It was a reunion of sorts for the Western Magpies  in Vienna last weekend where a number of Magpies personalities were attending the wedding of a schoolmate.

The highlight of the weekend ( after the wedding festivities, of course) was a footy game involving the  Vienna Galahs. Our very own legend David “Barts” Bartlett was the umpire for the fixture - it was like the good old days when there was only one umpire and he never left the centre square!!  Ex- Pies  Pablo Calderola, Paul Zilmann and Curtis McNamara attended along with current player Peter “Killa” Kilroy.

Curtis McNamara  reportedly  rode from Belgium to Vienna over 3-4 days to be at the wedding— may be the fittest big Curtis has been for sometime!!

To get in the swing a fortnight ago Barts modelled the very distinctive Galahs guernsey which is - you guessed it— grey, white and pink!!

Barts is doing a European trip which will include a day at Lords for the second an Ashes Test. A good time to be an Aussie in London, I reckon!!

 Gut Feelings mentioned the spread of AFL overseas in an early season story and the Vienna Galahs are testament to that.

There is a new set of twins in the club with Luca Winton shaving the head a fortnight ago and, lo and behold, he looks like the skipper, David Lewis. A bit of man love there!! Several spectators got them confused and it is no wonder as they both had plenty of the footy against the Gorillas.

The Grey Magpies Awards for the Wilston  Grange game went to Riley Easton for Firsts, Brady Allen for Reserves and Lachlan Davies for the Colts. Easton was also awarded the prestigious BG Award for “Courage and Commitment”, which he displays every match in spades!!

Allen is now showing what he is capable of with a couple of good games in the Reserves, playing mainly in defence, after a late start to the season. Davies is a tall key position player finding his way in the ruck and has continued to grow in the role as the season has progressed.

The Ladies' Day a fortnight ago was a huge success and a big thanks to Shelby Beams for doing a great job in organising the event. Over 100 beautiful ladies attended all looking absolutely gorgeous and they enjoyed the entertainment with MC Brett Staker looking dapper as always and keeping the day moving.

It was also great to see a big contingent remain at the club well into the night to celebrate the Pies’ big win. And the Ladies’ Award went to a tall, dark and handsome young man--who else could it be but Aaron Highlands!!

Ryan Harwood did an Eddie Betts with his seventh and final goal against against Grange when he booted a brilliant check-side goal from the boundary on the scoreboard flank late in the final quarter. It will certainly be a contender for the AFLQ Goal of the Year. And he celebrated as they all do with arms raised while lying in his back!!

Speaking if goalkicking feats, Val Pope turned back the clock with 6 goals in the Reserves. Val has several 6 goal hauls in Seniors over the years and he was actually the Pineapple Hotel  Cup leading goal kicker for the competition one season playing as a small forward with 78 goals — not a bad effort!!  He also had an affinity for Mt Gravatt over the years with a few 5 and 6 goal matches against the Vultures over the years!! Hmmm, food for thought next week!! (Late mail—Pope has been re-called to the Seniors for the Mt Gravatt match)

Also showing the class which gained him 70 odd AFL matches with the Brisbane Lions was Claye Beams, whose game a fortnight ago oozed all class. Beams started in defence, rolled through the midfield then was dangerous when he was post forward later in the game. Several of his passes were bullet like and one or two 20 metre handballs which hit their intended target “left breast, lace out” brought tears to an old timer brought up on Polly Farmer and then Diesel Williams ( look them up) brought tears to the eyes!!

It is fantastic to have quality people like Claye and Shelby Beams in the club and they have contributed already with Claye in the playing leadership group and Shelby getting involved with the Ladies’ function.

Gerard Moore showed he is up there with the best ruckmen in the QAFL with another great display in ruck against the Gorillas. The “Big G” knows how to position his body, reads the play well and is strong overhead but also clean below his knees, which is “gold” for a big man. Enough said— “G” got a headline in the QAFL review from Round 16 so better not get him too excited!!

Ex-General Manager of the Western Magpies in 2009-11 Anthony McDonald was the guest interviewer of David Parkin at the Sportsmans’ Luncheon recently and did a great job from all reports.

Macca was also Reserves coach for a season and he has a special place in his heart for the Magpies. He has had a part-time role as an assistant coach with Brisbane North Under 16s in the past few years but has devoted time in recent years to building his corporate coaching business, which is now very successful. I hear he may be looking to get back into a Senior coaching position next season and with a wealth of coaching experience and man management skills will be a valuable acquisition for any club which manages to snare him.

The Magpies’ Darcy Prest has been named in the Queensland Under 17 team to play Vic Metro this Sunday at Ikon Park (Princes Park) in Melbourne so all at Magpie land wish the talented youngster all the best. Prest will be a key player for the Colts in the upcoming finals’ series.

Three Sherwood Under 12 players are currently representing Queensland in the Australian Under 12 Carnival in Perth. Jack Slater, Jack Harrison and Jacob Edwards were selected for the team which is coached by the Magpies legendary Brett “Noodles” McEvoy. The future at Chelmer is  looking assured.

Kevin Kluver, as we know, is a great clubman and is willing to put his hand up to do most jobs if it helps the Magpies. However, Kevin was required to man the scoreboard for all three matches at the Pies home match against Wilston Grange a fortnight ago and that is asking a bit much of him. The pies are no different to most footy clubs in that it is run by volunteers and thjere is a shortage of those at the club at the moment. The likes of David Bartlett, Phil Kelemen, Bryan Millar have put their hands up year in and year out and the club is looking for anyone else who might want to be involved. The aim is to have enough volunteers to share the load so  no one person has too much to do, as was the case for Kevin two weeks ago.

Great story on Deng Arok last week on this Facebook  page which is well worth a look. The story originally appeared on ABC News and on the AFLQ website. Deng was the recipient of the  Alex Jesaulenko Coaching Internship scholarship which goes to a community coach from a diverse background . Deng, from a South Sudanese background, was born in a Kenyan refugee camp when his family fled a vicious civil war and then moved to Toowoomba when granted refugee status. The scholarship gives Deng the opportunity to spend time at the Brisbane Lions and the report stated that Deng has impressed at the Brisbane Lions. He had the fantastic experience of sitting on the sidelines with coaching staff when Pies played Western Bulldogs last Sunday. The lions said he is a willing learner and always has a smile on his face, which we have noted at the Magpies as well!! Deng is a ripping young man with a ready smile, always greeting everyone and willing to help out where he can. He is currently coaching the Sherwood under 16s and for a young man not much older than his charges he is doing a great job. And he is also playing for the Pies Reserves team as well.

Well done, Deng.    

The Grey Magpies have produced a great Magpie Chatter newsletter No 5  with plenty of stories and photos on the David Parkin luncheon and the Ladies’ Day as well as bio-pics on past players Greg Adams, Dennis Hogan and Bruce O’Neill. For a great read have a look at the Sherwood and Western Magpies Old Boys Facebook page. The newsletter is produced by Grey Magpies convenor Shane Bridley who is doing a great job with Greg Adams and Terry O’Shea in resurrecting the Old Boys Association and reconnecting past players with the club