Happy Valley Football Club

Ms COOK (Fisher) (15:13): I rise today to talk about the Happy Valley Football Club, which is situated within the Happy Valley Sports Park in the heart of Fisher. My son Sam started his footy career there, and I really love the deep connection that I feel when I am there. The modern Happy Valley Football Club was born in 1952, wearing blue and gold in the Hills Central Football League, and Wal Baxter, who was honoured on Saturday night, wore these colours. In the early sixties, Valleys left the Hills to join the Glenelg South West Football League, and it was to avoid clashing with Glandore that the Vikings made the adjustment to black and gold, the colours by which the club is now known.

The Valley won premierships with their top side in both 1970 and 1974 under the captaincy of Wayne Baxter, but this was in the third division of the league. The Happy Valley and Aberfoyle Park area was mostly vineyards or sheep paddocks, and the club was a little known and rather insignificant power right up until the eighties when it joined the Southern Football League. In the SFL, the club is always a highly respected force to be reckoned with.

Many attribute the success of the club to the development of the area. Having a high school right next door certainly helps, without question. To be the best, though, requires more than just numbers. You also need the best coaches, the best trainers, the best support staff and volunteers and the best administration possible. Valleys have been very fortunate to have had a large number of exceptional and quality personnel involved as part of the club. Our forefathers at the Valley have left a legacy that we can all be proud of, and we can all walk taller on the back of their success. Our standards are high, the expectations are high and the rewards so far have been worth the effort.

The club has a deep sense of mateship and pride, which was very evident on Saturday 27 May, when the club held its 65^th anniversary gala weekend and a black and gold night. The club really made sure it honoured the people who had laid the foundation of the club that has made it as successful as it is today. I was there on the gate from 8.30 to 9.30, but others were there much earlier. Cake stalls, barbecues and sumo suits were all underway, as was the first game of the day. I was joined at the gate by a resident koala and a very fresh valley breeze.

The Hall of Fame presented at the black and gold gala was a wonderful end to the day. Seeing the Baxters and Mannings at the club and knowing that the Shurgotts are still heavily involved is heartwarming and shows the true Viking spirit. The inaugural inductees to the 2017 Hall of Fame range from inaugural players, presidents, life members, committee members, canteen managers, league delegates, medallists, sponsors, trainers, best and fairest and coaches to even the builders of the original clubrooms.

I congratulate Brian Schurgott, Wally Baxter, Bill Manning, Colin (Paddy) Schurgott, Stan Turner, Steve Turner, Barb Baxter, Allan Tydeman, Peter McWilliams, Neville Schurgott, John Twigden, Peter Willougby, Gilbert Wilson, Ross Schurgott, Hank Middleton, Judy Kraveskis, Denise Schurgott, Darren Twigden, Nathan Gill and Bill Taylor. They are an incredibly dedicated and inspiring bunch of Vikings. Congratulations to all of you.

We have seen the future movement at the club this year with the introduction of ladies and girls' teams that are hugely involved and a true breath of fresh air around the place. I am also really excited about going out to watch the Valley ladies this Friday night. They will be playing against Adelaide University. We are seeing a lot of success also for the juniors at the club through the current SANFL pathways, the multicultural team and the AFL Next Generation academies. This is truly a credit to the coaching staff we have onboard.

Over the course of a usual weekend, three senior men's teams, a senior women's team, two girls junior teams, four boys junior teams and eight sub junior teams all get out to play their games. It really is a true credit to the club to get so many players out on the weekend. The Happy Valley club is not far from many other football clubs; some have greater numbers, but the south is a very competitive area, so it is a real credit to the Valleys to keep those numbers on the park. The total number of players at Happy Valley is 380.

No games would be played without the volunteer team. There are approximately 100 volunteers involved at the Valleys on a weekly basis. They hold fundraisers throughout the year. This year, they have tried to take a bit of a different direction with their fundraising, and I wish them every bit of luck with that. One of the most respected and longstanding trainers, Hank Middleton, was given an award the other night. I know he is going through some health battles, so we all wish him well. Valleys live by the motto, 'Respect all and fear none,' and I am sure Hank has that in his heart as he fights his battle.