Men's home game!

In the lead up to watching the Senior Roy Boys run out at home for the first time in 2022, we invite you enjoy lunch with us while being introduced to Matthew Larkin, our new Senior Assistant Coach for our Senior Men's Team.

Larkin played 172 games for North Melbourne Football Club between 1984 and 1993. Larkin's illustrious career saw him win three Syd Barker Medals in four years, captain the side for three seasons and win of Goal of the Year in 1988. He has joined Fitzroy after working with the Fitzroy Junior Football Club.

Our lunch will feature an interview with Larkin by Coaching Director Phil Bunn, exploring why Matt has joined Fitzroy, and what we might expect from the season ahead.

You'll also hear from newly appointed President, David Leydon, who will look towards the club's goals in 2022, and from a member of Fitzroy's player wellbeing committee about the club's focus on this important area.

Please join us on Saturday, 2 April for our first Fitzroy Football Club lunch for 2022!

Time: 11:45 for 12pm start
Cost: $45 for lunch—includes roast meats or vegetarian option, vegetables and salads, cheese and dessert platter with drinks at bar prices
Where: Community Room, Brunswick Street Oval

Bookings are essential—secure your ticket now!

The 100th anniversary premiership guernseys are selling like hotcakes! Don't miss out!

With the new season about to start in just a few weeks' time, 2022 also marks the 100^th anniversary of the famous Fitzroy VFL Premiership of 1922.

That was the Roys’ seventh VFL Premiership and eighth overall including the 1895 VFA flag.

The Fitzroy team which defeated Collingwood in that 1922 Grand Final included players such as Team of the Century star Percy Parratt, champion goal kicker Jimmy Freake and legendary captain Chris Lethbridge.

One of the special things about this team is the guernsey they wore at the time. It featured the well-known Fitzroy maroon and blue, but the blue was in the form of a solid ‘V’ shape and there was no FFC logo on the front. That iconic design didn’t appear until the 1930’s. This historic version of the guernsey was also the first to feature player numbers on the back.

To celebrate the 100^th anniversary of this magnificent premiership and the unique guernsey worn in 1922, the Fitzroy Football Club is releasing a limited-edition replica of that special guernsey.

Each guernsey will feature the number 22 on the back in honour of the Premiership winning 1922 side with the front of the guernsey acknowledging the 100^th anniversary of the win.

These guernseys will be strictly a limited edition and there will only be 122 made to commemorate this significant moment in Fitzroy history. Each guernsey will be individually numbered on the lower left-hand side: 1 of 122, 2 of 122, 3 of 122 and so on to mark this special release.

This historic, 100-year anniversary re-issue of the 1922 Premiership winning guernsey is just $100.00. This is a special offer for this outstanding piece of Fitzroy Football Club history.

The guernseys are now available online at the Fitzroy shop on a pre-sale basis.

Once you place your order the guernsey will be specially made for you and sent out directly to you. Please allow at least 21 business days for production and shipping.

Place your orders NOW before all 122 are gone!

Season 2022 is just around the corner!

Season 2022 begins on Saturday 2 April and it could not come fast enough after two disrupted years of footy! We can't wait to see our Fitzroy family supporting all our sides next weekend.

Our Senior and Reserves Men will be starting the season at home at Brunswick Street Oval with our Senior and Reserves Women at home at Ramsden Street Oval. Our women's teams will be at BSO in Round 2.

Make sure you check the fixtures and get back in your game routine so you don't miss any Roys footy!

Senior Women's Fixture

Senior Men's Fixture

Reserves Women's Fixture

Reserves Men's Fixture

Thirds and Gold Thirds fixtures will be confirmed next week.

Practice matches this weekend

Photo: Peter Harrison

Our sides will be competing in their final practice matches this Saturday against Marcellin Old Collegians Football Club at Bulleen Park East, Bulleen Road, Bulleen before the season gets underway next weekend.

The schedule for the practice matches on Saturday is as follows:

9.00am: MOCFC 19’s vs. Fitzroy Thirds
10.40am: MOCFC Women vs. Fitzroy-ACU Senior Women
12.30pm: MOCFC Reserves Men and Thirds vs. Fitzroy Reserves Men
2.15pm: MOCFC Senior Men vs. Fitzroy Senior Men

Family friends, members and supporters are welcome to come along before heading to our Season Launch at Fitzroy Victoria Bowls Club from 5.30pm!

Latest photo gallery

View the latest Roys photo gallery from our Men's practice match against Beaumaris last week from photographer Peter Harrison here.

Calling on all members, players and supporters to help us help Fitzroy thrive!

At the recent Annual General Meeting, the club’s 2022–2025 strategic plan was presented.

The plan was developed after an extensive consultation process during 2021 which included over 50 interviews with players, coaches, members and supporters, and key external stakeholders such as sponsors, the City of Yarra, VAFA and the Brisbane Lions.

These interviews provided important information about the club’s strengths, what the Fitzroy Football Club community values, and what the club needs to focus on to be a competitive, inclusive, and sustainable community club playing in the highest grades of VAFA football.

You can read the Strategic Plan by clicking here.

Bringing the plan to life
It's now time to start implementing the plan and putting actions in place to achieve our goals. And to do that, we need your help!

Join a Working Group
To assist in planning and managing the club as we move forward, we’re setting up working groups in key areas to ensure we’re getting done what needs to be done, and to spread the load to make this more efficient and easier to achieve.

Being part of a working group is a great opportunity for players and members to play a key role in the day-to-day running of the club and achieving the goals outlined in the strategic plan.

These working groups will meet during the season to come up with ideas and work on projects relating to:

· Player recruitment and retention
· Enhancing links between Fitzroy Football Club and Fitzroy Junior Football Club
· Player events
· Fundraising
· Establishing a Past Players Network.

If you’d like to find out more about being part of one of these groups, please give the club’s Co-ordinator, Transition & Volunteers Sophie Arnold a call on 0421 214 334 or email her at lorimax@virtual.net.au.

We look forward to working with our Fitzroy family to continue to make our club the best community sporting club going around.