[Reserve Grade] finals. The club then offered me the last game in seniors as a send off which I happily
accepted.” Barro kicked 3 goals in his final game with Penno.
Reflecting on the 1994 season, Barro noted that the back-to-back Flags won by the Under 19s in 1993
and 1994, is the only time consecutive flags have been won by a Demons’ side since the Club was
elevated to the top grade, although this feat was previously achieved when playing in 2nd division in 1975
and 1976. Steve also noted that Andrew McLellan is the only player from the 1994 Under 19 side that is
still at the Club. Andrew is the 2014 assistant to Senior Coach, Chris Yard, who coincidentally played with
the Senior side in 1994.
Steve also gave an insight into the ‘Adelaide’ connection at Pennant Hills:
“OK I came to the club in 1987 – transferred from AMP Adelaide office to Sydney office. Trevor Clisby
transferred from Westpac Adelaide office to Sydney in 1991. We played against each other [in the SANFL] and with the help of Tony Yard (president at the time, who worked for Westpac) we enticed him to play for
Penno. Kim Klomp and Peter Bennett both played with Trevor at North Adelaide so they also ended up at
Penno. Phil Moraitis started at the club in 1988 but I did not know him before he played at Penno – but
like me, we ended up at Penno because it was the closest club to where we lived.”

SUCCESS IN THE SECONDS;
The 1994 Reserve Grade competition featured 10 teams. From
the previous season, 1993, North Shore were Premiers, defeating
Western Suburbs by 4 points in the Grand Final. Pennant Hills
finished seventh, winning only 5 matches. Remarkably the team
still finished the season with a percentage of more than 100,
indicating there had been some very lopsided results, both for and
Despite the disappointment of the previous season, winning the
1994 Flag was firmly on the radar for the Reserves from the outset of
the season; particularly for Captain, Steve Monahan, and Vice
Captain, Phi l Morai t is, who had both announced that 1994 would be
their last season of competitive football. As things turned out, Phil did finish his footy
career at the end of 1994, but Steve played on for several more seasons.
Senior player Kim Klomp took on the role of Reserve Grade coach. Kim
was a former North Adelaide premiership captain who joined Pennant
Hills in 1993, after retiring from the SANFL. Unfortunately, a hand injury
and broken arm meant for an interrupted season and he only managed
one and a half Senior games. The Senior’s loss, however, was the
Rezzies gain as Kim played 8 games in the Seconds including the Grand
Final.

Making up the numbers
As is fairly typical for a season of Reserve Grade footy, there was
considerable churn of players through the side as team selection was
dependent upon the week-to-week demands of the Senior team and the fickle
availability of many part-timers who come to the Club with a wide range of fitness and aspirations. Forming
a team from week to week can be a challenge in itself and this would seem to have been the case in 1994
when a total of 56 players fronted for the Rezzies during the season, including 8 who made single game
cameos. Despite this, the team seems to have been blessed with a good mix of experience and youth. Kim
Klomp, with over 200 games of experience in the SANFL, no doubt combined a wily ability with a steady
influence in his role of Coach and late season player when injury cost him his spot in the Senior team.
Other regular Reserve Grade players with more than 100 games experience included the Captain, Steve
Monahan, Steve Bar rat t (also Coach of the Under 19s), Grant Croese and Trevor Daykin. A number
of others were on the cusp of regular spots in the Senior side, including Daryl Vel la, Jason Clarke,
Just in Ker ley, Craig Har t ley, Ben Rouvray and Anthony Landahl .
John Mur ray, a Seniors player from 1993, was unable to train throughout most of the 1994 season,
making him generally ineligible for selection in the Senior side. This was great news, however, for the
Reserve Grade side, as John was the team’s leading goal-kicker with 42 for the season, including a run of
6 and 4 goals in the semi and preliminary finals, capped off with another 4 vital goals in the Grand Final.
In his end of season report, Coach Kim Klomp made special mention of Trevor Daykin, “one player who
put on a guernsey to help ‘make up the numbers.’ He enjoyed it so much that he kept at it and played in
our Premiership side.” Trevor first played in 1973 and had played 179 games for the Club when he retired
in 1983. He played 10 games in 1994 at the age of 38. No doubt inspired by his son’s burgeoning senior
career, it was nonetheless a sterling effort by Trevor pulling on the boots again after a decade’s absence.
His son, Matthew, played with all three teams during 1994, including 7 matches for the Senior side, where
he kicked 21 goals including a bag of 6 in a match against Holroyd-Parramatta. Matthew was also a
member of the Under 19 Premiership side in 1994, making this the first occasion in the Club’s history that
a father and son were dual premiership players. It would be another 19 years before this feat was repeated when, in 2013, current Club President Phi l Hare won the Division 4 Flag the week before his son, Jesse,
played in the triumphant Under 19 Premiership side.

