Gembrook-Cockatoo Football Club is hitting the training track hard as the pre-season heats up.
Carolyn Goodie
THE Gembrook-Cockatoo Football Club has hit the ground running as the Brookers get ready for the first bounce of the pre-season.
There will also be a big family day and Twenty20 cricket match against a team of AFL stars on February 1.
In the lead-up to Christmas, an average of 60 players took to the training track.
The enthusiasm around the club since the appointment of senior coach Travis Marsham, along with playing assistants former St Kilda player Aussie Jones and Rick Clarke has been described as fantastic.
Training has been varied, a mixture boxing, stair-climbing and ball-skills work.
The Brookers next challenge will be swapping their footballs for a cricket ball for Twenty20 Cricket match against a team of AFL All Stars that includes Brendan Fevola, Stephen Milne, Brady Rawlings, Daniel Pratt, Josh Gibson, Corey Jones, Leigh Harding and Michael Firrito.
On Sunday, 1 February, the local communities are invited to watch this spectacle, one lucky spectator will have the opportunity to play in the AFL team by entering a raffle at noon.
There will be live music, a barbecue and refreshments. Prizes can be won for crowd catches.
The day starts at 12.30pm, entry costs $5 per adult with children under 16 free.
The Gembrook Cockatoo Football club would like everyone to come and enjoy a fun family day.
The major sponsor is Emerald Co-op Mitre Ten with prizes for catches being donated by the local Bendigo Community Bank in Cockatoo.
