FOOTBALL
BY BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
HUNDREDS of young football lovers made their way to Morwell Recreation Reserve for an afternoon with the game’s best.
Collingwood took over the Latrobe Valley last week, beginning with a super clinic and signing session, followed by a plethora of school visits.
A majority of the Magpies squad made their way down last Wednesday (December 10), initially giving some neat tips and tricks to the young footballers that took the field.
Following on from that, a sprawling black and white crowd piled along the fence line to grab a photo and sign some memorabilia.
The 2023 premiers feature a number of local exports on its list, including Sale’s Scott Pendlebury, Morwell’s Tew Jiath, and Traralgon’s Tim Membrey.
The latter took time to chat to the Express about being back home and getting a chance to mingle with the kids, just as he once did.
“It’s great, I remember clearly coming to these sort of things as a young fella and running around, having a kick and meeting some of my heroes growing up,” Membrey said.
“To be able to come back and give back to the community and get some smiles on the kids’ faces, it’s certainly something I enjoy doing.”
After 10 seasons with St Kilda, Membrey made the move to Collingwood to begin last season, in which he reached the preliminary final with the Magpies – the deepest he’d ever been in his career.
“It was obviously an incredible year,” he said.
“We didn’t quite get to the big dance, but we certainly learnt a lot throughout the season and played some really strong footy.”
He added that the group has “hit the ground running” for preseason, and predicts the Pies to be right back up there in contention for the flag next year.
Membrey was once Glengarry Football-Netball Club’s number one ticket holder, and before becoming Gippsland Power captain, was dominating for the Maroons in the Gippsland League.
Currently with property in the Traralgon area, Membrey noted he still gets down to a few local games during the year to soak in that community football feel.
“I try to get down and look over that as much as I can. I’ve got a lot of close friends and relatives that play in the local leagues, so I do like to keep an eye on how things are going,” he said.
Collingwood made use of their time down in the Latrobe Valley, as a number of Magpies were spotted courtside at the Wednesday night NBL showcase between South East Melbourne Phoenix and Tasmania JackJumpers.
Despite being near the end of the year, the AFL was still front of mind for locals as St Kilda also arrived to Leongatha last Monday and Tuesday (December 8 and 9) for an equally jam-packed extended stay.
The Parrots’ own Dyson Heppell was also in the news in the last week as it was announced he would be joining Collingwood as a development coach for the upcoming season.
The former Essendon captain did time for VFL club Port Melbourne as a playing-coach this year, while also spectacularly returning to his home club to don the green and gold.
Heppell played six games for Leongatha in 2025, including winning duel best-on-ground awards in the Parrots dominating Grand Final win over Traralgon.
Additionally, in the women’s competition, Traralgon’s Lily-Rose Williamson has been traded from the Magpies to Brisbane in the lead-up to the AFLW Draft.
Williamson, along with Pick 17 and a future second-round selection, moved to the Lions in exchange for Pick 15, 29 and 47.
Photographs: Blake Metcalf-Holt
The Traralgon local was added to Collingwood’s list a week out of Round 1 as a replacement player for Mattea Breed. Williamson had previously played eight AFLW games for Essendon and featured in the VFLW state team.
Williamson played 11 matches in 2025, where the Magpies improved from a wooden spoon in 2024.
The AFLW Draft took place last Monday.