Reserve Grade Season Review
From a distance of 20 years, Pennant Hills Reserve Grade appear to have had a solid year in 1994, with
13 wins, 5 losses and a percentage of 202.7. Finishing ahead of the Demons were St George (Minor
Premiers), North Shore and Campbelltown.
The season started well with three consecutive wins, including a six goal victory over the 1993 Premiers,
North Shore, and a 67 point thumping of Campbelltown. Beating Sydney University by 92 points meant the
team was on quite a roll after the first three rounds.
Round 4 provided the first reality check. Playing St George at Ern Holmes Oval, the home team went down
by 34 points; not disgraced, but brought back to earth nonetheless. With the Dragons game put behind
them, the team bounced back onto the winner’s list in Round 5, the start of a five game winning streak
which included a 139 point annihilation of Western Suburbs. At the half-way mark of the season, Pennant
Hills sat in second place on equal points with both St George and Campbelltown, 8 wins and 1 loss each.
North Shore was fourth on 6 wins, 3 losses, but would not lose another match in the home and away
rounds.
Round 10 saw the Demons’ second meeting with North Shore, this time at Ern Holmes Oval. In what
appears to have been a closely contested match, North Shore reversed the previous result, defeating the
Demons by 22 points. The team’s third loss came the very next week, with a 2 point nail-biter against
Campbelltown. Penno had now shared the home and away honours with each of these two Flag contenders
and still had its second meeting with competition front-runner St George ahead of it, two rounds later.
These consecutive losses were put to bed with a rollicking demolition of Sydney University in Round 12 in
which the locals recorded a season-high winning margin of 181 points, restricting the Students to one
paltry behind! This must have been quite a spectacle for the home supporters at the Ern.
In spite of the rampant form of the previous week, the return match against St George at Olds Park was the
proverbial wake-up call for Penno. The Rezzies had met their match it seemed and
were slaughtered by 85 points, managing to kick only 4 goals, 6 behinds for the
day. This must have put shockwaves through the team and maybe some
niggling doubts had crept in. Penno had now lost both its home and away
contenders, North Shore and Campbelltown … not the most solid of
foundations to mount an attack on the Flag … but five rounds remained to lift
their game.

Penno’s remaining home and away games were
all against sides placed below it on the
competition ladder. Everything went to plan
except for the Round 17 hiccup against fifth
placed East Sydney who pipped the Demons by 2
points at Trumper Park. One can imagine that this may have been
a timely loss … a reminder of not getting too far ahead of things!
To get things back on track, the Rezzies finished the home and
away season with a 179 point walloping of Balmain in front of the
Demons faithful at Ern Holmes Oval. The team recorded its
highest score for the season, 27.24-186 to Balmain 1.1-7.

The Finals Series
Coming in at fourth place meant that the Rezzies, to take the Flag, would need to win every match in 3
straight sudden death contests. What’s more, against the three opponents they had a 2 and 4 win/loss
ratio. Against the Minor Premiers, St George, Penno had been well beaten in both
home and away meetings.
In the 1st Semi-Final versus third placed Campbelltown, played at Macquarie
Fields on Sunday 21 August 1994, Pennant Hills “dominated proceedings
and dumped the Blues out of the race as the Demons ran in a 12 goal win.”
The Demons gained the ascendancy in the opening stanza, kicking 6 goals
to 2. Thereafter, Penno continued to increase its lead quarter-by-quarter,
eventually running out big winners by 71 points – 20.10-130 to
Campbelltown 9.5-59. John Mur ray’s bag of 6 and 3 each to John Rakic
and Kim Klomp were the major goal-scorers.
One down, two to go!
In the Reserve Grade 2nd Semi-Final, St George easily accounted for North Shore, 9.9-63 to 6.2-38;
meaning that Penno would play second-placed North Shore in the Preliminary Final and, with a win, faced
the prospect of meeting St George in the Grand Final; the only team that the Demons hadn’t beaten yet in
1994.
In the Preliminary Final, played on Sunday 4 September 1994, Penno Seconds played North Shore,
runners-up in the minor premiership. On the rebound from the previous week’s disappointment, North
Shore were no doubt a daunting prospect . Penno had lost its last encounter with North, but the Demons
were running hot after a big win over the Blues in the 1st Semi.
The first half was an arm wrestle with Penno edging ahead by around a goal at half-time. Four goals each in
the third quarter had Penno still ahead by 8 points at the final change. In the final quarter, the Demons
held North goal-less, added four more goals and ran out winners by 34 points.
Two down, one … the Big One … to go!

The Grand Final
In the Grand Final, Penno Rezzies came up against an opponent that had the wood on them throughout
season 1994. St George had beaten Penno twice by 34 and 85 points, respectively. Clearly, the
psychological advantage must have been with St George, however, one senses that the boys from Pennant
Hills would likely have been quietly confident given the good form they had developed through the final
series.
As the Grand Final got under way, “early indications pointed strongly to a likely St George win as Penno
were wasteful by inaccuracy.” Progressive scores indicate that St George had the better of the scoring for
the best part of three quarters. Four goals to one in the first term became five to two at half-time in what
had become a tight arm-wrestle – St George by 19 points. Penno’s inaccuracy continued into the third
quarter, kicking 3 goals, 5 behinds to St George’s 3 straight goals. At least the margin was being gradually
eroded – St George by 14 points at the final change. Simon Lawrance opened the final term with a goal for
the Saints, “repeating his similar effort in the first and third quarters.” Finally Penno responded with three
“surprisingly rapid goals” from Kim Klomp, Stuar t James and Just in Ker ley and “with their
momentum overran the too coolly confident Sainters.”
However, the final finish was a nail-biter with John Murray potting two final quarter goals to sneak his side
ahead. In the dying minutes, with the Demons ahead by 11 points, an unforced error in the backline let St
George in for another major and they threatened to steal the match back right up to the final kick,
moments before the siren confirmed victory for the Demons – Pennant Hills, Premiers by five points.

