Pittwater Online News

Procurement begins for Mona Vale Road West upgrade: Have Your Say on Updated Design

Independent MP for Pittwater, Jacqui Scruby at Mona Vale West site

An updated design for the Mona Vale Road West upgrade has been released and construction procurement is underway, bringing the project a step closer to improving safety, traffic flow and travel reliability in Pittwater.

A new Review of Environmental Factors (REF) is being prepared to assess the updated design. The new REF will also outline potential impacts of the project and the measures proposed to avoid, minimise and manage them. The old REF, commenced by the previous government, was no longer fit-for-purpose given the significant improvements in design which have occurred to-date.

Key improvements refined as part of the updated design, include:

McCarrs Creek Road intersection - A new signalised intersection and roundabout will improve safety, reduce delays and make it easier for motorists.

Fauna overpass east of Kimbriki Road - A dedicated wildlife crossing will provide safer passage for native animals and strengthen habitat connections across the corridor.

Tumburra Street access changes - Safer left-in, left-out movements and a new local road connection will improve safety for motorists and nearby residents.

Wirreanda Road underpass - The proposed underpass will replace right-in and right-out movements at Tumburra Street, which improves safety and local access to the area.

Harvey Road Extension - As part of the updated design and in response to community feedback, the Harvey Road Extension will not proceed.

''The updated design directly reflects the priorities raised during community consultation, including by the Member for Pittwater, such as better bus stop locations for safer public transport, new and improved walking and cycling links, enhanced wildlife and environmental outcomes and reduced impacts on private properties, including school plans for sporting fields.'' the government said on Tuesday

The community is invited to provide feedback on the updated design as Transport for NSW finalises the new Review of Environmental Factors.

The REF is expected to be publicly displayed by the end of the year, with contract award and construction commencement accelerated to occur next year. You can give your feedback via Have Your Say until September 1 2026 - details and link to consult webpage below.

Consultation Webpage: www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/mona-vale-road-west

DESIGN DETAILS HERE

Pelé the Pelican – discarded Fish hooks and Lines caused this local Narrabeen Lagoon Seabird to ask for help: rescued by community members + Sydney Wildlife - Turtle + Penguin also in care due to fishing tackle

Pelé the Pelican, of Narrabeen Lagoon, asking for help. Photo supplied

Last week Anne Olbach and her son noticed a Pelican at the Coastal Environment Centre that looked like he was asking for help.

His legs were bound together with fishing line and there were numerous hooks and sinkers attached to him.

Fiona Demas-Herd and her grandchildren got on the phone and rang the Bird and exotic specialist Vet at Narrabeen.

They rang Sydney Wildlife who sent out a team to rescue the Pelican.

Eduardo Salgado and his son, Lucas Caetano Salgado, kept supplying Pelé with prawns so the team could catch him. 

It was a group effort by the Members of public and the SYDNEY WILDLIFE team. 

''We eventually tackled the Pelican and he was taken to Taronga Zoo wildlife clinic, '' Sydney Wildlife bird rescuer Jacqui Marlowe said

''He is still in care and has had numerous operations to repair the damage to his joints where the hooks had penetrated.

Hopefully he will make it and the Pelican Rescue group will release him.''

''Could people please ensure they do not leave fishing line lying around especially with hooks?'' Jacqui said

If you find injured Wildlife please contact SYDNEY WILDLIFE On 9413 4300 - available 24 hours your day seven days a week.

fishing lure, hook and line on Pelé the Pelican. Photo supplied

Late this week Pelé is still not out of the woods. He doesn’t appear to fly and they are worried his wing is injured, as well as the ongoing impacts of his injuries from the fishing hooks.

Libby Hall, of Taronga Zoo, states he cost the Zoo a fortune to feed as he is so big.

Libby currently has three animals in care due to fishing hooks and lines not being properly disposed of –a penguin from Manly and a turtle has lost a flipper.

Residents are asking for more regular cleans of the area around Narrabeen Lagoon where hooks are frequently left and fishing line, caught in trees, is cut and left there where it will then impact on local wildlife. 

