Open letter from the AAFA President

Ladies and Gents

The purpose of this letter is to provide you a brief update on our footy club.

In the interests of those who barrack for Carlton, I have deliberately kept it short.

The last 5 years have seen us focus on re-invigorating footy post COVID.  Our national teams have continued to professionalise their culture and approach to footy, producing exceptional results against the toughest competition in the ADF.  The women’s team have been nothing but inspiring.  This year's achievement of winning 12 straight national carnivals is simply unheard of in competition at this level. You are an example to us all and through watching you, I have personally learned a lot about leadership (and followership). Like combat, losing battles is part of any competitive endeavour, but it is how you get back that matters. Having lost a few battles, I have been particularly impressed with how the men’s team have turned to each other and methodically worked their way back to winning the war…and now two successive national carnival victories.

While winning should always be central to any footy club (particularly one in our line of work!), our club provides so much more to the Army. It provides opportunity for our people (full-time and part-time) to develop individual, team and leadership skills that can be drawn upon in combat (and life!!). As part of these broader endeavours, the club is working towards the following strategic objectives:

·       Appointing AAFA Regional Representatives to enable footy in the regions. This is providing more opportunities to play high level footy against rep sides, increasing community connection and assisting in national team selection in the absence of funding for Inter-Regional Carnivals.  That said, we continue to work to secure funding for Inter-Regional Carnivals but these may only occur every 2-3 years rather than annually. 

·       Appointing a AAFA International Engagement (IE) Representative that is now connected into ADF sports and Army/Defence IE to enable more consistent opportunities for our people to travel OS and contribute to IE effects.

·       Enhancing our indigenous talent spotting and providing clear pathways for this talent to represent Army at the national level. This includes the appointment of an Indigenous Representative on our Committee and supporting a NORFORCE AFL Camp in June.

·       Improving our communications and connection with ex-serving club members as part of our One Club For Life endeavours. We hope that this will enable increased virtual and face to face connection between current and ex-serving club members including attendance at regional and national games. We are also considering including an ex-serving member on the AAFA Committee.

·       Expanding the diversity and size of our Committee to better reflect the club, aid in succession planning and add a bit more horsepower to our endeavours.

·       The Committee is considering ways we can better record our rich club history and acknowledge those who have made significant contribution to it.

·       The Committee is considering ways we can enhance our sponsorship and be less reliant on fluctuating Army/ADF funding. 

·       The Committee is considering appointing a “Coaching Pathways Coordinator” to facilitate and support the development of our Level 1 and 2 coaches and provide clear pathways to national coach selection.

We can not achieve our on and off-field aspirations without the significant support provided by our longstanding sponsors. On behalf of the club, I would like to sincerely thank Point Trading, Defence Bank, Haulmark Trailers, Thales, NTSS, and Cubic who continue to support us without wanting anything in return.  This says something about them both as individuals and as companies.  We hope you feel part of our club and hope to find ways to further involve you in it as time goes on. 

Finally, our success relies on selfless people that are willing to stick their heads above the parapet and contribute to the club in addition to normal work and family commitments. In my opinion, our coaches do this more than most and I would like to take this opportunity thank Oatsey (aka Eliza Oates) and Frag (aka Mark Mahoney) for everything they do.  I would also like to sincerely thank Cliffo (aka Chris Clifton), Bones (aka James Debono) and Jorja Jones for their significant contribution to our club. You have made a difference to hundreds of people and for that you should be eternally proud.  Despite being one of the busiest leaders in the Army, MAJGEN Ash Collingburn has also agreed to take over the mantle as AAFA President some time in the second half of 2025. As a club, we are fortunate to have Ash as our incoming President and the Chief of Army as our ongoing Patron and I personally wish them both the best going forward. 

Thank you. Onwards and upwards. Go Army!!

Hocks

Andrew Hocking

Major General (Retd)

President Army Aussie Rules Football Association