Sport
19 December, 2021
Rattlers prepare to field senior men’s team
THE Brisbane Valley Rattlers AFL club is on the verge of fielding a senior men’s team for 2022, after gaining a provisional licence for the QAFL Division 4 Friday night competition.
Twenty-five prospective players have filled out an Expression of Interest (EOI) form so far, with 30 names required before the team can gain a full licence from AFL Queensland.
Training sessions have been held at Fernvale Sports Park since November 25, with up to 10 prospective players taking part.
Rattlers club president Graham Smith said most of the 25 prospective players who had filled out an EOI form were new to the game, while about seven had played for other clubs.
Smith said players couldn’t be registered until a full licence was received, and that he hoped this could occur by early February.
Smith said if a full licence was received, the Rattlers should play in the Division 4 Friday night competition which would likely start in mid April.
“(The) Rattlers are very excited to apply for a licence and put our case forward to have our first senior team in 2022,” he said.
Smith said fitness, ball skills, handball, kicking and tackling had been worked on at training so far, before aspects like game plans, positioning and rules of the game would gain attention in January.
“We hope to announce our coach and staff just before Christmas,” Smith said.
The QAFL Division 4 competition would see the Rattlers playing as far afield as Kedron in north Brisbane and against teams from the Gold Coast.
With the Fernvale-based club fielding junior teams but not senior teams since the club’s debut in 2016, the Rattlers looked at the possibility of fielding senior men’s and women’s teams in 2022.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough interest for a women’s team for 2022, (but) we are committed to having a women’s team in the future if there’s enough interest,” Smith said.
“We will try and arrange a few come and try afternoons for women during the 2022 season and take expressions of interest for 2023.
“(The) Rattlers are committed to growing our great sport in the Somerset region and being part of our great community for many years to come.”
While players are still required for seniors, registration is also open for juniors aged seven to 14. The registration link is: https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/bcf3f6
Smith thanked the Somerset Regional Council for the lights at Fernvale Sports Park, saying “otherwise the senior team wouldn’t be possible”.
Send an email to rattlersafc@outlook.com for more information.
