Shamrocks News

6 September 2007 - Members, supporters and guests are hereby invited to the 2007 Shamrocks Annual Awards this Friday night at 7:00pm at Indooroopilly Pig �n� Whistle, Cambridge Room.

Will Bodie Wilmot, David O�Malley, and Trish Brown repeat as Best & Fairest winners? (pictured)

Who will win the Most Consistent, Most Improved, and Best First Year Player awards?

Will all the players turn up to collect their Players Medallions?

Winners must be there to collect. Hope to see you there for this free event!

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See details of major sponsor Pig 'n' Whistle
Previous awards winners

Shamrocks� luck ends in finals marathon

2 September 2007 - No team has ever played as many finals, and that proved too much for the brave Shamrocks women (pictured) battling exhaustion in the Queensland Gaelic football championship grand final at Willawong over the weekend.

Shamrocks � after playing a semi final replay just 36 hours earlier, making it a record 4 finals in 15 days � lost 0-8-8 to a rested Harps team 3-17-26.

Harps claim its fourth consecutive Queensland championship, while Shamrocks lose its second final in three years, last winning the title in 2001.

Shamrocks had enjoyed a 2-1 win-loss record against Harps this season prior to the exhaustive finals schedule given to them.

Sally Cooper and Trish Brown led the scoring for Brisbane�s western suburbs Shamrocks with two points apiece, while amongst the best players were goalkeeper Jess Roberts, full back Sue Monson, and midfielder Brown.

While the grand final was played on Sunday afternoon, Shamrocks were forced to win a semi final replay on Friday night 6-13-31 against Souths 3-7-16, after Souths had protested the score in the previous weekend�s semi final. Alycia Clayton 3 goals 3 points, Renee Moynihan 2-3, and Brown 1-3, dominated the scoring in the replay.

In the quarter final - the first of the four-match 15-day finals marathon � Shamrocks 10-16-46 easily accounted for Easts Celts nil.

In the Queensland mens championship final, John Mitchels 1-9-12 beat Souths 1-6-9 to secure its second championship in three years, and sixth in club history.

The defending champion Souths advanced to its sixth Championship grand final in eight years after it protested the semi final scores against Shamrocks, which were then disqualified for playing an ineligible player.

In the QGFA annual awards presented on the weekend, Shamrocks� Matt Mayo and Stephen Halpin tied for Queensland best and fairest runner-up, Trish Brown was named most consistent, and Lyndall Daley won best first year player.

The Shamrocks annual awards are being announced at the Indooroopilly Pig �n� Whistle, Cambridge Room, 7pm this Friday night.

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Bundled out of grand finals

31 August 2007 - Shamrocks have been bundled out of the Queensland Gaelic Football Championship grand finals following a decision by the state committee, according to the Souths website.

This follows complaints by Souths about the accuracy of the scores kept by the referees in both their losses to Shamrocks in the mens and womens semi finals last weekend.

The state committee reacted by deciding that Shamrocks ladies team must now replay its semi final against Souths, now scheduled for Friday night, 36 hours before the grand final against Harps.

And in the mens division, Shamrocks were disqualified after four-year veteran Wayne Gallagher played in the semi final but did not appear on five team sheets through the year, according to supporters.

In the 2000 ladies Championship semi final Shamrocks v Souths, Souths were disqualified after playing an ineligible player. Souths� defense was that the player was a long term member. Shamrocks allowed Souths to progress to the final on that occasion despite them being disqualified.

Shamrocks ladies played a player short in that game, with Australasian all-star Mary Kelleher � sister of current Shamrocks mens coach John Kelleher � watching from the sidelines because she had not played the arbitrary five games.

Supporters have submitted text that was published on the Souths website this week.

Sunday night the following was reportedly on the front page of the Souths website:

�QGFA CHAMPIONSHIP FARCICALS At least two QGFA semi-finals have ended in controversy in a dramatic and indeed quite farcical afternoon at Willawong. Imagine a women�s team winning their semi-final, and this outcome recognised by numerous spectators as well as that team, only to have the referee determine that they had lost according to that referee�s personal score-keeping. Then imagine a men�s team finishing level with their opponents after a hard-fought match, and this outcome being openly recognised by both teams� managements as well as numerous independent spectators, only for that game�s referee to then rule that the former team had been defeated by two points according to that referee�s personal score-keeping. Next imagine that in both instances, it was Souths teams to have been clinically (and, according to a majority of spectators with varying affiliations in both instances, inappropriately) adjudged by the respective referees to have lost; and that in both instances it was Shamrocks opposition teams that were to benefit from these highly questionable, yet evidently ultimate, dictates. To complete this unfortunate scenario which, incredulously, is neither hypothetical nor fictional: both referees also happen to be associated QGFA committee members. (For the record, at least three other QGFA committee members later called into question one or more significant decisions made by the persons in question; so there is no suggestion here that these events reflect a strategy on behalf of the QGFA committee as a whole.) At least one or another significant representative from all other QGFA clubs commiserated with Souths management and committee members at the conclusion of these �contests�. Above are outlined some key, objective and factual (rather than opinion-based) accounts of events which transpired on Sunday August 26th. Perhaps the only positive factor to emerge from these events in the fact that the 2007 Queensland Championships campaigns of both Souths teams have ended with the Magpies remaining undefeated on the field by their opponents.�

By Tuesday, this had been replaced by:

�QGFA CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS Following investigation into the Semi Finals played on 26 August 2007, the QGFA committee has decided the following:

Senior Men The outcome of the match has been disregarded following investigation of player eligibility of both teams. Shamrocks played an ineligible player and have therefore forfeited the match. Souths men will be playing John Mitchells in the Championship Final on 2nd September 2007.

Women After investigation, the QGFA has ruled that neither Souths or (sic) Shamrocks can be awarded the match as the score could not be determined. Thus, the womens semi final between Souths and Shamrocks will be replayed on Saturday 1 September 2007. The winner of this match will play Harps in the Championship Final on 2nd September 2007.�

Above are outlined some key, objective and factual (rather than opinion-based) accounts of events which have transpired this week.

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