ADAM KAMIEN

Todd Goldstein. Photo: Ben Weinstein

AFTER a strong finish to the 2010 season, it is clear that Todd Goldstein is part of new coach Brad Scott’s plans for the Kangaroos this year.

The 201-centimetre ruckman has featured heavily in North Melbourne Football Club’s eye-catching pre-season so far, including a gutsy win against reigning AFL premiers Geelong in the first round of he NAB Cup and a promising NAB Challenge win against the 2008 champion Hawthorn.

Goldstein’s form leading up to North Melbourne’s round one clash against Port Adelaide on March 28 has been solid, with the 22-year-old staking his claim to a spot in the side’s best 22.

“I don’t think I’ve really been this confident in myself before,” Goldstein told The AJN.

“I’m just hoping to cement a spot, get more confident and try to put consistent performances together. I didn’t do that in the first half of last year and that’s what kept me in and out of the side.”

A third-round pick for North Melbourne in 2006 National Draft, Goldstein played 13 senior games in 2009, including the last seven of the season. His breakout performance came against Melbourne in round 19, when the talented big man booted five goals, as well as taking 17 possessions, 17 hit outs and seven marks.

“I know that when I get do get picked that I can perform to the level that’s required. In the first few games I wasn’t really sure whether I deserved it or not, but once you start playing you get a bit more consistent and it really does make the difference.”

But with one of the most inexperienced lists in the AFL, Goldstein’s role at the club has expanded to include mentoring. In his fourth year at the club, Goldstein says he enjoys passing on some of the benefits of hi experience in the system.

“This is my fourth year now and third full pre-season so you do learn a lot in the first few years. If you look at the club we’ve got 32 players who have been drafted in the last four years, so we’ve got a lot of young blokes. I’m still seen as part of that young group, but you definitely pass on your experience to some of the boys and try to help them survive the rigours of AFL footy. It does get pretty hard and does become a bit of a grind if you’re not able to cope with it.”

Mat Sherwin in action.

ADAM KAMIEN

MATT Sherwin is in the top handful of club cyclists in Victoria. He has consistently been at the peak of the A-grade competition in recent years, and is a walk-up start at any club in the state.

So his choice to saddle up for the fledgling Maccabi Cycling Club (MCC) is remarkable.

His decision wasn’t based on the standard of cyclists at the Maccabi club -– there are few riders that can go with him –- nor was it a choice based on prestige or resources.

MCC is a club on the move. It is one of the fastest-growing Maccabi clubs and while it has been developing exponentially since its inception late last year -– thanks to an explosion in the sport’s popularity among Melbourne Jews –- it is still very much in its infancy.

In fact, Sherwin’s motivation for choosing Maccabi isn’t really based on competition at all.

“Cycling offers so much more than a competitive element,” Sherwin told The AJN.
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Assaf Drori in action during the final. Photo: Peter Haskin

AJN STAFF

FORMER Israeli ATP player Assaf Drori has won the Victorian Jewish Tennis Championships, which were held over the Labour Day weekend in Melbourne.

Drori defeated top grade-1 pennant player Asaf Nagar 7-6, 6-3 in the final on Monday at the Leon Haskin Tennis Centre in Bentleigh East.

Drori trained at the prestigious John Newcombe Tennis Academy in Texas in the early 1990s before going on to play Division 1 College Tennis on scholarship for the University of New Mexico and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

After graduating college, Drori joined the ATP and ITF (Israel’s roof tennis body), where he competed professionally for five years.

Maccabi’s premiership first grade side. Photo: Tim Fulton

DAVID WEINER

THE “Championes, Championes” catchcry beamed from a huddled Maccabi futsal squad around Dural centre court late on Saturday night (February 20) – and there can be little disputing that claim.

The minor premiers in both the senior and youth grades were the best over 13 rounds of Football NSW’s Summer Super League, and when both teams stared down the barrel of upset grand final defeats, they showed their mettle to emerge with two premiership trophies from a riveting night of futsal.

The senior side looked a high-class unit in its 5-3 win over Boomerangs FC, but they endured an almighty scare when they let a 3-0 lead slip midway through the second half.