Club icon, Gus McKernan, was a spectator on Grand Final day and recorded the following quarter-byquarter
scores in his copy of the Grand Final edition of the Football Record:
Scores ¼ Time ½ Time ¾ Time FINAL
Pennant Hi l ls 1.3-9 2.6-18 5.11-41 10.13-73
St George 4.2-26 5.7-37 8.7-56 10.8-68
Goals: J Mur ray 4, J Ker ley 2, J Clarke, A Landahl , K Klomp, S James
Best : A Landahl (BOG) , J Clarke, D Vel la, P Mat thews, J Rakic
Tony Landahl was adjudged best on ground and was awarded the match ball in recognition.
“We just let St George have the first three quarters for purely entertainment value! The ressies really took
a long time to find their stride, and after injuries to Mark Collings, Blair Hatherley and Jackie Willson, the
two’s looked to be in serious poo. However, halfway through the [final] quarter the Demons began to find
their way after several positional changes that seemed to spark life into the Demons.
The Demons had the crowd screaming, and after gaining 11 point lead, and then seeing it dwindled to 5
points, players and spectators were beside themselves until the siren went after the kick. The final score
was Demons 10.13-73 to Saints 10.8-68.
The day saw Tony Landahl take the honours, ably backed by the likes of Patty Matthews, Craig Hartley and
Trevor Daykin.”
In his end of season report, Coach Kim Klomp praised families and fans who “vocally supported the team,
particularly, during the last quarter of the Grand Final, when the greatest support was needed, you really
lifted the side. Thank You!!”
Most importantly, the players had honoured their commitment to each other and fulfilled the team motto –
“Winners don’ t Qui t and Qui t ters don’ t win.”
From only 12 Reserve Grade matches, Jason Clarke narrowly won the team Best & Fairest award by 2
votes from Steven Fi tzpat r ick, despite suffering a broken collarbone and playing 5 matches with the
Senior side.
For his part as Premiership Coach, Kim Klomp shared the President’s Trophy with winning Under 19s
Coach, Steve Bar rat t .

The 1994 Sanders Medal was won by Stephen Nash of St George with 22 votes. Best for Pennant Hills
were Pat r ick Mat thews, Daryl Vel la and Trevor Daykin with 9 votes each, Phi l l ip Morai t is (7
votes), Steven Fi tzpat r ick (5 votes), Jason Clarke (4 votes) and 15 others who polled 1 to 3 votes.
1994 Award Winners
Best & Fairest – Jason Clarke
Runner-up Best & Fairest – Steven Fitzpatrick
Most Consistent – Craig Hartley
Coach’s Award – John Murray
Most Improved – Ben Rouvray
Best Team Man – Patrick Matthews

Player Recollections
Leo Browne (Senior’s coach 1994)
1994 was Leo’s second season as coach of the Senior team. Before that he was Under 19 coach in 1992
and had been coaching junior football since 1979. He had two sons, Peter and Paul. Paul played centre
half forward in the Under 19 premiership side in 1993 and 9 games in Reserve Grade in 1994, but was
unfortunate when he narrowly missed out on selection for the Grand Final team.
Paul’s father, Leo, in his capacity as Senior team coach, was a member of the selection committee. At the
Grand Final selection meeting, Leo recalls Kim Klomp having high praise for Paul who had “trained the
house down” and Kim was inclined to pick him for the squad. Steve Barratt, however, felt that experience
was more important than Paul’s youth and height and this argument won the day and Paul missed out. Leo
had abstained from the decision given his conflict of interest.
Ironically, the Reserve Grade side lost three players to injury during the Grand Final, including Blair
Hatherley who, Leo thinks, went down early with a twisted ankle suffered at cricket the day before. Paul’s
height and speed could have been invaluable under these circumstances but, fickle are the ways of the
footy gods!
Glen ‘Wombles’ McKernan and Angus ‘Gus’ McKernan
Glen was a backman and played mainly with the Reserve Grade side (15 games) in 1994, although he did
make three appearances with the Senior side as well. A former Baulkham Hills junior, Glen played five
seasons with the Pennant Hills Senior Club (59 games), before transferring across to Balmain after a
couple of years in the wilderness playing the round ball game. Glen has the following recollections of the
Grand Final and Season 1994:

The “1994 Grand Final was a great come from behind win. My memories are of the day and the year are:
• Before the first bounce my opponent took a real interest in some strong arm tactics on me until
Trevor Daykin came in quietly from the side and swung him to the ground with force and seemed
to settle him down.
• Kim Klomp kicking a goal from 50. Did not know he could kick that far and wow what a major
positive influence he had on me personally and on the Club as a whole with Trevor Clisby.
• John Murray kicking 2 or 3 late with style.
• My switch kick to Harts that missed its target and St George kicked an important goal to get them
back in front, I think, in the last quarter. Having had a great year and polling well I still felt terrible
about that switching kick but hey I was having a go and trying to play attacking footy and
honouring a lead from a teammate.
• Silver and I trained very hard in May and used to reward ourselves with a few May Madness dollar
schooners at the Baulko sporting club after training.”
The Grand Final was Glen’s last game with Pennant Hills as he “went on to play for Balmain after having
spent my whole childhood being around Penno in some way, from ball boy to canteen to Best & Fairest
winner in Under 19’s and Reserve Grade. So many good people and players at Penno including the young
guys like Yard, Gooley, Kerley, Mimmo from my vintage who got pushed up to A grade from a young age
and did exceptionally well given the standard of players / men they played against.”
Glen’s dad, Club icon Gus McKernan, described the Demon’s come-from-behind win as a “barn-storming
finish” and recalls the unforced turnover by Glen late in the last quarter. There is some conjecture over the
exact sequence of events surrounding this incident, but suffice to say it made for a nail-biting finish as St
George were able to get back within striking distance of a victory. Glen recalls that, prior to the turnover, he
had taken “a very handy low down chest mark to cut off a St George pass to their forwards.” The adrenalin
was pumping, Penno had hit the lead and Glen figures it must have been a “rush of blood to the head” that made him get up and “pull the trigger” on the attempted “switch to Harts” (Wayne Hartley, he thinks, “who
was a very handy player”.)
On another matter, Glen has a good recollection of Kim Klomp breaking his arm playing Holroyd-
Parramatta at Gipps Road Oval as it “happened right in front of me as he laid a good bump on a Goannas
player. Klomp was playing in the ones at the time” and Glen was spectating on the sidelines.
Most people knew Glen around the club by his football nickname ‘Wombles’, which stuck from junior footy
and he suspects that some people may not have known his real name.
Gus McKernan recalls that, once the Demons hit the lead, a crafty ‘Silva’ Monahan was encouraging his
team-mates to kick the ball into the adjoining school-yard to kill the minutes on the clock, as there was no
time-on in the Reserve Grade Grand Final!