A Sydney Wildlife spokesperson said the council's Cleansing Team have agreed to meet with the Sutherland Seabird Rescue group to see how to remove fishing line from trees this coming week. The local rescuers are also going to discuss a regular cleansing pattern for the worst discarded fishing rubbish in the Lagoon. 

A few years back the council joined the growing cohort of communities across Australia to install fishing tackle bins at popular fishing spots so recreational fishers have somewhere to place broken lines and hooks, where they will be recycled.

See January 2025 report: Council Rolls Out Fishing Tackle Bins at Ten high use Spots

FULL REPORT HERE

Beryl Clarke née Byron of Mona Vale 

VP Day 2026

Victory in the Pacific Day (VP Day) falls on Saturday, August 15 this year, marking the 81st anniversary of the end of World War II. In Sydney, RSL NSW will host a public commemorative service at The Cenotaph in Martin Place starting at 11:00 am.

VP Day Commemorative Services Honour the service and sacrifice of all Allied military personnel and home-front contributors. 

BERYL'S PROFILE RUNS IN FULL HERE

Beryl Driver OAM's 2026 B to B for Variety the Children's Charity: Her Official 25th Long Drive in the Australian Countryside Completes her 10th lap of Australia in the 'Backyard Bash'

Beryl Driver OAM, that Mermaid of Palm Beach, is about to commence her official 25th B to B Bash for Variety the Children’s Charity on Sunday August 9 2026.

On June 30 Variety NSW/ACT announced a one-year-only regional NSW event: The 2026 Variety Backyard Bash – welcoming any Aussie driver to join on a Bella Vista to Bathurst route for one-year-only.

Running from Sunday 9th August to Friday 14th August, a convoy of themed vehicles will traverse regional New South Wales to raise $500,000 for children who are sick, experiencing disadvantage or living with a disability. 

The opportunity to realise her dream of finishing 25 B to B Bashes, and a 10th complete lap of Australia, was taken by 93-year old Beryl, who explains why.

Because then I will have done 25 official years of bashing. Over the last four years I've done four-wheel drive bashing, which is called ‘the four-wheel drive adventure’. It's as hard as the bash, I can tell you. But that was cancelled this year because of fuel cost rises, and because Flinders Rangers was washed out. 

When COVID was causing restrictions, we did a bash which really was 25 years for me, but the head of the bash at the time would not call it a bash because we only did a little short one around New South Wales. And he said, oh, that's not a proper bash, we're not. So I was never recognised that I had 25 years. 

Then the Darwin one was on, but that got cancelled because all of Northern Territory was under water and it washed out lots of roads. Plus we couldn't go because of a petrol shortage up there. Then they decided to do a ‘backyard bash’.

The girl that's in charge now rang me and she said, ‘we're calling it a bash and this is your opportunity to get your 25 years up. Bring any car and get someone to come with you and do your 25 years’.

So, I rang my great friends, Duncan Ross and Di Dennet, and they said, yes, we'll do it with you. We'll just take our car. Duncan has done around 20 bashes himself, so they know what they’re doing.

BERYL'S 2026 B TO B PROFILE RUNS IN FULL HERE

Careel Head Road Liquor Store NCAT Hearing - Community + residents Seeking to be heard: Update

these signs have been placed near the site

• Locked out by the sign they never saw: Avalon fights for a hearing on Dan Murphy's
• A community that says it was never properly notified is now being told it can't be heard — unless NCAT says otherwise on 7 September.

Residents fighting a Dan Murphy's packaged liquor outlet planned beneath a childcare centre on Careel Head Road say they're not being denied on the merits — they're not even being let in the room.

Before the Careel Bay Residents Association, Palm Beach & Whale Beach Association and local families can appeal the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority's decision to approve the licence, NCAT first has to decide whether they have standing to be heard at all. ILGA — represented by the state's own Crown Solicitor — says some objectors live too far from the site to qualify.

The residents say the real story is simpler: there was no letterbox drop. The only notice of a liquor licence application was a sign on a fence and in a shop window on a strip so quiet it now has just one remaining tenant. 20% of households within the notification zone — and, residents suspect, plenty more beyond it — say they never knew the application existed.

“This was never about being anti-business,” a CBRA spokesperson said. 

