2023 Season

I would like to begin by giving honour to our Board of Directors, who are deeply committed to the vision of South West Queensland Thunder, and for their tireless efforts in ensuring that we continue to develop and deliver a strong football pathway for our region’s budding talents.

2023 was a year of re-set and re-start for the Football Committee. An ambitious decision was made to pit ourselves against the state’s best and apply to be assessed as a Tier 1 Club in Queensland, and we were successful in doing so.

A host of changes and introductions needed to be made to our processes and procedures, to ensure quality in the defining, designing, and delivery of our football programs. We are in the sphere of player development, however, coach development and progression was another key area of focus. The club conducted workshops and education sessions on various topics to keep our coaches well-versed with the latest trends and issues effecting the game. The all-around high work-rate and strong ethics displayed by the coaches, their support staff, and the players went beyond measure.

The on-field individual, and collective performances were a true reflection of the high standards that each one brought, week in and week out, to trainings and game days. In a snapshot, all eight of our junior (boys and girls) teams finished in the top six of their respective competitions, with six of them making the semi-finals. Out of those six, four progressed through to Grand Finals, with three winning their Grand Final. Also, five of our junior players made the Football Queensland State Squads as shadow players.

We will certainly take inspiration from the above, and continue to review and refine our programs, to give our talented youngsters the best possible pathway to future state team selections. 2024 is shaping to be the biggest year ever. With 300 plus players already expressing their interest to be a part of the Thunder brand, it shows that we are a community enabled club. South West Queensland Thunder is progressing as a representative club. Our people have great strength and leadership. We will continue to strive to be a strong and committed advocate for the footballers of our region. Our purpose is to build community, deliver quality football programs, and develop players of the future.

I thank all our parents, officials, and followers for your unwavering support and passion. You are the fabric that holds this club together, so that our players can excel in their footballing journey. Have a fabulous end to 2023, and see you all in 2024!

Yours in football,

Ivor Prasad

Technical Director

Accelerate

2023 saw our Accelerate program move from strength to strength. Mirko and his coaching partners Akok and Ben worked with 74 young players from Dalby to Gatton and Warwick to Nanango. The South West region continues to produce quality juniors who enjoy their football. Due to the quality of the program and its popularity, the Accelerate program this year expanded to 2 nights a week. For 20 weeks under the guidance of Mirko, the Accelerate players focused on their first touch, striking the ball, running with the ball and 1v1s. All players have progressed in their individual ability with the players taking these skills back to the club teams. To highlight the enjoyment of the program it is great to see that over 65% of Accelerate players have registered for trials to join our teams for 2024.

A big thank you to every parent of our Accelerate players. Each parent has contributed positively and encouraged their child to achieve their best, whilst still enjoying the game. I would also like to thank Mirko, Ben, Akok and the other coaches that planned and delivered a high quality product that was enjoyed by everyone. Thank you also to Toowoomba Grammar School and Football Queensland for providing our Accelerate players with the opportunity to put what was learnt at the training sessions into games.

We look forward to seeing all current and new Accelerate players coming back to our Thunder family for 2024 for either our Academy, Community or Accelerate.

What an enjoyable and successful season 2023 turned out to be. Record numbers at Trials at the end of 2022 saw an influx of high quality joining our SAP and Academy teams for 2023. This year also saw our Academy teams be introduced to biometric fitness testing, weekly well-being surveys, player self-reflections, players development plans and coach assessments. All have been integrated into our program so that players, families and coaches are reflective and conscious of development as a footballer.

Our SAP players under the guidance of our SAP coordinator Mirko, had a great season. Coaches Harry, Angus, Akok, Mirko and Jason saw great progression in the skills of our SAP players which translated to playing structured team football resulting in dominating games in regards to possession and score line. I regularly got the chance to visit our young SAP players at training and was thrilled to see the players with smiles on their faces enjoying their football in high quality training sessions. A big thankyou to Harry, Angus, Akok, Mirko and Jason for their tireless efforts in putting together high quality sessions and ensuring players are progressing and enjoying their football.

Junior Football

What an enjoyable and successful season 2023 turned out to be. Record numbers at Trials at the end of 2022 saw an influx of high quality joining our SAP and Academy teams for 2023. This year also saw our Academy teams be introduced to biometric fitness testing, weekly well-being surveys, player self-reflections, players development plans and coach assessments. All have been integrated into our program so that players, families and coaches are reflective and conscious of development as a footballer.

