Training at Lonsdale Reserve Mulwala for the first time on Monday was the club’s highly prized recruit Dayne Beams, being flanked by co-coaches Kade Rowe and Bodhi Butts, and football manager Dale Ferguson.
Photo by
Les_Garbutt
The biggest name ever to play football for Mulwala, Dayne Beams, will make his debut with the Lions this Good Friday, at Lonsdale Reserve Mulwala.
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Beams, who turned 34-years-of-age last month, trained with his new teammates for the first time on Monday and received a warm welcome.
“The Under 14s and Under 17s stayed behind after their training sessions just to see Dayne train. They were in awe of him,” club football manager Dale Ferguson said.
He will have number 24 on his back – the same number as his famous father. Dayne’s late dad Philip (Teapot) Beams was best and fairest seven times at Mulwala.
Father and son. Son Dayne Beams proudly holds the farmed photograph of his father, Philip (Teapot) in the Mulwala clubrooms.
Photo by
Les_Garbutt
Mulwala, which has won the last two Murray league premierships, will take on last year’s runners-up, Congupna.
In 2018, Beams said he was determined to pay tribute to his father by playing for Mulwala.
"I wasn't old enough to remember him playing footy, but everyone tells me how good he was. He won seven best and fairests at Mulwala Football Club and the best and fairest is named after dad,” he said at the time.
"I'd love to go and play back at 'Mul' where dad played, purely just to pull on the jumper. I'd love to play where he won seven best and fairests and the medal's named after him, it's something I want to do eventually, but at the moment I'm not thinking about football.
"It will be something I do, though." True to his word, Dayne is with Mulwala and will play eight games this season.
“I’m happy to be here and looking forward to playing for the team my dad did,” he said.
As one of AFL’s elite midfielders, Dayne played a total of 177 AFL games from 2009 to 2020, (119 with Collingwood and 58 with Brisbane including as captain in 2019 and 2020) booted 172 goals, was the 2012 3AW Player of the Year and selected in the All-Australian Team of the Year.
He was selected in the 2008 AFL Draft by Collingwood and played 110 games before he asked to be traded to Brisbane after the 2014 season to be closer to his ailing father and to play with brother Claye.
Dayne then played 58 games with Brisbane from 2015 to 2018. In early 2016 he became one of four vice-captains and before season 2017, was made captain, a position he relinquished in 2018 to deal with the passing of his father.
Philip Beams passed away on February 28, 2018. Hundreds of people locally, together with players and officials from the Collingwood and Brisbane clubs attended the funeral service at Mulwala Lawn Cemetery.
Dayne was born in Yarrawonga and moved to Queensland at age four.
Following a spell from football, he played with Pearcedale in the Mornington Peninsula league in 2023.
The 2010 Collingwood premiership player and former Brisbane skipper is match-fit and ready to be playing in a Lions jumper again, this time with Mulwala.
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