The future looks good at Henry Lawson FC
with Matt“ Duck Man” Austin
It’ s been a tough few years for local sport across Western Sydney. Clubs and competitions have battled through bushfires, floods, COVID disruptions, shortened seasons, and unpredictable weather from torrential rain to sweltering summers. Henry Lawson FC has been among those hardest hit within the Nepean Football Association.
Repeated flooding events have seen the club’ s canteen and storage containers submerged several times over the past few seasons. Even once play resumed, ongoing heavy rain left the fields at Parkes Avenue Reserve in poor condition, disrupting schedules for junior boys and girls, women’ s and men’ s teams alike. But this is the story of the little club that could. Through it all, Henry
Timm Sammut and son, Oliver. Lawson’ s
hard-working committee has done a stellar job ensuring local families could keep playing the sport they love, as often as possible, in front of their loyal supporters.
In 2025, long time committee member, president, and life member Natalie Sinclair stepped down to focus on her family. The club’ s seamless transition of leadership owes much to the dedication of former president and life member Sharon Schaecken-Johns, whose years of service set a strong foundation for success.
The baton has now passed to Amanda Shepherd, who has brought fresh energy and a renewed community-driven approach. Under Amanda’ s leadership, improved communication between the committee and teams has helped strengthen the club’ s family atmosphere, something Henry Lawson FC has long been proud of.
The 2025 season also saw Susan honoured with Volunteer of the Year at Nepean’ s annual presentation a prestigious recognition of those who keep community sport alive, from running the canteen and BBQ to organising uniforms and equipment. Meanwhile, long-time member Tim Sammut was awarded Life Membership, celebrating over 30 years of service since joining the club in 1985 as a player, coach, manager, trainer, and committee member.
Tim Jenkins received Junior Coach of the Year for his outstanding work developing the next generation of young players who will form the backbone of future all-age teams. Senior Players of the Year went to Samantha Tornatore for the women’ s team and Gary Toh for the men’ s.
While the club didn’ t claim a premiership title in 2025, there were plenty of reasons to celebrate. The All- Age Division 2 women’ s team finished a strong second, while the developing Intermediate Women’ s Division 2 side showed enormous promise positioning the club to field its first Ruby League Women’ s team in 2026.
On the men’ s side, Henry Lawson fielded four all-age teams this season, with plenty of emerging talent on display. Working closely with Competition
HLFC under 11 Mixed White after their match. Credit: HLFC.
Secretary Brendan Rae, the club aims to establish one or two higher-grade teams in 2026, paving the way to rejoin the prestigious Nepean Waratah League by 2027, just in time for the club’ s 50th season.
Henry Lawson FC’ s steady resurgence is a testament to the committee’ s dedication and the leadership team’ s vision to ensure every boy, girl, woman, and man can have the opportunity to play football, develop their skills, and represent their local club with pride.
Western Sydney Academy of Sport: developing future sports stars
with Matt“ Duck Man” Austin
Readers of The Independent will have often seen stories celebrating the achievements of local athletes and sportspeople, and many of them share a common foundation, the Western Sydney Academy of Sport( WSAS). But who exactly are they, and what role do they play in shaping our region’ s sporting future?
Established in June 2004, the Western Sydney Academy of Sport is an
Paige Hadley. Credit: Mark Metcalfe Getty Images. independent, not-for-profit community organisation and one of 11 Regional Academies of Sport across New South Wales. Its purpose is to deliver high quality development programs for talented young athletes living in western Sydney, working closely with each sport’ s recognised State Sporting Organisation( SSO).
WSAS programs combine technical training, skill development, education, and personal growth opportunities, creating a holistic pathway for emerging athletes. Sessions are held at some of the region’ s best sporting venues and are fully endorsed by the NSW Institute of Sport and local sporting associations.
The Academy’ s catchment area includes the seven LGAs of Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Parramatta, Penrith, and The Hills, covering a population of nearly 1.8 million people. Governed by a Board of Directors representing the NSW Government, local councils, and the business and sporting community, WSAS has earned a reputation for excellence and integrity. Its core values of quality, respect, knowledge, and performance underpin everything the Academy does.
The Academy’ s goal is to give young sportspeople the tools, support, and encouragement they need to reach their potential both on and off the field. Programs offer access to elite coaching, sports science and education, and personal development activities designed to build discipline, resilience, and confidence. WSAS also plays a key role in grassroots sport development, promoting western Sydney as a region of sporting excellence.
WSAS currently runs programs across a wide range of disciplines, including BMX, cycling, golf, netball( including umpiring), rowing, softball, triathlon, volleyball, and an Indigenous Talent Identification program. The Lone Star Program also supports athletes competing in sports not yet offered in a squad format, preparing them for state and national representation.
Growth remains a major focus for WSAS, with new programs regularly developed in collaboration with SSOs to broaden opportunities across more sports. The Academy’ s vision is to empower talented western Sydney athletes to fulfil their potential, while its mission is to equip them with the skills, knowledge, and mindset to succeed, both in sport and in life.
The results speak for themselves. WSAS alumni include Olympic gold medallist Jessica Fox( canoe slalom), Paige Hadley and Matilda McDonell( netball), Bryce Cartwright and Jarome Luai( rugby
Jessica Fox. Credit: Luis Acosta Getty Images.
league), Amanda Spratt( cycling), Taylah Tsitsikronis( softball), Michael Hartley( AFL), and Gordon Allan( para-cycling), among many others.
With a track record of excellence and a clear commitment to the future, the Western Sydney Academy of Sport continues to be the launchpad for the next generation of champions from our region.
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine. com. au ISSUE 186 // NOVEMBER 2025 37