During the Senior Presentation Awards an inaugural award was issued to Graeme Filippi in the name of former president Rob Wheeler. Below is the dedication for the trophy – a list of perpetual trophies and award winners is available here.
Rob Wheeler first became a member of what was then called the Bardon Latrobe Junior Soccer club in 2005 as a parent whose family had recently moved into the area. Rob was disappointed that there was no senior team to play for, having played football into his twenties.
With each passing year as spectator and parent-coach, Rob’s own longing to play grew. A man of great loyalty, Rob would not entertain the idea of playing for a different club in seniors, while his sons played at Bardon Latrobe.
While Bardon Latrobe had historically boasted proud and highly successful senior teams, these days were long past. The club had opted to become a juniors-only club, reflected in the name of use at that time, Bardon Latrobe Junior Soccer Club.
Rob was determined that senior teams could and should live and breathe again at Bardon Latrobe so the club could be genuinely all-ages for whole-of-life football lovers, from 3-year-olds to 60-year-olds and beyond.
Rob joined the management committee and begun to advocate for the return of senior teams. Before long the first Bardon Latrobe senior team in many years was competing in a Football Brisbane league. Rob was the first player to sign up.
Over the next decade under Rob’s stewardship as a committee member, the club Vice President and later the Club President, the number of senior teams grew. As a player and a club leader, Rob worked with the new senior players to develop a culture of community that flows beyond the pitch. A culture that sees senior players contributing in meaningful ways such as coaching junior teams sees former players return to Bowman Park to cheer the teams on from the hill, and sees some players going above and beyond to build the best club culture in Brisbane.
Rob was the driving force behind the club name change to Bardon Latrobe Football Club (BLFC), reflecting the club’s new all-community values and direction, and the introduction of a professional club logo, the reintroduction of the red & black kit colours, and a strategy for future operations.
Rob Wheeler continues to play today although Rob has stepped down from formal leadership roles, believing in the importance of handing the baton on to the next group of player-leaders.
Rob passionately believes that senior players have significant leadership roles to play both formal and informal, in ensuring the club is run for the benefit of players, and that Bardon Latrobe FC continues to be a club for all ages and all-genders with the best club culture in Brisbane.
The Rob Wheeler Bardon Latrobe FC Award goes to a club member who has gone above and beyond to build club culture, support all-ages/all-gender development within the club or support management to ensure the club is run for the benefit of all members. The trophy has been donated by The Wheeler Family
Fabulous work Wolverine!