# Putney Magpies

The Putney Magpies is an Australian rules football club based in west London. The club runs men's and women's teams, and includes many Australian expats.
The club fields teams in each of the three AFL London divisions — Premiership (1sts), Conference (2nds)and Social (3rds). The associate netball club is called the Putney Blackbirds.

## History

The London Gryphons were founded in 1999 by former West Coast Eagles, Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy Football Club player Mark Zanotti along with BARFL Admin Officer Donald Eastwood who originally played with the Earls Court Kangaroos, and have competed in the British Australian Rules Football League since that year. The club was originally made up of former rugby players and were predominantly British. After Zanotti's return to Australia after one year where the Gryphons made the finals, the Gryphons struggled both off-field and on-field, and eventually formed a partnership with the London Collingwood Supporters group, changing their name and colours to match those of the AFL's Collingwood Magpies.
The Putney Magpies were started in 2004 by Simon Thorp in his capacity as President of the London Collingwood Supporters Club, a phoenix rising from the ashes of the London Gryphons. Simon landed some good sponsorship, attracted some of the former Gryphons players (as well as some new blood), and with a bit of help from Eddie and the Collingwood Football Club, the Putney Magpies were born. Simon remained as President for the first two years.
The Putney Magpies Football Club made the 2004 Conference Grand Final in its first year as a club, a top four finish in 2005, developed five International players who represented their country in the 2005 British Bulldogs tour to Melbourne for the AFL International Cup, and boasted the 2005 Conference Best and Fairest winner and both the 2004 and 2005 Grand Final half time 'Dash for Cash' winners.
In seasons 2008 and 2010, the Putney Magpies competed in the London AFL Premiership Grand Final.
Putney now field three teams in the AFL London Competition with a side to suit all levels and abilities. The Premiership side must field 5 non-aussies and 4 British players on the field while the Conference side (known as the reserves) only has to field 2. The Social team is for anyone who wants to come down and try our great game for the first time.
The Premiership side is coached by former Richmond, Essendon and Collingwood player Mark Pitura who also played games for Sturt in the SANFL.
The Pies are now entering their 10th season in the AFL London competition and are now going from strength to strength in the number of participants involved in the club.

## Training and matches

The club trains at Hurlingham Park every Sunday at 1pm from the first weekend of Feb during the pre-season, then switches to Tuesdays and Thursday evenings from 6.30pm in South Park, Parsons Green after Easter once the daylight becomes longer.
Home games are played on Wimbledon Common at the Richardson Evans memorial playing fields in Putney Vale every Saturday during the summer months from early May until late July. Away games are played all through London. Finals are played in the month of August.

