From the Weekly Times
THERE'S not much Rhys Archard hasn't achieved at the Echuca Murray Bombers. After arriving from Cohuna as a 16-year-old, Archard has played in two premierships, won two club best-and-fairests and a Goulburn Valley league best-and-fairest and represented the VCFL.Outside of his home club, he was a rookie with Adelaide and also went on to win a SANFL Magarey medal.

From the Weekly Times
NORTH Albury boom recruit Jason Gram showed his class in his debut game in the Ovens and Murray league. The sacked St Kilda defender was silky-skilled in the midfield and named among the Hoppers' best players in their 24-point victory over Myrtleford on Sunday. He was joined in the Round 1 win by coach Jason Akermanis, who had said last week he would not play as it was an away game.

From the Weekly Times
MITIAMO Football Club is still on the hunt for players just three days before its first game. The Superoos, in the Loddon Valley league, have lost 15 senior and 15 reserves players over summer, leaving them scratching to make up numbers. President Trevor Mitchell said the club would fail to field an under-17 team for the first time in 100 years.

From the Weekly Times
FORMER St Kilda serial pest Steven Baker faces a life ban from any form of football if a six-week suspension is upheld. He will front the AFL Victorian Country appeals board on Thursday night. The Sorrento Football Club and Baker  will look to reduce or overturn the career-ending sanction after officially lodging an appeal for the suspension he received after an incident that left Red Hill player Blake Thompson with a broken jaw on March 9.

From the Weekly Times
CHASE Strawhorn has made an immediate impression on the Murray Football League. The ex-Rennie power forward booted 12 goals for Mulwala in its 198-point domination of Rumbalara in a best-on-ground performance. Strawhorn claimed the senior goalkicking title in the Picola and District Football League's South East division last year after he booted 102 goals for Rennie and is already on track to kick the ton again this year.

From the Weekly Times
WHEN you've won just six games in three years, aiming for a finals berth seems a little ambitious. But that's the goal this season at the renewed Red Cliffs Football Club. The Tigers - wooden spooners in 2010 and second-last for the past two years - have a new coach, new players and a new attitude after an off-season recruiting spree designed to lift the club out of the Sunraysia Football League doldrums.

From the Weekly Times
LAST year's Ardmona Football Club captain Kye Hardie admits to having retreated to a corner of the change rooms and wept. "I cried because I knew that was it for the year. That was it," said Hardie, 23. "It was the time I realised that winning games wasn't an option. It was about keeping the club alive.

From the Weekly Times
SIX months ago, things were looking grim for Casterton Football Club. After one senior win last season, a review of football on the Victorian-South Australian border cut a swathe through the region's clubs, dividing leagues and uniting long-standing foes. By September, the Cats were the only Victorian club remaining in the Western Border league.

From the Weekly Times
WESTERN Border Football League chief executive David Heard admits his clubs will "get to know each other pretty well". In just one off-season, the Mt Gambier-based competition has shrunk from nine clubs to six and shelved its affiliation with the Victorian Country Football League.

From the Weekly Times
VFL footballer "Fabulous" Phil Carman has taken the reins at East Gambier in the Western Border Football League. Carman, 62, who played 100 VFL games from 1975-82, put pen to paper at the Bulldogs late last year.