John ‘Hound’ Rakic
‘Hound’ started the season in the Senior side but only played 3 games there and played most of the
season (9 games) in the Reserve Grade side, including the Grand Final. Broken arms to himself and Kim
Klomp meant that “Klompy and I did not play enough senior games and could play reserves together and
qualify for finals, and we did. It was great having a guy like Klompy leading us in reserves and I have no
doubt he won us the first ever senior premiership in the SFL that year.
The other highlight was Trevor Daykin playing as an old experienced hand and his son Matty played a few
games that year with us and his Dad, which is hard to forget.
The GF was out at Campbelltown and we came back from the dead in a great last quarter and this was a
day where a TEAM EFFORT was definitely the case.
I recall having some great parties at my place I used to share with Danny Ryan at Lamorna Avenue,
Beecroft that year and all the Under 19s including Barrow [coach Steve Barrett] came to one which was a
massive party.
Great memories and hard to believe it was 20 years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Justin ‘Kerls’ Kerley
Apart from 4 games played in the Senior team mid-season, Justin played most of 1994 in the Reserve
Grade side, including three finals matches, culminating in the Grand Final. Playing half forward, he kicked
two goals in the 1st semi final against Campbelltown and two more in the Grand Final including one vital
major in Penno’s barn-storming last quarter. Here are his recollections of the Grand Final:
“It was a close encounter all the way between the two top teams. Kim Klomp was our inspirational coach
and trained us hard insisting on discipline and commitment for the weeks prior. The team had a good
blend of youth and experience, with the likes of Trevor Daykin, Phil “Doc” Moriatis, Jacki Wilson, Kim Klomp
and Steve “Silva” Monahan
The wide open spaces at Campbelltown gave our running players space to move and this worked in our
favour with the great running players like Klomp, Hound, Hartley driving the ball out of the centre. John
“the Fridge” Murray was our spearhead at Full Forward who gave us a couple of great goals in the final
term.

There was never anything in this match between these two teams. In the end we held our ground and
finished with a narrow victory, inspired by Klompy and his courageous leadership running out of the
centre.”
On Kim Klomp, Justin remarked:
“ Klompy was not a tall player, but stocky and super fit. I have never seen a more courageous player than
Klompy- he would run through a wall if needed. He was hard at the ball and an inspirational player and
was a key driver to us winning the premiership in 1994. He was a strong mid fielder.”
Phillip ‘Doc’ Moraitis
Doc’s enduring memory of the Grand Final seems to be Coach Klomp giving his inspirational pre-game revup
from astride the ‘can’ (toilet) … although Phil offers no reason for Klompy adopting such a posture at
this critical moment! Phil said: “I was lucky to play that day because in the first final I had my nose almost
ripped off when kicked in the face, but with some quick surgery and a week’s break, I got to play my last
game of footy for Pennant Hills – and a winning Grand Final. Go Penno!!” So, the 32 year old retired on a
high. He has a framed guernsey with the Premiership medallion and team photograph in his house, to
commemorate this very special occasion.
John ‘Fridge’ Murray
Work commitments prevented John from attending training sessions in 1994, so he played most of the
season in the Seconds due to his restricted training schedule. He played mostly at Centre Half Forward
playing in jumper no. 24.

John recalled that the “1994 side was a mixture of the previous year U19 guys” (who won the Demons’
inaugural premiership since joining the first grade competition) and “some old hands like Kim Klomp and
Trevor Daykin, rounded out a strong side.” Steve Monahan, the Sanders Medallist from 1993, played “in
the middle to drive the ball forward.”
He remembers the team being behind at the end of the 3rd quarter “and after a bit of a rev up at three
quarter time I had the sense we were in for something special.” In the last quarter, “I remember Harts and
Justin Kerley having big quarters and we got over the line.” It was John’s first and only Grand Final win,
although in later years he would play in another four losing teams.
“It was a great day as the 19s won again and the Club celebrated 2 wins – which was the start of rich vein
of success for the club – (not so much for winning 1st flags until 2000), but we were very competitive in all
divisions throughout the 1990s.”
In fact, 1993 had been the start of great things, with the Under 19s winning the Club’s first premiership
since joining the first grade competition. We know that in 1994, the Under 19s went back-to-back and the
Reserves made it a double. Both these teams repeated this feat in 1996 and the Under 19s won again in
1999. The Under 19s were also runners-up in 1995, making it four consecutive Grand Final appearances
1993 – 1996. The Rezzies were also runners-up in 1999 and in 2000, when the Seniors peaked, the
Rezzies and Under 19s were again runners-up. Given the success of the seconds and thirds throughout
this period, it’s no surprise that it all eventually culminated in a break-through for the Senior side in 2000.
The Senior team was also runners-up in 1995, 1996 and 1998. In all, between 1993 and 2000, the Club
won 7 flags and were runners-up in 7 other Grand Finals … a “rich vein” indeed!
Back at the 1994 Grand Final, John modestly recalls that, I “think I kicked a few goals in the game – think I
missed more than I got though.” The record doesn’t tell us how many behinds John kicked, but we do know
that he kicked 4 goals in the GF, including 2 vital ones in the final come-from-behind quarter.
It was also this year that Jason Clark nicknamed John, ‘Fridge, and he’s been known by that moniker ever
since. ‘Fridge’ was known at the Club for his “loyalty and passion for the game … Love the ‘Grand Old Flag’”