## Honour board

COMMITTEE
| Year | President | Vice-President | Secretary | Treasurer | Captain |
| 2004 | Simon Thorp | | Matt Sime | Matt Sime | |
| 2005 | Simon Thorp | | Matt Sime | Viktor Zabori | |
| 2006 | Ben Connolly | | Matt Sime | Matt Sime | |
| 2007 | Ben Connolly | | Matt Sime | Matt Sime | Alex Thompson |
| 2008 | Mick Mullins | Blair Riseborough | | Graham Tuffin | Alex Thompson |
| 2009 | Pete O'Neill | Brad McLeod | | Charlie Craig | Brad McLeod |
| 2010 | Mark Pitura | Aaron Williams | Phil McLeod | Steven Tindale | Aaron Williams/Paul Sosic |
| 2011 | Mark Pitura | Paul Sosic | Jimmy Lloyd | Steven Tindale | Liam Flanagan/Paul Sosic |
| 2012 | Mark Pitura | | | Steven Tindale | Greg Chapman/Andrew Slevison |
| 2013 | Mark Pitura | Taryn Dawson | Rob Paterson | Brad Busch | Greg Chapman/Andrew Lawson |
PREMIERSHIP
| Year | Position | Coach | Best & Fairest | Leading Goalkicker | Best EU/Non Aussie |
| 2004 | | Remon Gazal | Gareth Edwards/Remon Gazal | Steve Connolly | Phil Holby |
| 2005 | | Ben Connolly | Tommy Langford | Joe Cordwell | Chris Dickson |
| 2006 | | Andrew Tweedie | Pete O'Neill | Joe Cordwell | Chris Dickson |
| 2007 | 4th | Andrew Tweedie | Alex Thompson | Rick Talbot | Andy Ruinoff |
| 2008 | 2nd | Mark Pitura | Alex Thompson/Pete O'Neill | Justin Hunter | Andy Ruinoff |
| 2009 | 3rd | Mark Pitura | Aaron Williams | Joe Pedler | Christian Maine |
| 2010 | 2nd | Mark Pitura | Greg Hesse | Pete McGettigan | Paul Harris/Andy Ruinoff |
| 2011 | 4th | Mark Pitura | Josh Cutten | Andrew Slevison (31) | John Scott |
| 2012 | 3rd | Alex Gunn | Clayton Fitzgerald | Andrew Slevison (54) | James O'Connor |
| 2013 | | | | | |
CONFERENCE
| Year | Position | Coach | Best & Fairest | Leading Goalkicker |
| 2004 | | Remon Gazal | Lauchlan MacKinnon | Nick Dallimore |
| 2005 | | Jeremy Cogdon | Dave Van Horne | Nick Dallimore |
| 2006 | | Remon Gazal | Scott Richmond | Nick Dallimore/Matt Sime |
| 2007 | 4th | Mark Pitura | Blair Robertson | Steve Connolly |
| 2008 | 3rd | Blair Riseborough | Chris Connolly | Nick Salter |
| 2009 | 3rd | Mark Pitura | Matt Best | Mark Pitura/Ryan Batt |
| 2010 | 5th | Mark Pitura | Brad Pozzi | Nick Maddock |
| 2011 | 5th | Mark Pitura | Luke Howard | Luke Howard |
| 2012 | 4th | Pat Mahon | Jarred Jones | Pat Mahon |
| 2013 | | | | |
| Year | Great Britain Representatives |
| 2004 | N/A |
| 2005 | Phil Holby, Simon Jones, Chris Dickson, Jon Dickson, Chris Glen, Paul Harris |
| 2006 | Chris Dickson, Jon Dickson, Nick Stevens, Paul Manley, Chris Glen, Paul Harris |
| 2007 | Andy Ruinoff, Chris Dickson, Amerigo Holthouse, Paul Harris, Paul Manley |
| 2008 | Andy Ruinoff, Amerigo Holthouse, Paul Harris, Graham Tuffin, Christian Lloyd, Aiden Dillane |
| 2009 | Rob Harmeston, Christian Lloyd, Christian Maine, Paul Harris, Andy Ruinoff |
| 2010 | Rob Harmeston, Paul Harris, Andy Ruinoff, Adam Street, Martyn Hinchey |
| 2011 | Paul Harris (Capt), Tom Mercer, Mark Todd |
| 2012 | N/A |
| 2013 | Paul Harris, Mark Todd, Will Murrells, Eliott Rich, Rob Harmeston |

## International matches

* 2008 The Brussels Saints, Brussels, Belgium
* 2009 The Flying Dutchmen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* 2010 The Flying Dutchmen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* 2011 The Flying Dutchmen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* 2012 Port Malmo Maulers, Malmo, Sweden
* 2013 Berlin Crocodiles, Berlin, Germany

## Footy trips

* 2007 Riga, Latvia
* 2008 Newcastle, England
* 2009 Newcastle, England
* 2010 Nottingham, England
* 2011 Lagos, Portugal
* 2012 Magaluf, Spain
* 2013 Lagos, Portugal
* 2014 Magaluf, Spain
* 2015 Fulham, England
* 2016 Sunny Beach, Bulgaria