Milestone Games – Saturday 20 July 2024

Congratulations to Lani Pane (100 games), Matt Kenna (100 games), Aidan Prato (100 games) and Zoe Glascott (50 games) on their milestones this weekend!

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Lani Pane

This week we get to celebrate the first womens player to reach 100 games in the maroon, blue and gold. This is not only an incredible personal achievement for Lani, but a special milestone for the club. It goes hand in hand, in being a very fitting reward for her dedication and pure passion for our team and this club.

Lani is the most humble achiever I have ever met. She quite frankly doesn’t have much belief in herself or her own abilities, but she uses her selfless qualities to believe in our team and club. Hence she possesses the true traits of being a natural leader, and epitomises every quality of the perfect teammate – supportive, accountable and proud. She’s so humble she’s invisible to the Big V vafa selectors, despite winning the league best and fairest last year.

While Lani is competitive and tenacious, she is a gentle and reassuring person. Playing in last years premiership team together will always be a cherished memory. Lani’s personal accolades are quite incredible and are a very deserving reward for her hardwork.

Since meeting Lani in 2017, I’ve been very lucky to ride every little speed hump and high with her. I’ve watched her completely catastrophise about her performance each week, to being so content in her captaincy abilities and lead our team to win a premiership last year. I’ve also watched her transform from a normal sized girl into an athlete .. (like a meatball turning into the hulk). I speak on behalf of everyone to say we are very lucky to have a teammate and more importantly friend like Lani. Always supporting and making the people around her better – it’s a genuine and unique quality that she has.

For what it’s worth, I’ll gladly continue to take the blame for Lani’s umpire dissent…. because throughout our many shared games and 8 years of playing together she has always been the biggest support for me and for the womens team.

100 games means 100 nighttime cuddles with your uniform in bed the night before each game!!
I’m very excited for this weekend, as is everybody else in the Marcellin community! Good job sissy!

Annie Xanthos

Lani, I feel quite undeserving to be standing up here tonight to highlight the incredible legacy you are forging right before our eyes. It’s an incredible achievement, 100 games, one to be so proud of, and one that I know you don’t take lightly. As we all know, you’re quite a modest achiever, so to celebrate you here tonight, I thought I’d lay out all the because’s of why you’re so special:

• because you lay your footy uniform out the night before, socks at all, and sometimes sleep with it on.
• because you genuinely get upset when training is cancelled.
• because you stay in the Marcellin carpark until 9pm every Monday and Wednesday getting feedback from Boydo , where he suggests you just copy what Laura Robertson does.
• because you refuse to get a haircut during footy season in case your hair might get in your eyes.
• because you stalk every opposition on Instagram before we play them and find out all the info.
• because you give away dissent free kicks, but get upset because you think that this means that the umpire doesn’t like you anymore.
• because you get pushed, shoved and picked on every single game, and it’s taken you until this season to finally tell someone to “f***off”.
• because you and the coaches only pass the ball to each other when we do any competitive drill.
• because you sprint from nowhere to run past me to get a handball because you don’t trust my kicking.
• because you get so mad at the lack of attention, we get on the VAFA website that you have single handedly started a conspiracy that the author, Annie Ireland, is in fact an AI robot.
• because you are the most humble achiever, never feeling deserving of a pat on the back or any accolade that comes your way.
• because you work all year round, brainstorming and working on building a culture where the women’s program at Marcellin can continue to build and thrive.
• because you are always seeing areas of improvement in your own game, and you tirelessly work before and after training to get better at things I don’t even understand.
• because you are a dual premiership player, including a premiership captain, three-time VAFA team of the year, VAFA team of the year captain, a dual club best and fairest winner and a VAFA best and fairest winner, no coaches awards however
• because you are the best player I’ve ever played with, the best leader I’ve ever played with, and the best friend I’ve ever played with and I wish you all the best and more for this weekend!

Liv Frost

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Matt Kenna

This week we get to celebrate the milestone of Matt Kenna playing his 100th game for Marcellin, one of the most loved members of the wider Marcellin OCFC family.

Kenna came to the club in the 2017 season to play Under 19’s with his mates after finishing year 12. He quickly made a name for himself including playing influential roles as a tagger with his impressive conditioning, before becoming an important part of the backline, or the ‘Cartel’ as he self-named the back 6. Playing as a lockdown defender, Kenna was proud of the ear massages he delivers, noting that when we see a recipient of one on the circuit, their ears have never been the same.