SENIORS STRUGGLE IN 1994;
The 1994 Senior competition featured 10 teams, including the Balmain Club, newly promoted to the ’Big
Time’ after success in the Sydney Football Association in 1993. Adding to the interest in 1994 was the
coaching appointment of former Sydney Swans players to three SFL clubs; Nei l Cordy to East Sydney,
David Murphy to Campbelltown and Michael Byrne, who also played with
Melbourne and Hawthorn, to North Shore.
For Pennant Hills, Leo Browne was reappointed Senior coach, building on
his association with Pennant Hills football stretching back to 1979 when he
was assistant coach of the Under 11 side in the Junior Club. Kim Klomp
(pictured), former North Adelaide premiership captain, was appointed
captain of the Senior team with local youngster Peter Dixon his deputy.
From the previous season, 1993, St George were Premiers, defeating North
Shore in the Grand Final. Pennant Hills finished third after the home and away
season but were bundled out of the finals in the first semi. For the 1994
season, early expectations were that most of the 1993 team would return and the
Club was hoping for an improved performance. Unfortunately, this turned out to be wishful thinking as
many experienced players from the previous season were unable to play in 1994 due to injury, retirement
or inability to attend training. Notably, only 16 games collectively were contributed by the following 11
players from 1993, many of them key position players – Steve Bar rat t (Full Back), John Mur ray (Centre
Half Back), Kim Klomp (Centre), Stefan Carey (Centre Half Forward), Trevor Cl isby (Forward Pocket),
Russel l St imson (Back Pocket), Mick Coen (Half Back Flank), Paul Whelan (Wing), John Rakic
(Ruck Rover), Wayne Har t ley (Utility) and Tony Regan (Rover). A total of 42 players passed through the
Senior team list during the season.
Although hardly a measure of future success, Pennant Hills failed to win a match in the 1994 pre-season
eleven-a-side Trumper Cup which was taken out by Campbelltown, in this case perhaps an indicator of
things to come in the season-proper.

The Senior team had a poor start to the 1994 season losing its Round 1 match to North Shore by 51 points
and then losing its first three home games. Ironically, in the North Shore season-opener, former Pennant
Hills and Swans player Ter ry Thr ipp was “unstoppable”, kicking 8 goals against his old club. After the
results for Round 1 were in, it was remarked that the “season looks like being a big year for some clubs,
and a cold winter for others.” It seemed there was already a chill in the air at Ern Holmes Oval!
A casualty of the season-opener was the captain, Kim Klomp, who suffered “broken bones in his hands”.
He returned to the team four rounds later, but former teammate, John Rakic, recalls that he broke his
arm in the Round 5 match against Holroyd-Parramatta at Gipps Road Oval. This turned out to be Kim’s last
Senior game for Pennant Hills, however, after recuperating from the broken limb he returned to play 8
games with the Reserve grade side, and became a premiership player/coach with the win in the 1994
Reserve Grade Grand Final.
Klomp’s extended absence from the Senior side meant the responsibility of captaincy fell to 19 year old
Peter Dixon. Coach Leo Browne commented: “Both Peter’s playing performance and his on field
leadership, for one so young,” was “outstanding”. After the team’s shocking start to the season, Peter
offered to resign the captaincy, but this was refused by the coach and selectors as not in the best interests
of the team. For his selfless commitment to the team, Peter was awarded the Best Team Man award in
1994.
The team’s first victory came in the Round 3 meeting with Sydney University, by a margin of 69 points,
however, this remained the only positive result in the first seven rounds. From this point on, however,
performances improved significantly with the team registering a further seven wins, including winning
performances over all but the top three teams at their home grounds.

The poor start was largely attributed to the loss of experienced players from the previous season and the
improvement in the second half of the season was put down to “the development of so many young local
players” by the Reserve Grade and Under 19s coaches, Kim Klomp and Steve Bar rat t . Five under-age
players had the opportunity to play with the Senior side during the 1994 season, for a total of 25 games.
Tim Hal l was the only player from the 1993 Under 19 Premiership team who played the full season with
the Seniors in 1994.
The team finished in sixth place with 8 wins, 10 losses and failed to make finals. The best period was a run
of three consecutive victories from Round 8 to Round 10, which included a 124 point demolition of
Balmain, 35.18-228 to 15.14.104, in Round 9. Despite high hopes at the start of the season, Balmain
failed to win a match in 1994 and were the competition whipping boys. Remarkably, Pennant Hills
repeated its Round 9 shellacking of the Tigers by exactly the same margin – 124 points – in Round 18,
27.21-183 to 9.5-59.
Future Swans recruit Stefan Carey made a cameo appearance in Round 17, kicking two goals against
East Sydney in a losing team. Former Swan and Fitzroy player, John I ronmonger , was another ‘name’
player who pulled on the Demons jumper in 1994, kicking 7 goals in 7 games including a bag of 5 in the
Round 10 victory over North Shore. John won the Sandover Medal in 1983 when playing with East Perth.
To mark his final game in senior football Steve Bar rat t , also coach of the Under 19 side, took the field in
the team’s final match against Balmain. Fittingly, Steve kicked 3 goals in the 124 point belting of Balmain
… a fantastic last hurrah!
This final round of footy against Balmain was an absolute goal-fest for the Pennant Hills club. Each of the
three teams kicked 27 goals and had winning margins well past the 100 point mark. The Demons kicked
an aggregate of 81.62.548 to Balmain 13.6.84 … a total winning margin of 464 points for the day! Here
are the match scores:
Seniors Pennant Hills 27.21-183 to Balmain 9.5-59
Reserve Grade Pennant Hills 27.24-186 to Balmain 1.1-7
Under 19 Pennant Hills 27.17-179 to Balmain 3.0.18
What a bonanza for our players and spectators on what must have been a most memorable day!