“It's the wrong fit for this site, and the wrong fit for a liquor licence — sitting under a childcare centre, next to youth orientated playing grounds and facilities, in a quiet coastal residential area. But right now we can't even make that argument, because the very process that failed to notify us is being used to say we shouldn't be heard.”

If the group wins standing, its appeal will argue the licence fails the public interest test, breaches the objects of the Liquor Act, sits in the wrong location, adds to an already oversupplied area, lacks adequate harm-minimisation measures, and ignores strong community opposition — and will ask the Tribunal to set the decision aside and refuse the licence outright.

Residents also say Dan Murphy's own risk assessment claimed the store would deliver a “measurable, positive impact” and reflect community “needs and aspirations” — despite never consulting residents and being aware of strong opposition. 

“Dan Murphy's claimed to know what the community wanted without ever asking the community,” a spokesperson said. 

“The question shouldn't be whether the community can stop another liquor licence — it should be whether the applicant has produced enough evidence to justify one.”

Community members say the Avalon case highlights a broader flaw in the liquor licensing framework, where communities are often left to explain why a licence should not be granted rather than applicants proving why it should.

"Why should residents have to prove why a new liquor licence shouldn't be approved? The onus should be on the applicant to demonstrate, with evidence, why it is needed and how it serves the public interest."

"The question shouldn't be whether the community can stop another liquor licence. The question should be whether the applicant has produced enough evidence to justify one. Communities deserve a system that places evidence ahead of expansion and public interest ahead of corporate ambition."

FULL REPORT HERE

Scruby Slams Liberal's Alternative Plans For Low And Mid Rise: points out councils may already develop alternative plans

Leader of the Opposition Kellie Sloane said the Liberals and Nationals support increasing housing supply, but the current one-size-fits-all approach has failed to deliver the homes NSW needs. 

"We need to build more homes, but we also need to recognise that good planning isn't about applying the same template to every community," Ms Sloane said. 

"The Minns Government has created an adversarial planning system where councils are effectively told to accept a rigid planning template or resist the State Government. This is in addition to new taxes and charges that are crippling the construction sector and contributing to our state’s lagging housing completions.” 

"Our policy changes that. If a council can demonstrate it can deliver the same number of homes, or more, through a plan that is best for a community, it should have the opportunity to do so." 

The coalition stated that under their proposal, councils would be able to submit an alternate housing delivery plan that meets or exceeds their existing LMR housing allocation. Any proposal would be independently assessed and certified by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. 

If no alternate plan is approved, the existing LMR settings would continue to apply. 

Under the NSW Government's housing reforms, the Northern Beaches Local Government Area has a target to deliver 5,900 new completed homes by June 2029 as part of the National Housing Accord. The Low and Mid-Rise Housing (LMR) policy aims to facilitate this capacity near key transport and town centres.

FULL REPORT HERE

Week Two August 2026: Issue 657 (Sunday August 9)

Procurement begins for Mona Vale Road West upgrade: Have Your Say on Updated Design until Sept. 1

Careel Head Road Liquor Store NCAT Hearing - Community and Residents Seeking to be heard: Update

Scruby Slams Liberal's Alternative Plans For Low and Mid Rise: points out councils may already develop alternatives 

VP Day Profile 2026: Beryl Clarke, née Byron, of Mona Vale   NB: this Profile is rated PG, two of Beryl's brothers were POW's in Changi and shared some of what they experienced

Bonus Third Profile this Edition: Beryl Driver OAM's 2026 B to B for Variety the Children's Charity: Her Official 25th Long Drive in the Australian Countryside Completes her 10th lap of Australia in the 'Backyard Bash'

Aquatics Pelé the Pelican – discarded Fish hooks and Lines caused this local Narrabeen Lagoon Seabird to ask for help: rescued by community members + Sydney Wildlife - Turtle + Penguin also in care due to fishing tackle - please don't leave your hooks and lines where wildlife lives

Pictures Avalon Hosts Narrabeen at Hitchcock Park on Old Boys Day 2026 - two great JRLFC clubs celebrate community and connections prior to heading into last game before the Semi-finals rounds commence

Baby Bandicoot with Mum at North Narrabeen - August 5 2026: first of the new bubs

