Latest news with #Dingley
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
How newest Gold Coast Sun Caleb Lewis leapt onto an AFL list
Caleb Lewis thought he was the victim of a classic prank. When Gold Coast rang the key forward from Melbourne suburban club Dingley and expressed its interest ahead of the mid-season draft, he was initially wary, thinking it was a mate on the line. But he soon realised there was no punchline coming and an AFL career suddenly 'got real'. 'They touched base around Round 1, just a brief phone call with a bit of a chat and it just went from there,' Lewis said. 'I thought someone was having me on, to be honest, I thought someone was taking the mickey out of me a bit and pretending to be someone else. 'Then it just got real after that, I knew it was real and I guess I put my best foot forward every step of the way and, yeah, here we are.' The 'here we are' for Lewis is sitting at a Gold Coast cafe after completing his first captain's run as a Sun. Plucked by the Suns in Wednesday night's mid-season draft, he will play VFL on Saturday morning. Lewis was on Casey Demons' books last year and Footscray's the year before – but he leapt onto an AFL list after a 66-goal campaign for Dingley in local football. In the space of 19 games, Lewis evolved from a raw kid with potential to a turnstile-ticking forward capable of taking a spectacular mark. Lewis credits to Dingley for allowing him to showcase his strengths. 'I think Dingley facilitated that massively for me, especially, the culture there is insane, it's unreal,' he said. 'I love to be a part of it, everyone really brings me up and allows me to be myself and everyone just backs me in, no matter what. 'Dingley has really facilitated me to back myself in, fly for everything and play to my strengths. 'It's pretty crazy obviously not playing too much VFL, playing four games over two years at Casey and then the four games at the Dogs as 23rd man. 'You can kind of catch yourself in the mindset of 'why aren't I playing?' and getting a bit down on yourself but I think that's where Dingley and the boys, the coaches, just the support from them to continue to play my game. 'Continue to fly, continue to do everything that makes me a footballer led me to this, since then it's been pretty overwhelming but it's been unreal.' While his ascension appears out of the blue, the Suns have tracked Lewis for some time. Gold Coast recruiter Kall Burns first saw Lewis in under-16s but said his strong finals and pre-season prompted the Suns to take the punt on the high-flyer from the 'burbs. 'There was obviously a lot of fanfare about his finals series for Dingley, in particular his grand final against Cheltenham was really strong,' Burns said. 'He just hit pre-season running, we thought his pre-season form at Casey was really strong and then when we started to really hone in on him again. 'We were there (Round 1) absolutely, what we like about Caleb is his attributes, he's got massive hands so he's a great overhead mark. 'He's really clean at ground level for someone of his size, he's 198cm so for a player like him to be good at ground level is quite appealing. 'He's got excellent movement, covers the ground really nicely, really good footy IQ – there's a lot of attributes about Caleb we like. 'He's still quite raw in terms of his AFL development but we see a lot of potential there.' Lewis has won his spot on the Suns' list as a key forward. But Burns said Lewis had the potential to play a variety of roles under three-time premiership mentor Damien Hardwick. 'He's quite a competitive kid and we particularly saw that through his finals series with Dingley,' he said. 'He was thrown into the ruck at times, he was able to crash packs forward too – but we go right back to his 18th year where he showed his traits as a key back too. 'We're really open-minded with Caleb, we feel like he can play bookends of the ground, back and forward. 'And as a forward he can pinch hit in the ruck as well if that's what Damien needs in the system – he ticks a lot of boxes.'
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
How a suburban high-flyer soared onto the Suns' radar
Caleb Lewis thought he was the victim of a classic prank. When Gold Coast rang the key forward from Melbourne suburban club Dingley and expressed its interest ahead of the mid-season draft, he was initially wary, thinking it was a mate on the line. But he soon realised there was no punchline coming and an AFL career suddenly 'got real'. 'They touched base around Round 1, just a brief phone call with a bit of a chat and it just went from there,' Lewis said. 'I thought someone was having me on, to be honest, I thought someone was taking the mickey out of me a bit and pretending to be someone else. 'Then it just got real after that, I knew it was real and I guess I put my best foot forward every step of the way and, yeah, here we are.' Caleb Lewis during this year's Young Guns match. (Photo by Rob Lawson/AFL Photos) Credit: AFL Photos The 'here we are' for Lewis is sitting at a Gold Coast cafe after completing his first captain's run as a Sun. Plucked by the Suns in Wednesday night's mid-season draft, he will play VFL on Saturday morning. Lewis was on Casey Demons' books last year and Footscray's the year before – but he leapt onto an AFL list after a 66-goal campaign for Dingley in local football. In the space of 19 games, Lewis evolved from a raw kid with potential to a turnstile-ticking forward capable of taking a spectacular mark. Lewis credits to Dingley for allowing him to showcase his strengths. 'I think Dingley facilitated that massively for me, especially, the culture there is insane, it's unreal,' he said. 'I love to be a part of it, everyone really brings me up and allows me to be myself and everyone just backs me in, no matter what. 'Dingley has really facilitated me to back myself in, fly for everything and play to my strengths. 'It's pretty crazy obviously not playing too much VFL, playing four games over two years at Casey and then the four games at the Dogs as 23rd man. 'You can kind of catch yourself in the mindset of 'why aren't I playing?' and getting a bit down on yourself but I think that's where Dingley and the boys, the coaches, just the support from them to continue to play my game. 