Justin Glen and his mother Nada (right) with Avenel’s Scanlan-Glen medallist from Saturday’s Red * White Reunion match against Merrigum, Braydon Hardstaff.
Two of the key figures of the Avenel senior football premiership of 1994 were honoured on Saturday when the Scanlan-Glen Medal was presented to Brandon Hardstaff.
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Senior premiership footballers and netballers — the Swans also won the A-grade netball title that year — were at the club to witness the round nine match against Merrigum at Avenel Recreation Reserve.
To recognise the return of the stars, alongside members of the 1984-85 back-to-back senior football premierships and under-18 titles from 1984 and 1994, a best-on-ground medal was struck in honour of that season’s club president and the best player in the senior football grand final.
It was presented to the goal-kicking midfielder who wore the number three made famous by previous champions such as Mick O’Connor and Peter Tempest.
Jake Wall, Daryl Lynch, Sam Steers, Daniel Cleary and Ben Murphy 30 years after winning the 1994 under-18 KDL premiership.
Peter Scanlan kicked six goals in the 1994 grand final win, while Terry Glen was president of the club in a season where it also won the under-18 premiership.
Scanlan was killed in a car accident only 18 months after that win, while Terry Glen died a few years ago.
Glen’s son Justin and his widow Nada were at the game to present the medal to Hardstaff.
Justin Glen was an under-age best-and-fairest winner at Avenel and only missed the 1994 grand final win due to injury.
Hardstaff was among a handful of the best players in the win, along with the team’s McNamara medal-winning vice-captain Brandon Avola (four goals), 300-game ruckman Paul Arandt, Tim Dundon and Liam Lucas.
Hardstaff is one of several players who have joined the club from Broadford.
Bill Hannam, Wes Shelton, Rohan Aldous, Adrian Talay, Darren Meek, Jeff Wheeler, Steve Potts, Brett McDonald, Peter Thorpe and Gavin Gardiner were members of the 1994 Avenel premiership team.
Avenel has won seven of its first nine games of 2024 and fixturing could see it win all of its remaining matches.
Apart from facing second-ranked Lancaster in a fortnight, it does not play another team ranked inside the top six in the final seven games.
Among its opposition in that time are the three bottom teams on the ladder — Undera, Violet Town and Girgarre.
At the weekend's 30 and 40-year premiership reunions were coaches of both those senior teams, Lindsay Hall and Darren Meek, along with 1989 senior premiership coach Peter O'Keefe.
Shane King coached the club to its first two flags in 1978-79. He died more than a decade ago, but several of his players were present at the reunion.
Four-time premiership full-forward Bill Hannam, who played in seven grand finals in 11 seasons, was a special guest at the event and 1984 best-and-fairest ruckman Brendan Dignam was among others to return.
Coach Lindsay Hall with 1984 premiership players Peter Kelly, Bill Hannam, Brendan Dignam, Steve Maskell, Wayne Le Cerf, Darren Brock, Ian Baker, Kevin Macdowell, John Mundy and Ian Power.
Avenel has not won a senior football title in the KDL since Meek’s 1994 team was successful.
Playing in that team were Darren Brock and Meek himself, who were both teenage members of the 1984 Hall-coached team.
Another to achieve the ultimate success 10 years apart was Wes Shelton, who played in the 1984 grand final win at under-18 level and then was in the 1994 premiership line-up.
In 2026, the club is planning to stage its biggest ever reunion event when it celebrates 50 years of involvement in the Kyabram District League.
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