Maybe some readers won’t be familiar with the achievements of our little club this season. As a relative newbie to the club myself, I was delighted to learn a little bit more about the team and players after having a fantastic time at the Grand Final.
The Nimbin Headers Champs have a team of coaches made up of Thorsten Wittkopf, Liam Terry and Gordon King. With several decades of combined experience in coaching they make a formidable trio. To Thorsten, the success of the Champs team can be attributed to excellent attendance at training, good support from the club and the community (particularly at away games).
Thanks to the depth of players at the club the competition for spots in the starting line-up has been greatly enjoyed for the first time this year with five senior men’s teams! Ruben Mack says this Grand Final win has been the club’s highest achievement. For the number lovers there are impressive stats the Champs can boast:
- The most goals scored were 29, thanks to Quinn. Such a great number that he received the Golden Boot Award at the FFNC presentation.
- The fastest goal scored was by Quinn, 10 seconds, in a Home game against South Lismore;
- The biggest win was 10:0 versus South Lismore in a home game;
- Biggest loss was 6:2 in an Away game against Casino (no biggie coz the subsequent home game against Casino yielded a 5:2 win!);
- The Champs achieved the biggest goal difference on the ladder with the most goals scored in total – 68!
And the fellas that made beautiful (football) music were: Jerara Allan, Hudson Lynch, Lewis King, Harry Waddington, Dylan Morris, Timothy Duckering, Quinlan Cox, Tyson Sledge, Daniel Glass, Ruben Mack, Cedric Rabiller, Marvel Maliek, Albert Waddington, Nick Morgan, Timothy Tribe, Zakarias Cheurfi and Marial Maciek.
The success of the Champs 2024 season has put them in a position to enter a team into the prestigious Premier League. According to Thorsten it is worth noting that our Club’s President Ruben Mack is an active player in the Champs team. He scored the most important goal this season (to win the Grand Final) and has assisted in and directly scored goals for the previous finals causing the team to be promoted from 2nd division to 1st division. This advancement was repeated the following final.
Ruben is a big game player. He leaves everything on the field and is a true Leader both on and off the pitch. Experience playing as a team certainly proved its strength with the 2024 season with seven players in this year’s line-up having played together since 2018. Surely this is testament to an excellent coaching team, a supportive club, encouraging families, a proud community and, it really cannot be said often enough, the wonderful players who give it their all, no matter what.
This seniors Grand Final was my first. We arrived early to find many marquees already set up by, and for, Nimbin supporters. As the clock ticked closer to kick-off, the supporters kept rolling up. As the crowd grew deeper and spread the full length of our side of the field, my pride in the club and community grew too.
The game got off to a fantastic start with a fast goal by Ruben. The crowd was positive and enthusiastic. Something I have always loved about Nimbin is the way we will cheer and clap even for the other team if they score a goal or make a great save. As the game went on and the crowd on our side continued to grow in numbers, so too did the jubilant energy. And then our crowd swelled with the VERY LOUD arrival of the Goonellabah Hornets! Holy Moly, what an entrance!
As these games often go, the tensions are high on both sides. The heat was intense, the expectations and hopes increasing with each goal save and corner ball, each foul and dubious Ref’s call… And then Ruben Mack scored the second goal from a perfectly planted corner by Cedril Rabiller. So at half time the Headers were 2-0 up.
And late in the second half Bangalow scored making it a bit scary but the Headers stood firm. Honestly, I was so caught up in the play that it took me extra moments to realise what the final whistle meant… And then there was movement! Family and friends, running and cheering for our team! Oh! The relief! It felt truly deserved to see some players just fall to their knees at the sound of that whistle.
So, 2-1 to the Headers! BRAVO to the Nimbin Headers. Champs. Brilliant effort. Whether it is on to the Prems or not, you lot are an incredible bunch of blokes.