'Continue to fly, continue to do everything that makes me a footballer led me to this, since then it's been pretty overwhelming but it's been unreal.' Caleb Lewis soars for a mark earlier this year. Andrew Keech Credit: Supplied Lewis soared over, on and through packs in last year's Southern league finals. Andrew Batsch Credit: News Corp Australia While his ascension appears out of the blue, the Suns have tracked Lewis for some time. Gold Coast recruiter Kall Burns first saw Lewis in under-16s but said his strong finals and pre-season prompted the Suns to take the punt on the high-flyer from the 'burbs. 'There was obviously a lot of fanfare about his finals series for Dingley, in particular his grand final against Cheltenham was really strong,' Burns said. 'He just hit pre-season running, we thought his pre-season form at Casey was really strong and then when we started to really hone in on him again. 'We were there (Round 1) absolutely, what we like about Caleb is his attributes, he's got massive hands so he's a great overhead mark. 'He's really clean at ground level for someone of his size, he's 198cm so for a player like him to be good at ground level is quite appealing. 'He's got excellent movement, covers the ground really nicely, really good footy IQ – there's a lot of attributes about Caleb we like. 'He's still quite raw in terms of his AFL development but we see a lot of potential there.' Lewis played four games for Footscray and four games for Casey in the VFL. (Photo by Jonathan DiMaggio/AFL Photos) Credit: Supplied Lewis has won his spot on the Suns' list as a key forward. But Burns said Lewis had the potential to play a variety of roles under three-time premiership mentor Damien Hardwick. 'He's quite a competitive kid and we particularly saw that through his finals series with Dingley,' he said. 'He was thrown into the ruck at times, he was able to crash packs forward too – but we go right back to his 18th year where he showed his traits as a key back too. 'We're really open-minded with Caleb, we feel like he can play bookends of the ground, back and forward. 'And as a forward he can pinch hit in the ruck as well if that's what Damien needs in the system – he ticks a lot of boxes.' The Suns VFL side plays Coburg at People First Stadium on Saturday morning.
The 42
19-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Hannah Dingley to depart FAI for Man City role
HANNAH DINGLEY is leaving her role as Head of Women & Girls' Football in the Football Association of Ireland, it has been confirmed. The Uefa Pro Licence holder will depart in the summer to take up a new position Girls' Head of Academy with Manchester City. Advertisement Dingley leaves after just over a year in the role, having begun the job in May last year, launching the FAI's Women & Girls' Football Action Plan in March. The Wales native was previously appointed academy manager at Forest Green Rovers in 2019 and in 2023, became the first woman to manage a senior men's team in English football, taking over as caretaker boss following Duncan Ferguson's departure. She also had stints at Burton Albion, Lincoln Ladies and Notts County. Dingley took over the role from Eileen Gleeson after the latter was appointed as Ireland's permanent manager. Gleeson has since been replaced in the job by Carla Ward, but is understood to still be an FAI employee. The FAI say details on Dingley's successor will be announced 'in due course'. The news comes less than a month after chief football officer Marc Canham confirmed he would be leaving the association.
The Irish Sun
19-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘Difficult decision' – Hannah Dingley confirms FAI exit as she takes role with Premier League giants
THE FAI has confirmed Hannah Dingley is quitting her post of Head of Women and Girls' Football. It was reported last week that the Englishwoman was leaving after just 13 months with the Association. And the FAI has announced that she is taking up a new role as Girls' Head of Academy with Manchester City. In a statement, Dingley said: 'I've taken the difficult decision to leave the Association to take on a new challenge with Manchester City. 'I've thoroughly enjoyed my time working in women and girls' football in Ireland and believe there is so much potential to build in this area to ensure that the Football Pathways Plan has maximum impact on Irish football.' Dingley was hired by the FAI when Eileen Gleeson was appointed as manager of the Ireland women's team on a permanent basis after a spell in caretaker charge. Read More On Irish Football Although other candidates had been put off by the fact it was not a full-time role, Dingley said in her first media engagement in March that she was on a permanent contract. Gleeson has remained on the FAI's payroll despite being axed as boss in December, following her team's failure to qualify for the European Championships. But the Association has refused to say what her role is amid some speculation that she may return to her old job which she started in January 2023 after spells in charge of Peamount United and Glasgow City. 1 Dingley described her exit as a 'difficult decision' Dean Henderson gets emotional live on GMB over death of his dad after FA Cup triumph
Irish Examiner
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Hannah Dingley to leave FAI for Man City job
The FAI has confirmed that Head of Women & Girls' Football, Hannah Dingley, will leave her role at the association. Dingley is set to take up a new position at the Manchester City girls academy. "I've taken the difficult decision to leave the Association to take on a new challenge with Manchester City," said Dingley. "I've thoroughly enjoyed my time working in women and girls' football in Ireland and believe there is so much potential to build in this area to ensure that the Football Pathways Plan has maximum impact on Irish football." FAI CEO David Courell said: "We thank Hannah for her time at the Association where she showed excellent professionalism and hard work in helping us to further develop the women and girls' game in Ireland. "Having launched the Women & Girls' Football Action Plan, her successor will be able to continue the important work that Hannah started. We wish Hannah the very best in the next chapter of her career." Dingley fulfilled the role created by Eileen Gleeson being promoted to the women's national team, initially as caretaker and then permanent manager. Joining the FAI last May, she was the first-ever woman to manage a men's senior team in England as interim boss of Forest Green Rovers.