Despite missing captain Simon Keith and coach Steve Knight to international duties, the Blues were a breathtaking sight in full flight, delighting with their movement and one-touch futsal.

But they must have been sick of the sight of the Boomerangs’ goalkeeper, who saved his side more than a dozen times.

Slav Platkov’s solo run through the heart of the Canberra-based outfit opened the scoring after five minutes. Maccabi dictated the early tempo, but the Boomerangs then caught the Blues off guard against the run of play, forcing goalkeeper John Myers to bring down the oncoming striker within the box and luckily escape further sanction. Myers, as ever, was a formidable target to beat, and then parried the penalty away to his right.

The 1-0 half-time score belied the entertainment value on show, but it tells the story of the match’s intensity. Myers was called upon to make two further point-blank saves, while Antony Tow and Platkov both saw shots cannon off the post and the keeper.

The Blues started the second like a team possessed. Jordan Mundell was proving impossible to dispose, and Platkov was running riot. The side cashed in when Daniel Fulton scored from the penalty spot, after another eye-catching, one-touch move induced a foul in the box. Fulton then showed deft skill to maraud down the right flank and, after attracting the keeper and teeing up Tow, Maccabi looked comfortable at 3-0.

But with the Blues spurning a glut of chances, the Boomerangs were still in it when they did not deserve a sniff. With seven to go, the game turned on its head. Maccabi might have already been celebrating but, within minutes, the scores were level. There were jitters; the Boomerangs were on top for the first time all night and the title looked a goner.

The gauntlet was laid down and the Blues ran it. Stand-in skipper Doron Pozniak enjoyed an inspired performance, playing a defence-splitting pass to Mundell. Mundell then set up Tow, before celebrating his own final goal in a polished performance.

The tone was set earlier in the night when the youth side powered home in extra time to beat the Northern Tigers 6-4 in a pulsating decider. A Lev Lewis pile-driver with his non-preferred right foot got the side off to the perfect start, and the Blues were full of energy, hustling their opposition.

But a momentary lapse saw a long-range strike sneak in for 1-1 at the break, turning the momentum.

The Blues slipped down 1-2, but Judd Felsher’s headed flick helped Jarrod Basger get them back to 2-2. At 3-2 down, and with time well against them, Lewis slid an unbelievable pass to Brett Rosenberg, who held his nerve to finish at the back stick and send the match into overtime.

Fittingly, it was Basger -– a star on the night -– who took matters into his own hands, and broke the game open with a solo game-breaker straight away.

Sam Kettler and Nic Fisher both deservedly got on the board, and the mood was set for a day that Maccabi futsal will never forget.

Former Socceroo Ian Gray. Photo: AJN file

DAVID WEINER

MACCABI NSW is slowly coming to grips with the sudden passing of Ian Gray, as the club reflects on the former Socceroos’ legacy, while trying to fill the “irreplaceable” void that he leaves behind.

“This hit like a tsunami through Maccabi,” said Youth Development League (YDL) chairman Jon Marcuson, who knew “Iggy” for all of his 15-year involvement with the club.

“He was such a great coach, a good bloke. Such a loss.”

All Maccabi soccer clubs cancelled training for the week out of respect, and a minute’s silence was held and black armbands worn at the YDL intra-club trials on Sunday.

Each team, from juniors to the club’s most senior masters, held their own gatherings through the week, and both Maccabi and the Jewish schools organised counsellors for the kids.
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Opening ceremony for the 2006 Maccabi Australia International Games. Photo: AJN file/Peter Haskin

DAVID WEINER

THE Maccabi Australia International Games (MAIGs) have been launched in Sydney with a special function and a fireworks display over Darling Harbour.

The games will be held from December 26 to January 2, 2011 in Sydney.

At the function on February 14 there were speeches from Maccabi Australia president Harry Procel, 2010 MAIGs chairman Jeff Houseman and 2006 MAIGs chief executive Karen Grega.

The 170-strong crowd, which was well supported by Maccabi NSW’s clubs, and included the president of US Maccabi Ron Carter and his wife Talia, was entertained throughout the night.

