neafl article

NEAFL ARTICLE
CELEBRATIONS
ALL ROUND
By
Lucy Hinchey
By JOHN FORRESTER
Chris McDevitt had two reasons to smile last week.
Wife Sharee gave birth to the couple’s second child
only days before he played his 200th game for the
Belconnen Magpies. It goes without saying which
was the greater achievement but nevertheless a close
second was his footballing milestone.
Playing alongside him last week against Ainslie was
Chris Calvert. Best mate, best man, and business
partner, “he’s made it back into the 1st grade side
now so it’s nice to have him there for my 200th”
McDevitt said.
MCDEVITT IS A COMPETITIVE
AND PASSIONATE FOOTBALL
PLAYER WHO, BECAUSE OF WORK
COMMITMENTS LAST YEAR, PLAYED
IN THE PREMIERSHIP WINNING
DIVISION THREE SIDE. TAKING ON
CO-OWNERSHIP OF AN ELECTRICAL
COMPANY WITH CALVERT, ALONG WITH
HAVING A YOUNG FAMILY, MCDEVITT
DECIDED TO PLAY DOWN A FEW
GRADES WITH HIS MATES BEFORE
THEY RETIRED.
This year he is back with the NEAFL side and admits
finding time to make all three training sessions a
week is difficult.
“It’s always a bit of a juggle especially now with the
business. You can’t just leave jobs half-finished if
they’re running late. The coaching group has moulded
around what I can and can’t do and they’ve been
very good to talk to about that sort of stuff,”
McDevitt said.
NEAFL coach Michael Horne says that although
McDevitt may not be able to make every training
session he’s not worried about that impacting on
his ability to perform every week. “He’s always been
a player who is quite fit and able to maintain that
himself” Horne said.
This year with so many new faces in the Belconnen
side, Horne really appreciates McDevitt’s experience
and contribution to the side. Playing consistently all
season, Horne sees McDevitt as a “very valuable part
of our team.”
Making the 200 milestone may not compare with
the McDevitt families new addition,
however the father of two says
that he loves the club and this is
something special. “I’ve always
worked really hard at football
so to get a milestone like this is
something I hold quite high as a
personal achievement,” McDevitt
said.
When asked what he will do with
himself at the end of the season,
McDevitt admits that with a
growing family it will make
things tough but he ‘certainty’
doesn’t think he’ll be retiring
- “I don’t know what I’ll do
with myself if I can’t play
footy” he said.
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