In the 25+ years of the Southern Football Netball League, no club has won more under U19 premierships than Cheltenham Rosella’s, hosting the premiership cup five times since 1996, including two separate back-to-back flags in 2000/01 and 2007/08.
One could also argue that the Southern league’s U19 competition exists today largely in part to the Rosellas belief in the importance of a junior development pathway.
When the SFL U19 competition disbanded at the end of 2003, it was Cheltenham, led by the late Phil Sparrow, who brought it back to life five years later. That team not only went on to win their first flag in the re-born SFL Colts (U19) competition, but also produced 12 players who would end up playing in the Rosellas seniors in the years to come.
For players to get the best out of themselves and improve their game, the pathway from junior to senior football needs to be clear. This is something that we pride ourselves on. Of the nearly 150 players registered with the club in 2018, over 50 including current club captain Jack Worrell and star defender Daniel Vaughan – played their junior football at the Panthers before crossing over to the Rosellas, whilst four of our last 10 senior club champions are former Panthers juniors.
Not only that, the last three Rosellas to win the SFNL’s under-19 league medal – Zane Jenkins (2001), Zach Mousoulis (2008) and Anthony Malamas (2017), were also former Panthers
Whether it be Jeff Lyon in the mid-late 1990s; David Selleck and David Kilburn at the turn of the century; the trailblazing Phil Sparrow; or the passionate Greg Barclay, the Rosellas’ under 19s have always been in good hands with coaches that both care for and support their players, but also help them to take their football as far as each player wishes.
If you’ve come through the ranks at the Panthers, there is no better place to make the transition into U19 and senior football than with the Rosellas at Jack Barker Oval.
