The Hornets Nest is buzzing after round 1. When Howick and Waitakere met round 1 2018 it ended in a draw. This time however the Hornets managed to turn the ledger into their favour and come away with a win. 

Not only did the Senior team win the Reserve team out played their Waitakere counterparts and dominated their game winning 8 goals to 3.

In what was a great start for the club for 2019 with 6 new starters in the Seniors and 4 in the reserves, the Hornets displayed great fight and tenacity when Waitakere put it to them.
 
In the Seniors, the hornets got off to a great start with Blake Waters on debut in ruck starting to get his hand first to the ball and some clever footwork by Dan McCarthy working the ball forward. The Hornets backline was settled with some solid defence by Brad Martin, James Mackinder and Tim Elsley holding the Magpies forwards at bay. 
 
The Hornets lead by up to 15 points in the first quarter before the scores were leveled in the 3rd in a highly contested match, to set up a showdown in last term.  The Hornets were able to set up a solid final quarter with many scoring attempts and a lot of forward pressure to run out 9 point victors! Special mention to Steph Tabaillou getting a bag of 4 goals and Armani Wright on debut slotting 2 goals.
 
A great team effort and thank you to the 6 lads who backed up for the Seniors from the Reserves!

Best Players: T Elsley, B Martin, D McCarthy, T Walker, J Green, S Tabillou

Goals: S Tabaillou (4), A Wright (2), E Bennetts, W Eatts,   L Kinnear, D McCarthy, 
​J Pearce, T Walker 

The Hornets take on reigning premiers University at Paparoa Park 1pm Reserves & 2pm Seniors. Come down and support your boys in blue and gold. 

Up the Hornets!!

The Hornets preseason training starting last Sunday with a large turn out, blue skies and great work ethic. 

The Hornets had 21 people at their first training with many out due to other commitments. The training was light and organised to show off the skills that the players currently have to assist Head Coach James Dixon on planning future training's.

It was a successful first training with the skill level of all players much higher than of any other years first training. Even the new players who had not picked up a Sherrin footy before Sunday were nailing handballs and 30m drop punts by the end of it. With bolstered numbers coming out of Winter sports the Hornets are looking to have a strong squad this year and will only get better throughout the preseason. 

Next training is Wednesday Night 6:30pm at Howck Domain.

Up the Hornets!

 The Hornets have appointed James Dixon as the new Head Coach of the Senior team for the 2019 season. James joins the Hornets having spent the last 5 years in senior playing / coaching roles at the Camden Cats who play in the Sydney AFL. James has played in various leagues in Adelaide, Queensland, Wagga Wagga and in Sydney and is excited about the challenge ahead for the hornets in season 2019.

“I am really looking forward to the opportunity to help further build the culture and success of the club that has shown it is on the way up" James said.

James has seen success in his days having played over 200 games and having won 5 premierships over this time. “I believe one of the key ingredients to success is having a committed and unified team, on and off the field. The committee definitely have a vision for success, and I can’t wait to be part of it.”

The Hornets are very excited to have some one of James' caliber in the head coach role; "I am thrilled to have a head coach to take us into the 2019 season, James is set to bring the right attitude, structures and guidance our team has been searching for to take us up another level" says Ryan White.

Pre-season training starts Sunday 14th July with regular midweek training following after that.

​Up the Hornets!

The Howick Hornets AFL Club has welcomed new sponsors for the 2019 Season.

Placemakers Mt Wellington have come on board to be a Platinum sponsor. Placemakers has a proud history in supplying the nations construction industry over many years. Placemakers Mt Wellington is one of the largest Placemakers in New Zealand and can help you with any commercial or residential needs.

Placemakers Mt Wellington  - 102 Lunn Ave, Mount Wellington. 09 570 8300

ZBI Building & Interiors are another Platinum sponsor for 2019. They are a construction company with a focus on new builds and interior fitouts. No job is too tough for ZBI and with skilled carpenters and other tradesmen and top quality project management you can be assured your job is in safe hands. If you have a project and want to discuss with an able construction company contact ZBI.

ZBI Building and Interiors - www.zbuildingandinteriors.com  09 218 5850

Konnect Fasteners supply the leading fasteners to the construction industry. They can supply retail as well. Konnect Fasteners stock thousands of products and not just fixings.  Find out more through there catalogues on their website or pop in to their many branches. 