Kenna graduated from the 19s and spent his earlier years floating between the seconds and thirds, eventually landing himself as a mainstay in the reserves team after Covid. As Kenna started to have better, more consistent games in the thirds and reserves, he was not immune to sending through a message to the group chat to “check the website” once the VAFA best 6 was released. One day we knew this was coming after he kicked 4 against Ormond before a 21st birthday. He was quite excited to bring this up on the night, but everyone refrained from querying how his game went earlier in the day. He was in quite a pickle, having to wait until someone brought up his day to discuss his heroics or risk appearing a bit too self-indulgent.

Kenna has an impressive ability to galvanize a group, always finding ways to get the best out of the players around him. This had led to him being promoted to Reserves Vice Captain for a couple of years, and now Captain. His leadership and hard work to develop other areas of his game led to Kenna earning his first senior game last season & it was an honour to present that jersey and celebrate the moment together. I’m sure he’d like to have the chance to take his first kick again though…

A favourite son of the club who is truly dedicated to getting the most out of himself and everyone around him, we are all so excited to celebrate game 100 with you. I will be sure to refresh the website on Saturday afternoon hoping to see your name pop up again alongside a Marcellin win.

Alex Strempel

Every football club has its heart and soul guys, those players whose positive attitude and commitment inspire everyone around them. This week, we shine the spotlight on one of the good guys of the club: Matt Kenna. His remarkable journey with our club has been defined by determination, growth, and mateship on and off the field.

Matt joined the club in 2017, a fresh faced under 19 with a “work in progress” kicking ability but nobody could question the hunger to be involved. Matt began his career as a tagger, tasked with stopping the opposition’s best players. Matt quickly earned a reputation for his running capacity, grit and discipline. His ability to neutralize the opposition’s key threats on the field was invaluable, earning him respect from both teammates and coaches.

Matt’s commitment to self-improvement over the years exemplifies the spirit of our club, always looking for ways to improve his game and how he can better contribute to the team. Matt spent his early years on the fringes of the Reserves, often left out of the side. Matt never took it personally, seeing it as a valuable learning opportunity. One particular learning opportunity back in 2021 was Williamstown away, Matt and myself were victims of a crushing defeat of 117-1. We may not have learned much from the scoreboard that day but for Matt it was only up from here.

Fast forward to this year, Matt’s growth and dedication to the club have led to him to playing Senior football and becoming the Reserves captain. You’ve come a long way, Matt, and it’s a testament to your hard work and perseverance. Matt’s footy journey is a great example for all the young eagles at the club who are aspiring to be the best footballers they can be and to get the most out of their ability.

Matt Kenna embodies the heart and soul of our club. We are incredibly proud to have him lead us on and off the field, and it’s been a pleasure to play alongside you mate.

Here’s to Matt Kenna, a true leader, a dedicated clubman, and one of the good guys.

Happy 100 Dog, go well mate.

Jack Pierce

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Aidan Prato

Aidan entered the Marcellin Old Collegians Football Club as a fresh faced 18-year-old with a little too much gel in his luscious curly locks. Having returned to football from rugby, Aidan brought the ruckus to a stacked under 19s team, in which he solidified himself as the centre-half back who would always hold his own against taller opponents. However, Aidan’s greatest moment of under 19s would come in the last game of the regular season. During the warmup, a football had hit Aidan in the head by accident, an event of little significance. That would be until the first five minutes of the game when he handballed the football directly to an opponent who then kicked a goal. It then became clear that Aidan had been concussed by this rogue football and he was not well.

Following under 19s, Aidan would bounce between the 2s and 3s as a big body midfielder. He would prove to a difficult matchup as he possessed both strength and stamina. Aidan was always encouraging towards his team mates most notably yelling out to Flugge “This is your moment Oscar!” when Flugge found himself in a paddock on the Bray Oval. Unfortunately, this was not the moment for Oscar but you can be damn sure that both Aidan and Oscar would have enjoyed that evening together.

My favourite times playing football with Aidan would come in 2021. We both found ourselves playing under our good friend Tom Black in the reserves as well as living together. Saturday mornings we would take off from Brunswick with hip hop blasting from the speakers. We would roll around in the midfield together for two gruelling hours and then always stop off for a stupid amount of KFC or McDonalds on the way home. It was simple, enjoyable and beautiful.

Since then, Aidan’s football has gone from strength to strength to become a well-deserved member in the senior team. Aidan is the ideal clubman who plays his role, never complains and fosters strong team culture. As I sit here under the grey skies in London, I look forward to the day we play football together once again and congratulate my good friend on his 100th game.