Our SAP players under the guidance of our SAP coordinator Mirko, had a great season. Coaches Harry, Angus, Akok, Mirko and Jason saw great progression in the skills of our SAP players which translated to playing structured team football resulting in dominating games in regards to possession and score line. I regularly got the chance to visit our young SAP players at training and was thrilled to see the players with smiles on their faces enjoying their football in high quality training sessions. A big thankyou to Harry, Angus, Akok, Mirko and Jason for their tireless efforts in putting together high quality sessions and ensuring players are progressing and enjoying their football.

In our Academy space of the 13’s to 18’s, 2023 proved to be one our most successful seasons to date. The U13 Girls finished 1st in the Darling Downs 13’s Division 1 and narrowly lost the Grand Final on penalties. Our club is extremely proud of the girls (some of whom are only 11) in this team as they have always represented our club with enthusiasm and passion.

Our U15 Girls finished 4th in League 2 and went on to win their Grand Final 2-1 to finish their season in style. The U17 Girls finished a respectable 6th. Both the U15’s and U17’s have played great football this year with some players really standing out and stepping up and playing against older opposition. Coaches Wes and Ricky have challenged the girls and the result has been some exciting football. The future looks bright for Thunder’s girls program as the quality of our players continues to progress.

The U13’s Boys deserve a big congratulations under super coach Darryl. The boys won the Regional State Identification Championships, as well as losing only one game all season, finishing top of the table and winning their Grand Final 2-0. Our U14’s (3rd on the table) and U15’s (2nd on the table) were valiant in defeat in their semi finals. The U18’s (2nd on the table) played great football to win their Grand Final 3-0. The U16’s finished a respectable 5th, one spot out of finals contention.

To highlight the quality of our boys program, the U13’s to U18’s (in total) played 126 games, won 187, drew 15, lost 24, had a goal difference of +232, and won 276 points.

A big thank you to Darryl, Alick, Glenn, Kris, Jason, Wes, Trent and Ricky and their coaching teams. Under the guidance of Ivor, all of these amazing coaches are pushing our players to play the “Thunder way” as well as be good players and good young men and women in our society. I have enjoyed watching our players and coaches in action, and all have been great ambassadors of our mighty Club.

Thank you to Ivor Prasad, Mirko Crociati and Michael Clarkson for all your efforts in guiding our club to where we want to be. Thank you to all parents and players and I look forward to seeing all in our Thunder family for 2024. For those not returning I wish you well in your pursuits and I hope you continue as a footballer and keep enjoying your football.

David Scutt

Director of Junior Football

Golden Boot

Jackson Peter (U15 Boys, 30 goals)

Safe Hands

Eli McBurney (U13 Boys, 0.31 goals per game)

U13 Girls

Most Valuable Player - Natalie Manning

Player's Player - Sophie Hick

Coaches Award - Beth Gollan

U13 Boys

Most Valuable Player - James Scutt

Player's Player - Cameron Stronge

Coaches Award - Ryan Irvine

U14 Boys

Most Valuable Player - Lachlan Daley

Player's Player - Jarryd Dolan

Coaches Award - Freddy Du Toit

U15 Girls

Most Valuable Player - Ashley Bell

Player's Player - Grace Oughtred

Coaches Award - Adelaide Morgan

U15 Boys

Most Valuable Player - Kalani Parmenter

Player's Player - Jackson Peter

Coaches Award - Daniel Dinh

U16 Boys

Most Valuable Player - Ben Miller

Player's Player - Adnan Ali

Coaches Award - Stephen Shindano

U17 Girls

Most Valuable Player - Charlotte Weinand

Player's Player - Lucy Ryan

Coaches Award - Devika Ebneter

Coaches Award

Wes Hick (U13 & U15 Girls)

Golden Boot

Abbey Lloyd (Senior Women, 29 Goals)

Safe Hands

Liz Hollitt (Senior Women, 1.66 Goals per game)

Senior Men

Most Valuable Player - Wade Hall

Player's Player - Jack DeBortoli

Rising Star - Riley Willmot

Senior Women

Most Valuable Player - Abbey Lloyd

Player's Player - Ashlee Parravicini

Rising Star - Sienna Williams

U23 Men

Most Valuable Player - Jacob Austin

Player's Player - Nathan Uprichard Green

Coaches Award - Billy Manning

U23 Women

Most Valuable Player - Isabelle Payne

Player's Player - Jenna Wolski

Coaches Award - Chelsea McAleer

U18 Boys

Most Valuable Player - Kaden Willmot

Player's Player - Taku Doherty

Coaches Award - Nick Brehaut

Allan Sothmann Club Spirit Award

Wade Hall (Senior Men)