Konnect Fasteners - www.konnectfasteningsystems.co.nz 0800 566 632
‎
BMC Contracting specialize in passive fire protection and technical grouting solutions. BMC work within the commercial construction industry and are leading the way in passive fire protection. Contact Vili today if you need passive fire protection. 

BMC Contracting - vmaile@xtra.co.nz or  027 276 5412

The Kinnear Family  - 2018 Captain Logan Kinnear's family has graciously sponsored the club this year. We thank the Kinnear family for their contribution to our club. 

​Camcorp Contractors are fencing contractors based in Auckland. Camcorp supply and erect all types of fencing for both residential and commercial. Camcorp have been around since 1987. If you need a fencing project give them a call. 

Camcorp Contractors - cam@cambellcrawford.com 0274 923 466

Thank you to all our sponsors for 2019

​Up the Hornets!!

The 2018 / 2019 off season has been a a busy one for the Howick Hornets.

The Hornets playing in the AFLNZ Premiership have been making an impact and creating a buzz around the leagues.  After 8 rounds and 8 "team of the week" the Hornets have a strong showing in each and every round. The Hornets have ended up 2nd of all clubs in New Zealand for most nominations.  The Hornets received 28 nominations behind the AAFL premiers University Blues (34). Tyson Schmidt tops the Hornets with 6 nominations followed closely by Harley Jenkins with 5 nominations and in descending order Jay Green (4), Ryan White (4), Steph Tabaillou (3), Travis Walker (2), Max Urwin (2), Elliott Bennetts (1), Wade Eatts (1).

2018 Hornets Young Gun Dan McCarthy has stepped up and is now included in the AFLNZ Academy 2 squad. He has played a few games in the Premiership and managed to achieve the rising star award for Round 7.  He is currently playing for the NZ Academy team who are taking on Mornington Peninsular Junior Squad.

The AFLNZ Premiership finished off on Sunday 14th April. The Grand Final were preceded by a Grand Final Breakfast. Here the team and competitions awards were given out. Harley Jenkins finished 2nd in the leading goal kicking award. Harley managed to kick 17 goals; only one behind the eventual winner. Tyson Schmidt finished 6th on the ladder with 12 goals. Tyson also snapped up the Central Giants Best and Fairest award for his efforts in the team. Jay Green who was outstanding for the Western Crows picked up their Best and Fairest award and also was awarded the Premiership Best and Fairest award. Harley, Tyson & Jay were all picked in the 2019 Premiership Team of the Year. It is safe to say the Hornets have made a huge impact to AFLNZ Premiership. 

The Grand Final was played between the Southern Saints (Harley Jenkins & Travis Walker) vs Western Crows (Jay Green, Luke Williams & Ryan White) and after four hard fought quarters the Western Crows were victorious. Well done to all Hornets who participated in the 2019 AFLNZ Premiership.

In other news, after 7 well served years Will McKenzie is stepping down as President of the Howick Hornets. Will along with Terry Carroll started the Pakuranga Panthers in 2012 and persevered with the club as it struggled in its early years. Will saw through the re affiliation with Howick Rugby League Club which has seen the club grow in players and supporters. Will is not completely stepping away from the club and will continue to serve on the committee with a focus on improving the playing fields and club rooms. Ryan White has been elected as the new club President. Ryan has played for Howick for the past 6 years and served on the committee for the past three years. He is enthusiastic and will continue to lead Howick on the path to be the greatest AFL club in Auckland. 

After a few committee member have left for overseas; the Hornets have appointed three new committee members for 2019.  Blake McCombe,  Elliott Bennetts & TJ Jhagroo have all stepped up to help run the club. All three are excited to be formally part of the club and will bring fresh ideas for the club. 

The Hornets are welcoming in a new sponsor for the 2019/2020 season. Z Building & Interiors have come on board as a Platinum Sponsor. ZBI are able to help in all avenues of the construction process. They can provide; 

• Project Management
• Carpentry (Supply & Labour Only)
• Plasterboard Lining
• Suspended Ceilings
• Re-Cladding
• Painting & Decorating
• Steel Stud Partitioning
• Insulation

Contact  Wade at wade.zbi@outlook.co.nz or 0272044566

Exciting times ahead for the Hornets!

