Autumn Monday Pennants - Grand Final

What a season. What a finish. What a brave little chicken shop, suddenly promoted from neighbourhood takeaway to official supplier of grand final recovery food.

The Monday Night Pennants grand final was played on Monday 17 August, with the usual mix of excellent rallies, questionable tactical decisions, high-pressure point construction, and players pretending they were “just here for the nibbles”. The nibbles platters set the early standard, before supper arrived from next door and immediately became the most consistent performer of the evening.

On court, the big prize went to Mad Max, who stormed home to win by just five points — the kind of margin that sounds comfortable only if you were nowhere near the scoreboard.

Congratulations to:
1. Jayden Genders
2. Daniel Richardson
3. Mike Genders
4. Kim Lloyd
5. Serena Richardson

Commiserations, admiration, and possibly a small lie-down go to The Dish, runners-up after a terrific campaign and a final that kept everyone guessing until the last few points:
1. Paul Kershaw
2. Craig Ellingson
3. Muri Mukadam
4. Daniel Williams
5. Georgia Dennison

The Plate competition was claimed by Croc Dundees, who lived up to the name by calmly looking danger in the eye and saying, “That’s not a backhand… this is a backhand.”

Well played to:
1. Dave Bray
2. John Tetlow
3. Brian Khaemba
4. AJ Bass
5. Sam Morgan

And then, with heads held high and spoons held higher, we salute the Wooden Spooners — Cracker Jacks. Every competition needs character, resilience, and people willing to make everyone else feel better about the ladder. Heroes, all of them:
1. Gaby Schneider
2. Craig Taggart
3. Brayden King
4. Mitch Wells
5. Marjenny Capati

A special mention goes to Marc Kaye, inaugural winner of the First Aid Award, after attempting to stop himself during a match against Jackson by using his head and a wall, in what experts are already calling “not the recommended method”. We applaud the commitment, if not the technique.

Extra special thanks to Jackson Towill for sorting Harvey Norman gift cards for the winners — a classy touch and further evidence that Jackson is operating several levels above the rest of us in the “helpful human” rankings.

A huge thank you as well to The Racquet Shop for helping pull the vouchers together and for generally being all-round legends. Support like that makes the competition feel bigger, better, and much less likely to be organised by someone frantically texting from the car park.

Finally, sign-ups for the Spring season are open now — and yes, ALL ABILITIES ARE WELCOME. Whether you are a seasoned competitor, a social player, a tactical genius, or someone still working out which end of the racquet is meant to face forward, there is a spot for you. For more info, contact Club Captain Craig Taggart via 0400 338 770 or ctaggs65@icloud.com.  Registrations may have closed but we are ALWAYS looking for reserves.