Luca Zanella

Congratulations on this milestone what a great opportunity to celebrate your career to date.

Aidan has been a constant contributor for the club since his days in the Un19s. Back then Aidan was our lockdown key defender going toe-to-toe with the opposition’s best forward every week. Nearly always being smaller and lighter than his opponent Aidan always found a way to shut them down.

Aidan’s path out of the Un19s might surprise some as he started the following seasons in the Thirds. Throughout the season Aidan brought his no-fuss attitude eventually working his way into the Reserves team. If you speak with Aidan he will tell you that this period was probably the best for his development. He moved into the midfield and quickly learnt that he had to go win his own footy. Upon breaking into the Reserves side later that year, Aidan very quickly put his new skill set to work and it wasn’t long before Aidan became one of our most valuable midfielders.

Once again Aidan quietly went about his footy, working on his game and eventually earned his Senior debut. Determined not to accept being a fringe Senior player bouncing between teams Aidan made the most of an opportunity to return to his roots as a defender. This move has seen him become one of the first picked players every week and he has continued to produce consistent performances locking down dangerous forwards.

There is no better example than Aidan for anyone at the club who wants to improve and get more out of their footy. He has never complained about anything at the club, he has just put in the work and let his footy do the talking. Aidan is a true leader by example and there should be more people following in his footsteps in the way that he trains and prepares to get the best out of himself.

It’s been a great journey and we have been lucky to share some great moments along the way on the field. A rock-solid teammate and a rock-solid friend. Go well on the weekend and I look forward to celebrating with a few beers afterwards.

Matt Kenna

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Zoe Glascott

Wow 50 games for Zoe what an amazing achievement. Although it’s only been 50 games Zoe seems to have packed a fair bit into her playing career so far. Whether it being kicking 8 goals in a grand final or practising her boxing skills on the footy field she’s done it all.

In honour of one of Zoe’s most famous moments on the footy field her three week suspension we are going to celebrate our three most favourite Zoe moments.

Footy IQ/lack there of it
One of the most amazing things about Zoe and her game is she basically knows nothing about footy. You can often hear her asking at training what a “drop punt” is or what a “snag” means only for her to go out on the weekend and kick 5 plus goals. She truely is someone with the most amazing natural talent and thank god for that. Zoe might be one of the most bizarre people to coach (and good luck to the next Big V coach that has to try coach her) but she is probably the most unorthodox player and the way her brain works is truely very special. The coaches often have to rename a drill or set play like the “airbus” just to make sure Zoe stays present in the game. She’s frequently apologising to umpires if she’s given away a free kick letting them know “she just doesn’t know the rules”.
But for a girl who came to this club knowing nothing about football it’s been amazing to see your improvement every year. Your improvement from a ressies player to a vafa leading goal kicker has been is so amazing and it’s an absolute testament to your dedication to your game.

Playing ability
Zoe’s playing ability is someone to admire and fear. One minute she’ll be talking to her player about there weekend plans and the new book she’s been reading, next minute she’ll have barrelled her opponent over kicked a goal only to go back and help her opponent up and continues talking dribble to her. Our second favourite player to zoe is her alter ego “Zelda” and when Zelda appears you know zoe is kicking a bag. Zoe is impartial to a sneaky look at her Player HQ profile to check her stats, even informing the backline whilst they are getting smashed that they needed to lift their game to stop a Brighton player from kicking goals to make sure she’s still on top of the goal kicking leaderboard. Not only has her footy knowledge developed so has her ability to get a free kick. Zoe not unlike Jack Ginnivan seems to now know how to drop her knees at the perfect time to perform an Oscar worthy head high tackle.
But Zoe your playing ability is something so special. The ways your game has continued to improve is so exciting to watch. The way you attack the game truely lifts the team and we wouldn’t be half the team without you. 8 goals in a grand final kind of seems like light work for you.

Her personality
Whilst we love Zoe’s limited knowledge and playing ability, we love Zoe for being her. Zoe is the biggest ball of energy and never fails to keep us all on our toes.

Zoe once described Elsternwick park as an exciting place for her she’s so it’s only fitting that she adds 50 games to another amazing achievement at the oval. Every week we get the absolute pleasure to watch you on the field, so we can’t wait to run out with you this Saturday and witness the greatness that is Zoe.

Sara McMillan and Tess Menzies