Dear all, 

A lot has happened since I wrote my first letter to members as club president in March this year.  As understatements go, that’s a medal contender. What a year 2022 has proven to be.

In March, we outlined the priorities for our Board – working towards on-field success in our men’s and women’s football programs, building off-field security, continuing to develop our Arden St home, expanding our membership base, and being true to our club culture. Those haven’t changed, and every decision we have taken this year has been against the backdrop of one or more of those. 

Our AFLW team played two seasons in one calendar year and had finals appearances in both. Emma Kearney was named All-Australian captain in Season 6 but our season finished with an early finals exit.

After significant change to our list, Season 7 brought with it both team and individual successes. Jasmine Garner was awarded the AFLCA’s Champion Player of the Year  before being named captain of the All-Australian side. Emma Kearney was named in her seventh consecutive All-Australian team, making her the only player to be selected in every All-Australian side in AFLW history.

Season 7 saw our women narrowly missing out on a Grand Final appearance, going down to eventual premiers Melbourne in a preliminary final. Congratulations to Darren Crocker and his whole team on a huge year. We look forward to what 2023 will bring.

We have been through our challenges in our men’s football program this year. But the arrival of Alastair Clarkson home to Arden St as senior coach has brought a great energy to our club. Alastair is joined by Todd Viney as general manager of football, and Cam Matthews as head of football and operations. 

A new-look coaching line up sees the addition of Brett Ratten, Emma Kearney, Damian Monkhorst and Josh Gibson. And the additions to our list through the trade period have been outstanding. We all know building this team will take time – but we also all know we are well on this journey.

Off-field, we posted our 11th consecutive profit, and re-signed key partners Mazda and Spirit of Tasmania, as well as launching Freestyle – Women in Trades, an exciting new partnership with Tradeswomen Australia. We’ve established the Arden Future Fund, and, subject to the AFL’s decision on the 19th license, we now have a timeline for an exit from Tasmania. 

The stage 2 redevelopment of our Arden St headquarters was finally completed in November. The Huddle unveiled its world-class education centre featuring cutting-edge technology. The space will house an Australian-first immersive AFL-themed program, Game Day.

The redevelopment also includes new facilities to enable AFLW, VFL and VFLW games to be hosted at the ground well into the future. The club is now developing plans for the next phase of Arden St – stay tuned for news on that in 2023.

We posted another record membership - no mean feat in a year where our men’s team finished bottom – and we continue to improve our offering to members. We like to think we’re doing a better job of listening to you too – whether it’s the return of our traditional stripes, or membership cards, or events on game day, I hope you see that in all sorts of facets of what the club does. 

And as for our club culture – you could argue it shone through at some really critical points this year. When I look at our players, our coaches, our staff, our volunteers, and our Board, I am very proud of the way they embody our club values. I would especially like to thank Chris Simmonds, Interim CEO, and the whole executive team, who have shown integrity, leadership and strength to weather significant storms this year. 

Which leaves me to thank all of you – for joining up, for turning up, for speaking up, and for sticking by us. We hope you all have a restful Christmas and New Year, stay healthy, and get ready for what is going to be a cracking 2023.

Go Roos!

Sonja