Campbelltown were the powerhouse side in 1994, only losing one game during the home and away season
and winning the flag by seven points in a tight affair against fourth placed North Shore. As the Blues
progressed through the season with win after win, they earned the reputation of the “Grim Reaper” of the
competition. Pennant Hills was out-classed in both matches against the Blues, losing by healthy margins of
79 and 57 points, respectively.
The 1994 Phelan Medal was won by Chris O’Dwyer of East Sydney with 28 votes. Pennant Hills’ best were
Paul Gooley (15 votes), Gerard Mimmo (8 votes), Michael Carey (6 votes) and 10 players who
received between one and three votes each.
Gerard Mimmo won the Senior team’s Best & Fairest award with 141 votes, almost twice as many as the
runner-up, Michael Carey (76 votes). Randal Green was the team’s leading goalkicker with 58 goals,
37 behind the competition leaders Michael Clift of St George and Mark Sanson of Western Suburbs who
both kicked 95 goals. This surpassed by three Randal’s 1993 tally of 55. Anthony Brawn kicked a
season high 11 goals in the Round 9 rout of Balmain and David Brown bagged 8 goals in the first
meeting with the Students.
Three players were nominated to the Sydney Football League’s All Stars Team – Paul Gooley, Anthony
Brawn and Gerard Mimmo, rating these men amongst the best and most consistent across the
competition.
In his end of season report, Coach Leo Browne summed the season up as “only an average year for the
Senior team, but a great year for the Club with two magnificent Premierships.”

1994 Award Winners
Best & Fairest “Ern Holmes Trophy” – Gerard Mimmo
Runner-up Best & Fairest – Michael Carey
Most Consistent – Paul Gooley
Coach’s Award – Tim Hall
Most Improved – Anthony Brawn
Best Team Man – Peter Dixon
Best First Year Local “Ken Macrae Shield” – Matthew Daykin
Pennant Hills Footballer of the Year – Gerard Mimmo
Player Recollections
Stefan Carey (Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions 1996 – 2000)
In 1994 Stefan Carey was a regular player with the Swans Reserves, however, he made a cameo
appearance with Pennant Hills Seniors in Round 17. He provided the following recollections about his time
when at Pennant Hills:
“That 1994 year that you ask about, I was all over the country. I was drafted to the Swans at the end of
1993 and played mostly in the Swans reserves in 1994. Ron Barassi and Ron Joseph then sent me and
another youngster, Dion Myles from Baulko, to Darwin to play a whole season during the AFL off season to
gain further experience as they play during summer. We went to St. Mary’s and were undefeated
champions, winning the GF by 97 points. I used to kick the footy with a 4 year old Cyril Rioli whose father
was a champion at St Mary’s. The talent was already oozing out of that kid. I was injured with hernias and
osteitis pubis for all of 1995 before making my Swans senior debut in 1996.
That one game for Penno in 1994 was because the Swans reserves had a bye, so a few of the young
players went and played in the SFL for just that week. So Leo’s memory is correct. Leo [Browne] still
remains one of the greatest influences of my sporting life. He kept pushing me up in ages from when I was
15. He played me in the U 17’s in 1991 and then in the Under 19’s in 1992. All of 1993 I played in the
seniors so didn’t play a game with the U 19’s.

I also knew Bill [Carey] for that entire period because his son Michael and I played a lot of football together
in 17s, 19s and seniors. I think he had to answer a million questions as to whether Michael and I were
brothers with us both obviously sharing the same surname. I think because Michael was such an amazing
junior footballer, it helped me because Michael and Bill were trailblazing the path through all the
representative sides a year before I had to. Bill was always very generous with his advice and
encouragement.
Bill is probably Pennant Hills Junior Club’s greatest ever figure. A wonderful man and a wonderful family.”
John ‘Hound’ Rakic
‘Hound’ only played 3 games with the Senior team in 1994, but in the Round 5 game against Holroyd-
Parramatta he witnessed Kim Klomp break his arm. ‘Hound’ recalls “stirring him up saying he was softboned”
and Kim not appreciating the teasing. “Karma got me as a week or two later, I broke my arm
against Baulko – Klompy gave it to me with all barrels.”

Leo Browne (Senior’s coach 1994)
Leo was a 56 year old business CEO at the time and describes himself as a bit of an accidental coach as,
both in juniors and seniors, he seemed to be the “Johnny-on-the-spot” when the Club needed a coach.
Commenting on Senior’s Captain Kim Klomp’s season in 1994, although it was interrupted by injury, Leo
recalls that he would have been more than happy to have Kim in the Senior team after recovering from the
broken arm suffered in Round 5. However, Leo remembers that Klompy had a growing interest in coaching
and it was decided that Kim would see out the season as player/coach of the Reserve Grade side.

