I would like to welcome everyone including all life members, current members, and supporters to the 2025 winter sports season. We must reflect on how much of a success 2024 was for the club on and off the field. All four of the mens football teams made finals with the Reserves and  U/16s making the grand final. The U/16s went on to win the premiership to top off a fantastic season. In the inaugural season of the youth girls competition our young tigers made it through to the grand final losing a nail biter by 3 points. The future is looking bright at Tigerland for the Mens and Womens football teams. There has been some major progress with the club's redevelopment with all of the extension finished on the eastern end and the new change rooms and public toilets up and running. With our membership numbers continuing to rise and the number of teams still increasing across all sports Railways are set to be a very competitive and strong club to be involved with for many years to come.

With the 2024/25 season now completed for Cricket and Basketball i should acknowledge how much improvement our cricket club has made over the past 12 months. Playing in both the T20 and 50 over grand finals.  The cricket club is in very good shape and the injection of youth into their senior side has had very positive results. The Basketball club continues to take huge steps forward with a record number of teams participating across the competition covering all age groups. This takes a huge contribution from our volunteers to make this happen and we are so lucky to have such great volunteers giving up their time to make our Basketball club so successful.

The winter sports season is already under way for Football and Netball and what an exciting season it’s going to be. The numbers on the track for footy have been unbelievable and we look like having very competitive sides in all grades. There is definitely an air of excitement and enthusiasm amongst the players. With good leadership from our coaches and commitment from the players hopefully we can achieve the ultimate success come finals time in all grades. 

 

We recently hosted the traditional ANZAC day clash against North Albany and what a success it was. With 3 wins in the senior grades and a thrilling draw in the U/16s. There was a huge crowd in attendance enjoying some spectacular footy. It was a great day had by all, in particular the 1985 & 86 premiership players who had returned for their 40 year reunion. Thanks to all the volunteers who made this day run so smoothly and everyone involved should be proud of their efforts.

As everyone is probably aware our club room renovations are still ongoing and probably another 12 months from completion but we can now see what the final outcome is going to look like. It's a very exciting time to be around the club. The biggest hurdle that we face in completing the redevelopment is funding and we will be looking at doing another major fundraiser this year. There are going to be some challenges throughout the season but we are confident that we will manage these challenges and have another great year on and off the field. I hope that  everyone can be patient and understanding and see the vision of our redevelopment as it is going to make Railways a better club for many years to come.

 

In my time as president of the Railways Football and Sporting club there has been one thing that has stood out and I believe sets us apart from other clubs and that is the willingness of our members and players to roll their sleeves up, get dirty and play their part in contributing to the club. We have an amazing group of volunteers and I just can't thank them enough. Clubs can simply not survive without these volunteers and I can only hope the current group are setting a fine example for the many to come in the future.

 

There is one other major component to running a successful club and that is sponsorship and we are forever indebted to the many local businesses that have contributed their hard earned dollars towards our club. Year in and year out these businesses put their hands in the pocket and contribute to making our club run smoothly so we can provide a safe and enjoyable place for everyone to play sports, socialise with their friends and contribute to our community. In particular the very generous support we have received towards our renovations. We can not thank you enough. If we can please keep these businesses in mind when we are making a purchase and support the people who support us.

I truly believe that we have built a strong culture over the many years with such strong family values that we are an organisation that is very inclusive and welcoming of everyone that comes through the doors of our great club. We will continue to respect our club, our teammates, our opposition and ourselves, as we stay united together and strive for excellence to achieve the best results on and off the field.

The committee is unwavering in our vision and goals and we are excited about our future. We are proud of where we have come from and are focused on where we are going.

Go Tigers

Wayne Stubber 
RFSCA President
2025