The Hornets have swarmed into the AFLNZ Premiership for 2019.  Seven Hornets have been included in three teams list adding to the two already retained players.

The Hornets were hot property and were snapped up quickly in the draft on Wednesday night. Number 1 draft pick went to the Northern Suns - the only team that does not have a Hornet. The Suns were after height so chose to pass on the AAFL & Howick Hornets Best and Fairest winner Jay Green. The Suns picked up AAFL Premiership winning Universtiy Ruckman Patrick Lamby 

Pick 2  was Southern Saints; securing Travis Walker into their side. Travis is a strong player and can fit in any position from midfield up to the full forward. Travis was picked to be another attacking option for the Saints as they struggled last year. Teaming up with Manurewa's Alex Fakatoumafi in the forward line will keep the opposing defenders busy. . Pick 3 went to another Hornet with the the Western Crows counting their stars and not believing their luck that Auckland AFL & Howick Hornets Best and Fairest winner was not picked up in the first two picks. Jay will bolster the Crows already impressive midfield 

After the first round of 4 picks half of the pick had been Hornets. Very strong showing.

Round 2 of picks was for AFLNZ Acadamy Graduates. Luke Williams of Howick was eligible for picking within this round and draft pick 5 (round 2 pick 1) for the Crows saw them swoop in and pick up Luke within their line up. Luke will add speed and agility out on the wing for the crows. Fresh off captaining the youth side Luke looks to continue growing within the sport.

Round 3 was for Auckland based players again and had another strong showing of Hornets. Hornets Rookie of the Year Harley Jenkins was nabbed early by the Southern Saints . Harley is a versatile player and can easily slot into the forward or back line. It will be interesting to see where the Saint play him. Pick 11 (round 3 pick 3) saw Steph Tabaillou traded from the Western Crows where he has played the last two years to the Central Giants linking up with retained player Elliott Bennetts. Steph works well around the middle of the field and provides the team with maximum disposals.

Round 10 Saw our veteran player and commanding backmen Wade Eatts picked up in the Central Giants. Wade is an experienced campaigner and works well in any back line. Wade provides a level head and big voice in the backline to tighten up any defence.

Lastly in round 11 Tyson Schmidt was also picked up in the Central Giants. Tyson relatively new to the AAFL scene went under the radar through the draft. The Giants got an absolute steal picking up Tyson this late. Tyson fresh out of Australia is a skillful player who loves to run the footy.

A strong year from the Hornets saw their worth skyrocket in the 2019 Draft. The NZAFL draft review has seen most of the Hornets mentioned as key signings. Jay Green was noted as best pick up for the Western Crows and the same for Travis Walker at the Southern Saints. Harley Jenkins was noted as the one to watch for the Southern Saints.

Up the Hornets!!

2019 AFLNZ Preimership Hornets 

Central Giants: Elliott Bennetts, Steph Tabaillou, Tyson Schmidt, Wade Eatts

Northern Suns: Nil

Southern Saints: Harley Jenkins, Travis Walker

Western Crows: Jay Green, Luke Williams, Ryan White

The Hornets celebrated their 2018 season with the Best and Fairest awards on Saturday night. The night was a success and a great opportunity to shine some light on some deserving people. The awards were won by the below;

Howick Hornets Netball
Leadership Award - Tayla Jury
Most Improved - Sophie Jury
Sportsmanship - Kezia Jaffar
Best & Fairest - Kezia Jaffar

Howick Hornets AFL
Rookie of the Year - Harley Jenkins
Young Gun Award - Dan McCarthy
Most Improved - Kieran Bevan
Andrew Azzopardi Golden Boot Award - Dan Bushett
Most Determined Award - Jono Pearce
Ryan White Clubman of the Year- Paul 'Taco' Millar
Players Choice Best and Fairest Runner Up - Fraser Kessling
Players Choice Best and Fairest - Jay Green
Best and Fairest Runner Up - Fraser Kessling
Best and Fairest - Jay Green

We also celebrated the huge achievement for two players who achieved their 50th games this season. We already had Captain Logan Kinnear reach 50 early in this season and joining him and Tim Elsley on 50 games were Ken Rowe and Ryan White. 

