This event was attended by a large number of Caitlyn's family members, the club president and committee members, junior players and the entire women's team that Caitlyn had been training with prior to her death.

Caitlyn started playing touch rugby league but was encouraged by a school teacher to progress to AFL. When Caitlyn was only nine years old she played in a Brisbane District competition and was selected to represent the Brisbane district at the Queensland under 12's Girls competition. When the family moved to Jervis Bay, Caitlyn started her first of two seasons at the Bombers and she was the first girl to play at the club. Caitlyn also played in the Under 16's Girls South Coast Competition.

As a living tribute to Caitlyn, the Booderee Botanical Gardens kindly donated a magenta lilly pilly tree which has been planted in front of the clubhouse. Caitlyn's tree will greet players as they run on and off the field at the start and finish of each game and provide shade and shelter in the future as it grows. The club has future plans to erect a bench in front of the tree that spectators can use to relax on and watch the game.

Caitlyn will always be remembered for her love of AFL and the determination and passion she had for the game which shone through on the field.

In loving memory of Caitlyn Hope Erwich. Born September 3, 2004 - taken too soon August 26, 2018.

Indigenous Rounds

The Bay and Basin AFL Club celebrated the league's official Indigenous Round with much fanfare at the recent home games of the Junior divisions and the Women's team. For both events the club's groundskeeper, Tony Mickals, who is a proud Pitjantjatjara/Warawie man with strong cultural links to the Wadi Wadi nation, turned the playing field into an artistic masterpiece with his spray paintings of the rainbow serpent, goanna, campsite and Aboriginal flag as the centre square. At the start of each game players, team managers and coaches from both sides came together on the field to form a circle around the Aboriginal flag while Jiah King, a talented local didgeridoo player, performed on his didgeridoo. The effect was mesmerising and incredibly respectful for all involved in the ceremony. As a bonus, the hooter that is traditionally used to signify the start and end of each quarter was replaced by Jiah King playing the didgeridoo.

Through the creative vision of club members, Tony Mickals and his daughter Katielea Wilson, together they designed an Indigenous jersey to be worn by the women's team at all home games, further signifying our club's commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members in the AFL.

Annual Junior AFL Carnival

The Bay and Basin Bombers AFL Club was again heavily represented in the annual Junior AFL Carnival held in Nowra recently. Hosted by the AFL NSW/ACT, the carnival involves teams from the Shoalhaven, Illawarra, Sapphire Coast, Central West and Northern Riverina. Over the three days of competition over 600 players participated in the round robin representative competition. Players from the Bay and Basin Club included: Keira McGill and Jasmine Hair (Shoalhaven youth girls squad), Keanu King and Caleb March (Shoalhaven U15 team) and Taj Malmborg, Jed Snelling, Oliver Driscoll, CJ Malmborg, Riley Clerget and Cade Missingham (Shoalhaven U13 team). Our club also had teams playing in the super nines and sensational 11s competition. A huge congratulations to all involved, especially to those making their representative debut.

GWS Giants Development Teams in Canberra

The following players were selected to represent the South Coast Giants Development teams at an AFL carnival held at Phillip Oval in Canberra: Oliver Driscoll (U13), Riley Clerget (U13) and Keanu King (U14). Both the South Coast U13 and U14 teams were successful in winning their games against the ACT and Western Sydney.

Oliver Driscoll set to tour Fiji in 2020

Bay and Basin Bombers AFL star player, Oliver Driscoll, has been invited to tour Fiji in late 2020 as a member of the Wanderers Australia U14 Boys AFL team. Oliver will be part of a history making team who for the first time will be playing a series of test matches against the Fiji national U14 team. In addition, the team will also be involved in the curtain raiser games to the International U16 AFL Pacific Nations Cup.

Tony Mickals

A massive thank you to our devoted and inspirational umpire Tony Mickals, who retired at the end of the season after 31 years of umpiring AFL games across our region. During his 31 years Tony has umpired 575 senior games and close to 5000 Junior games. In 1999 Tony was inducted into the elite squad of umpires and refereed 90 AFL first grade level games over four seasons.

Tony is set to take up the position of official groundskeeper at the Bay and Basin Bombers and will be involved in the training of the next generation of AFL umpires through the Shoalhaven Junior umpire program. Wishing you all the best in retirement - we could not be more grateful for your service to the game and the local AFL clubs!

2019 Shoalhaven Junior AFL Presentations Evening

The Bay and Basin AFL Club were well represented at the recent Shoalhaven Junior AFL Presentations Evening which was held at the Mollymook Golf Club. This inaugural event was hosted by AFL South Coast to celebrate the players, volunteers and coaches from the 2019 season and crown this year's Best and Fairest winners. The night was a huge success with over 150 people in attendance.

Our club walked away with a swag of awards including: CJ Malmborg (U11 Best and Fairest), Jed Snelling (U13 Best and Fairest), Morena Margione (13s Girls Encouragement award), Jackson Sheriff (Under 9 Encouragement award) and Chris Stubbs (Club Volunteer of the Year nominee).

In other awards news, Sunday night at the AFL South Coast presentation night held in Kiama, Olivia Delahenty from our women's team won Best and Fairest in division one.

20 Year Anniversary Dinner

The Bay and Basin Bombers are celebrating 20 years of being in the local AFL League. A fun night of dining, dancing and music has been planned for September 14 at the Vincentia Golf Club starting at 5.30pm. Players, family, friends and committee members from past to present are all invited. Tickets can be booked at https://www.trybooking.com/BDHBP. For further information contact Jeff Choat on 0420 749 402.

Junior Presentation Day

The junior presentation day will be held on Sunday, September 15 at Bomber Oval from 12pm. Medallions will be presented to all players as well as inaugural trophies for selected categories. The day will conclude with the highly anticipated parents vs players match.

Inaugural Women's Team Presentation Evening

The inaugural women's team will be celebrating their end of season with a presentation evening on Sunday, September 15 at the Vincentia Golf Club from 5pm onwards. With so much to celebrate this is sure to be a fun-filled night.