CELEBRATING A CLUB LEGEND,
WILLIAM “BILL” CAREY;
“Bill was a legend of our club.”
Tom Woodrow, Former President Pennant
Hills Junior AFC
On Saturday 5 July 2014, the Demons return
to the club’s t radi t ional home,
Ern Holmes Oval . In the Premier Division
match today against Manly, players f rom
Pennant Hi l ls wi l l be compet ing for the
inaugural Wi l l iam “Bi l l” Carey Medal , which wi l l
ground in the annual ‘Back to the Ern’ match. The
medal is dedicated to commemorat ing the
cont r ibut ions of the Club legend who passed away
ear l ier this year . Bi l l was a veteran player of the club and
was one of the founders of Pennant Hi l ls Junior AFC wi th over 40 years of voluntary
service. He made an unr ival led cont r ibut ion to the development of junior and senior
footbal l in the nor th-west suburbs of Sydney. Honour ing Bi l l ’s memory in this way is a
mark of the deep respect wi th which this genuine Club icon is held.
Bill Carey was co-founder and inaugural coach of the Pennant Hills Junior Australian Football Club way
back in 1966. He is the longest serving member of the Club, having achieved over 40 years of continuous
service, variously as coach, President, ground manager, Committee member, father and barracker.
Throughout his time at the Club, Bill made a vital contribution to the growth and development of the Club
and more generally to Australian Rules football in the northern districts of Sydney.
In January 2014 Bill, 72, passed away after a battle with lung cancer. He had a lung
removed in 2013, but when the cancer returned he contracted pneumonia and
unfortunately was not strong enough to recover. His loss is felt deeply, not just by
his family and friends, but by the Pennant Hills football community. He is sorely
missed and the atmosphere around the Club is not the same.

Right up until last year, Bill was still taking on the role of ground manager every
Sunday, in winter, straight after he had been to church. This was a job other
people feared to take, as at some point during the day it would inevitably mean
having to deal with a highly strung coach or an overly enthusiastic parent. Bill
handled these situations with complete calm and experience, employing just the
right amount of diplomacy or authority as required.
Although well known around the senior club, as both a veteran player and a devoted barracker, his
connection with the junior club was deep and he was always concerned about its welfare.
Never one afraid to voice his opinion, Bill challenged us to ensure that the club always stood for the values
it had when he founded it, that is, it catered to players of all abilities and the goal was to ensure that they
all enjoyed their football. These values are now enshrined in the junior club’s constitution and are just one
part of Bill’s extraordinary legacy at the club.
Pennant Hills proudly proclaims itself the “Family Club”, but this is not a hollow epithet, having been built
upon the principles originally espoused by Bill and his co-founders almost 50 years ago.
Make no mistake though, Bill was a competitive person and did not suffer fools gladly. Sometimes
ironically referred to as the “umpires friend”, simply because he was forever giving umpires a mouthful
either as a player, official or spectator. He knew best and gave it to those whom he thought were not
playing it fair or by the rules. “He touched the lives of many people in Sydney football and was what could
be regarded as somewhat of a colourful character, with a dogmatic disposition but one that stood for
honesty and getting the job done.

Governed by a strong Christian ethic, Bill selflessly and unreservedly gave of his time, experience and wit to
the local football community and for this we honour his contribution and memory.
A little of Bill’s life story
Bill’s first footy memories were as a seven or eight year old growing up in rural Wangaratta in the late
1940s. His favourite local club was the Wangaratta Magpies.
Aside from school footy, Bill did not recall much in the way of organised junior footy being played in his
early youth. His first opportunity to play the game competitively came when attending high school at Albury
Grammar School (now The Scots School Albury). Bill admitted that he didn’t start out a great fan of Aussie
Rules and he was much keener about cricket. He said that he “just grew into the game” over his schooling
years. By the time his schooling finished, Bill reckoned he’d played less than 20 games.
In his final years of high school, Bill’s family moved to Sydney when his father was transferred with the
Commonwealth Bank. After school finished, Bill joined the bank himself while waiting for an opportunity to
enlist with the Army. Unfortunately, a career with the Armed Forces never came into being and he stuck
with banking for 3 ½ years before he switched to teaching in 1964, which he did until he retired 38 years
later in 2001.
While still at school, Bill had holidayed in Sydney one year and got to go to a local Aussie Rules match at
Erskineville Oval. He recalls one of the teams was Balmain because they were playing in black and white
striped jerseys, the same colours as the Wangaratta Magpies. It was this sentimental attachment to the
jersey colours that lead Bill to join the Balmain Australian Football Club in 1959 as an 18 year old.
His footy career almost ended before it started, as he didn’t get a game
for several weeks at the start of the season and he seriously
contemplated switching to Rugby League before an older head
put him straight and suggested he stick it out and prove
himself. Putting his pride aside, Bill persevered with it and
soon after was selected to play in the Reserve Grade side.
By season-end, he was playing in First Grade.

During the 1960s the Balmain Club struggled for players
and for most of that decade were unable to field a Third
Grade (Under 19) side. Bill recalls playing 27 matches
one season, slogging it out with the seconds and then
backing up for the First Grade side on a number of
occasions. It was this lack of an Under 19 side and more
broadly the paucity of junior clubs in the local area that
motivated Balmain officials to start up a junior competition in
1966, the Balmain-School at the time, ran with this idea and of
course played a pivotal role in the formation of the Pennant Hills-
Normanhurst Junior Australian Football Club. of the first Under 13 side.
In 1967, Bill was transferred with his job to a school in Darnick, a small country town in central west New
South Wales; half way between Ivanhoe and Menindee and 1,000 kilometres from Sydney. He played footy
in Broken Hill while on the Darnick posting. A year later, in 1968, he was put on relief staff based in Dubbo.
Despite the long drive, Bill was able to resume his footy career in Sydney and was a regular player for
Balmain during his years in the bush.
After an absence of four years, Bill returned to Penno Juniors in 1971 and was coach of the first Penno
side to win a Flag, the Under 11s. He coached at the Club for eight seasons. As a teacher, he also coached
the Western Metropolitan Primary Schools’ Team for three years.