“It was about getting out to the community, letting them know we’ve got the games, the venues, the social,” Houseman told The AJN.
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Michael Klinger in action. Photo: Courtesy Adelaide Advertiser

ADAM KAMIEN

SOUTH Australian batsman Michael Klinger has been named the State Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.

Won the award at the Allan Border Medal presentation at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium on Monday night.

The 29-year-old won the award at the Allan Border Medal presentation at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium last week where he finished with 36 votes, seven clear of his closest rival Chris Rogers on 29, with former teammate at the Bushrangers Brad Hodge two further back on 28.

Klinger has enjoyed a sparkling season to date, and is the second leading run-getter in the Sheffield Shield.

“I made a big effort after last season to back it up again and not be a one-year wonder and that was one of my determinations this season. And so far, so good,” Klinger told The AJN.

But it was a tumultuous start to the season, with Klinger dropped for the Redbacks’ first limited overs game and scoring a first-ball duck on his return.
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Israeli team members Roman and Alexandra Zaretsky (right) and Michael Renzin (left). Photo: AJN file

VANCOUVER — Israel’s ice dancing team at the Winter Olympics was in 10th place following the compulsory round.

Roman and Alexandra Zaretsky performed a tango last Friday night at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. The brother-and-sister duo earned a score of 34.38.

“We think of personal results out there, not personal bests,” Roman Zaretsky said after the routine. “We skate for our friends, our family and of course, for our country.”

The Zaretskys will perform again in competition and will skate to Hava Nagila for the original dance and to music from Schindler’s List for the free dance.

Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, who is Jewish, were in fourth place following the compulsories. The duo won the silver medal in 2006.

JTA

Touch football action earlier this year. Photo: David Weiner

DAVID WEINER

THE Maccabi Kings and Moriah Old Boys (Mob) touch football teams will finish the regular season in the Eastern Suburbs Touch Association’s top division with the honours even after the Kings’ 5-2 win over the Mob on February 4.

It was a convincing performance by the Kings, who showed their class and patience by coming back after the Mob started the match with two lucky long-range tries.

Perfect Mob defence forced Maccabi to squeeze a pass, which Paul Meltz snapped up for a length-of-the-field intercept. He combined with Daniel Kochan soon after to catch Maccabi napping on a turnover of possession.

But that was where the highlights ended for the Old Boys. A stunted attack barely caused Maccabi to raise a sweat in defence, while the Kings attacked with verve and intent. Danny Glattstein slid over untouched to pull one back before the break.

Maccabi broke the game open in the second half, with David Krantz finishing off brilliantly in the far corner, while Yotam Hatzvi’s no-look flick pass allowed Yoni Sonnabend to slice the defence open for a scintillating try.

Glattstein sealed the result with an outrageous step past the Mob defence, while Ben Glattstein and Ben Nemeny kept the Old Boys on their toes with lively displays.
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AJAX skipper Dave Gelbart in action last season. Photo: AJN file

SIMON MORAWETZ

THE Maccabi AJAX First XI is on the brink of defeat after day one of its contest against Murrumbeena, following a disappointing showing with the bat.

At the close of play, Murrumbeena was just 16 runs from victory with eight wickets in hand, chasing the visitors’ 144.

But there were positive signs for the future, with debutant Devan Spilkin impressing in his first outing for the team. Batting down the order, Spilkin crafted an unbeaten 32, the highest score for the side.

Former Maccabi AJAX batsman Troy Lamb put his old side to the sword, crashing 77 not out from just 88 deliveries to put Murrumbeena in the box seat.

The First XI won the toss in its match at Murrumbeena and elected to bat, but when opener Bloch was trapped in front, a collapse followed.

Reeling at 4-28, the Firsts rallied through David Fayman and skipper Dave Gelbart, who added 25 for the fifth wicket. David Majtlis (21) and Gelbart (11) combined for a 14-run stand before the skipper was out, bringing Spilkin to the crease. Justin Kramersh made a useful 18, but Murrumbeena needed just 53 overs to skittle the Firsts.
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