By Sarah Beagley
In an exciting moment for CYs legend and family-man George Daaboul, this Saturday marks his 150th game for the club.
Coming across from the Williamstown Juniors where he was a two-time premiership player, this is George’s tenth season with the CYs, where he is part of the exciting and growing reserves cohort. Career highlights for George include the best and fairest medal in 2017 and the historic reserves premiership in 2019.
Joking that he’s had a few too many hits to the head to remember back to his first CYs appearance, it’s the players and coaches for George that have kept him bleeding the blue and gold. “I chose CYs because I live in Williamstown and had good mates down here. Since then I’ve played most of my games alongside some guys I can call my good mates – like Matthew Carland, Ryan Danaher and Timmy Ball”.
The feeling is mutual, with teammate and fellow 150 gamer Tim Ball a huge Daaboul fan. Tim reflects, “George is the fiercest competitor I’ve played with or against. Every time there’s a scuffle on field you don’t even have to look over to know he’ll be right in the middle of it. He’s an incredibly loyal person and I love running out onto the field with him every Saturday”.
The Daaboul love doesn’t stop there, with Matthew Carland also more than happy to weigh in on the joys of pulling on the jumper alongside George each Saturday morning: “George has always been a teammate I loved playing with. It’s impossible not to love playing with a guy who has worked nightshift and then gone straight into playing footy. I was lucky enough to play in the 2019 reserves grand final with him and it’s a moment both of us will cherish forever”.
That’s for sure, with George easily picking the reserves 2019 premiership as the best match of his career: “the most memorable thing for me would have to be running straight to (coach) Cam Oates and giving him the biggest hug, it was a special moment”.
The shoutouts to Cam Oates keep coming from George, crediting his reserves coach, as well as the former senior coach Montey, for being a huge part of his 150 game journey. “Honestly there is so many people to thank, so thanks to everyone involved in this special club”.
We wish George all the best and a huge CYs congratulations as he plays his 150th game this weekend! Make sure you get down to the Fearon Reserve on Saturday at 11.40am to watch George and his reserves, as they follow up from a huge 103 point win last week. You don’t want to miss it!