Once again a big thank you to all our sponsors this year; Livefirm Construction, Konnect Fastners, BMC Construction & Tower Scaffolding without your help we woudl not have been able to create such a successful club. 

The Hornets season has finished up on Saturday with the reserves final and the Best & Fairest awards. 

First up the Howick Hornets reserves took on the Mt Roskill Saints reserves in the Reserve Final playing for the McKay-Rogers Shield. In less than ideal weather conditions the Hornets and saints battled it out in the first half. The wet weather meant the ball was hard to control and to take marks. The Hornets managed to kick the first goal into the wind however a skillful and hungry Mt Roskill pounced back and pushed into the lead kicking a double. Finishing the half the scores were locked in at 3 all. 

After a bit of composure from the halftime break the Hornets then came back fighting. Wanting the football more and playing hard defense across the field they managed to turn the ball over into their favour. The scores kept tight in the first ten minutes as neither team could cement one hand on the shield. In the final ten minutes against a tiring Saints defense the Hornets stung; good clearances from the back pushed the football into the the Hornets forwards. The goals started to stream in for the Hornets with multiple goal kickers spreading the cheer. The Hornets were eventual winners beating the Saints 11-5.

The Howick Hornets AFL and Netball teams will be celebrating their seasons this Saturday the 24th November. The awards will be hosted in the Paparoa Park clubrooms from 7pm. 

Door sales are $10 and includes a drink on entry and nibbles through the night. Dress code is smart. 

We welcome all to attend to help celebrate our teams. 

For any more information please email hornetsafl@gmail.com

The Hornets have a had another successful year on and off the field. The season may not have been as long as we had hoped but there were plenty of positives to take out of it. 

Starting with last night at the Auckland AFL Best & Fairest awards the Hornets had a great showing. The first award of the night was the Best First Year player which Hornets Kevin Crowe won last year. The trophy will be kept in the Hornets cabinet for another year with Harley Jenkins taking out the award against some stiff competition. Harley has been a influential player on the field being able to be played both up the field in the forwards and floating down the back in defence. He has picked up the game incredibly quickly and will look to further develop his skills over the off season to take his game to the next level in 2019.

The next award last night was to the Volunteer of the Year award. Last year the Hornets narrowly missed out on this award but with the superhuman effort put in the by the one and only Paul "Taco" Millar the award was locked away. Paul is the most deserving of this award for all his time and effort he has put into the club over the last few seasons. This year Paul was involved with every single event organised by the Hornets from the Golf day through to preseason camp to the themed parties and would turn up to every training and run waters at each game travelling all the way from Bombay. Well done Paul.

The golden boot award and coaches award were picked up by Mt Roskill and were deserving for the season they have had this year compared to last year.

The biggest award of the night was the Best and Fairest as voted by the Umpires from each match over the ten rounds.  The Hornets showed up strong in the votes with 11 different people receiving votes over the season.  After the 10 rounds and beating a Mt Roskill player by 1 point our very own Jay Green was named Best and Fairest for the Auckland AFL. This is a monumental achievement and well deserving for Jay who has been very consistent for the Hornets this year. Jay managed to win the award missing the last round through injury which shows how well he played throughout the season. Well done Jay for this awesome achievement.

The AAFL awards were polished off with 3 Hornets named in the All Auckland team, Jay Green, Fraser Kessling and Kevin Crowe all named in the squad. Well done!

The season finished with round 10 against Manurewa. A victory against them and if North Shore lost to Waitakere then the Hornets would be playing finals in only their second year! The Hornets did what they could and won the game against Manurewa but unfortunately North Shore beat Waitakere and the Hornets missed out on playing finals by 2 points.  The Hornets improved on last years performance with another 2 points on the board and although they did not kick as many points this year their defence locked down the opposition and had less goals kicked against them and their overall points differential was less. This is a positive step for the Hornets as we look to 2019.

The reserves have managed to slip into the finals with one win against North Shore will see them playing finals at QBE stadium next week. Good luck to the reserves tomorrow.

Finally, the Howick Hornets B&F awards are next Saturday (24th) at the Paparoa Park. It would be great if we could have our supporters there to celebrate the achievements of our club this season. Details will be posted on the website this week. 

Up the Hornets!