Bill played 201 games with Balmain Australian Football Club from
1959-1972. In 1973 he switched clubs, joining Pennant Hills
Seniors where he played 141 games for the Firsts and
Reserves. He retired as a player in 1981.
Pennant Hills Best & Fairest
(from left) W. Carey, D. Lenaghan, J. Goswell, 1977
Remarkably, Bill’s footy career as a player in Sydney
spanned 4 decades from 1959 -1981. As to personal
highlights, he rated the following amongst the best:
• Placing 9th in the Phelan Medal in 1966;
• Runner-up Best & Fairest for Balmain in 1966; and
• Winning his first Best & Fairest award at Pennant
Hills in 1977 at the age of 36 and then going back-to-back the
following year in 1978, age 37.
He was on the Pennant Hills Junior Club Committee for over 25 years,
including a stint as President in 1991. Bill obtained life membership with the
Balmain AFC (1995), Pennant Hills AFC (1981), Pennant Hills Junior AFC and Northside Junior Football
Association and was awarded the National Football League’s Merit Award in 1984 for his outstanding
contribution to the code.

Throughout his distinguished career Bill served as:
• Member of the Board of Management of the NSW AFL;
• Delegate to the NSW AFL for the Balmain AFC;
• Member of the Balmain AFC committee;
• President and Vice President of the Hills-Hornsby Junior
Football Association;
• President and Vice President of the Pennant Hills Junior
AFC;
• Member of the Pennant Hills AFC committee;
• Team Manager for Pennant Hills AFC senior grades; and
• Member and Vice President of the NSW Australian Football
History Society.
For more than 45 years the Club was blessed with Bill’s continuous and ongoing involvement. His role in
sustaining the new Club through its infancy and harnessing its growth make his contribution the most
influential factor in the culture and character of the Club, its players, officials and supporters.
Bill’s two sons, Michael and Peter, were junior players with the Club and both also went on to play with
Pennant Hills Seniors.
Stefan Carey, former player at Pennant Hills, Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions recently remarked that “Bill
is probably Pennant Hills Junior Club’s greatest ever figure.” Nothing more be said!

From The Football Record #1
In the 1966 season, Bill polled 8 votes in the Phelan Medal, finishing 9th.
The Football Record carried several stories regarding Bill’s on-field
exploits.
May 28th, 1966:
A well kept secret of Bill Carey, N.S.W. League Board of Management
member and winger for Balmain, slipped out this week. Bill recorded two
points in the Phelan Medal competition in the opening match against
Southern Districts at Rosedale Oval.
But it was not learned until this week, that Bill, who wears contact lenses
on the football field, lost one of his lenses in the last quarter. It must have
been quite a sight to see Bill down on hands and knees looking for his
lense.
My spy tells me Bill played a real “blinder”.
August 6th, 1966:
We told you earlier in the season about Balmain winger … Bill Carey who
received two votes in the Phelan Medal after losing one of his contacts in
the last quarter.
Well, Bill was voted best on the ground against University last Sunday. His
second lot of votes in the competition.
This goes to prove that Bill can play just as well when he can see the ball.
From The Football Record #2
June 4th, 1966:
Balmain winger Bill Carey reaches
an important milestone in his
football career when he runs on to
Erskineville Oval this Saturday to
play against South Sydney. It will be
Bill’s 100th consecutive first grade
match for the club.
To play 100 matches in First Grade
is quite a feat but 100 straight is
something out of the ordinary.
Bill has been with Balmain for eight
seasons now. He explains that he
was in and out of first grade in his
first season but then settled down
to a grand run that makes it 100 in
a row this Saturday. It is good to see
players like Bill … stick with the club
through good and bad times.

ON THE PENNO RADAR;
AUGUST
NETBALL CHALLENGE, SATURDAY 2ND AUGUST
Further details to come.
LADIES DAY & SPONSORS DAY, SATURDAY 16TH AUGUST
An important day on the Penno calendar where we celebrate the contribution made by
mothers, sisters, wives & girlfriends – The Pennant Hills Ladies Day! And it is this day that we
will also acknowledge the incredibly important contribution that our sponsors have made to
the success of this great club.
Mark it on your calendars, further details to come.

OLD PENNO VS. THE WORLD;
“I’ve never seen so much walking on the football field
in all my life.”
SATURDAY 28TH JUNE
A game fought with heart and courage (and at least 50 men on the field at any given moment), the ‘Old
Penno vs. The World’ match was a (some-what) fast paced battle for ultimate bragging rights. After an
impressive turn out on Thursday night for training, pasta and a couple of beers, the boys, who were well
fitted out, fought triumphantly on Saturday afternoon – sending sales for both the bar and the physio
through the roof!

Ron Barassi made a special appearance as the ‘Old Penno’ coach – only to be yellow-carded in the second
half for running on to the field. Who do you think you are Barass, Paul Roos?! And a hard-fighting Glenn
Gunstone showed more promise than the current St Kilda list.
Proving that AFL is a sport played only by true athletes, the game had it all – high marks, long kicks, snaps
for goal, blokes selling the candy, umpire abuse, a turtle on his back – the game bought everyone to their
knees (just ask Cambo?!).
Looking forward to another sell-out crowd next year!

‘Back To The Ern’ Special Edition. Click Here