25,000+ Flights Mark First Month of Enhanced Drone Shark Program: SLS NSW

Supporting the Next Generation: Australian Sailing establishes Youth Pathways Team

Park Bench Philosophers Australians want a say in emerging technologies: CSIRO

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Week One August 2026: Issue 657 (Sunday August 2)

Profile: William Harkin: On Pawfetchers - for those who like to keep their dogs safe

History: North Palm Beach SLSC Celebrates 80 Years of Service to the Community in 2026: Some history

West Pittwater Brigade celebrates 70 years and  welcomes new Captain

Womens Racing Team Sets Sail for Inaugural New York Championship

Pictures Mackerel Beach Wharf, Pittwater, Wharf Upgrade works + Dune Renewal: Pictorial Update - Bayview groyne repair works now completed - pool and public wharf works to commence in September 2026

Rooms Beneath the Tide: Seahorse Hotels Come to Pittwater by Wayne Lazarides

2026/27 Basil Sellers Scholars Announced: Congratulations Willa and Austin! - Cricket NSW

Northern Beaches Hospital Inquiry: Final Report Links Rebuilding Trust to Concrete Reform - 11 Recommendations 

Aquatics World Champions and Rising Stars Named in 2026 Para Irukandjis Team: 2026 ISA World Para Surfing Championships + August Comp. at Mona Vale - all welcome!

Family History Month 2026: Find Out More About Where You Came From - Council is putting on free 'how to' workshops in the libraries, limited spaces, book fast!

Park Bench Philosophers  CEDA NSW State of the State Keynote Address: Given by The Hon. Chris Minns, Premier of NSW

Time for older Pittwater residents to train like athletes: 7 Exercises those over 70 should be doing by Emily Fagan

DIY Ideas DIY Fathers' Day ideas + August Garden Jobs

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Still Open (from July 2026 reports):

NBC's Draft Local Environmental Plan (LEP) - Draft Development Control Plan (DCP) Now on Exhibition - Feedback open until August 30

Northern Beaches Council introduces digital Beach Parking Permits: Residents Report Problems with using the new online register system - switch over by August 31

Mona Vale Rally Issues an Invitation + Opportunity to Correct a Planning Mistake

100 Metres From Your Front Door: The Loophole Trying to Silence a Whole Community: NCAT Review on Careel Bay Liquor Licence - Update: Call for assistance

Wakehurst Parkway: August Works Notification

Katandra Bushland Sanctuary Season 2026 - Dedicated to the Study & Preservation of Native Flora & Fauna of the Warriewood, Mona Vale & Ingleside Area - Open each Sunday through October

NSW National Parks protect Southern Right Whales with new ‘stay away’ distance of up to 500 metres + ‘Western’ southern right whale recovery remains stalled: 2025 Western Australia survey Result + Upside‑down whales aren’t sick or hurt – they’re just resting

Community News Careel Head Road Liquor Store NCAT - Residents Seeking right to be Heard: Update, Brian + Beryl + Brian +  Beryl + Julia + Narrabeen's JRLFC, Local Surf Life savers Honoured with National Medal, 24Hour Row 2026 for Gotcha4Life, Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment August Forum - AGM, Wes Thomas Recovery Support Fund, SAREX Training Day at Whale Beach, Bayview Wharf and Tidal Pool - construction update, McCarrs Creek landslide: works update, Notice of Works: Submarine Cable Installation Palm Beach to Umina Beach, Mixed-Use Development- 1294-1300 Pittwater Road & 2-4 Albert Street, Narrabeen - 'Abadeen', Trees Vandalised at Careel Bay waterfront Palm Beach, Man charged over alleged domestic violence offences: Northern Beaches PAC, Welcome Palm Beach Yacht Club!, NSW Rural Fire Service: Teams OS Updates, Marine Rescue Broken Bay Christmas Raffle, Victory in the Pacific Day Commemoration, Sporting Organisation Support Program Grants, Monika's Doggie Rescue Pets of the Week: Snowy + Goose, Defib funding returns for NSW clubs, New NSW Police Deputy Commissioner, 2027 Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging), WASM Streets to Sea Phase 1 EOI, Help make Pittwater a Declared Community Improvement District: MP for Pittwater, Grants now open to prevent gender-based violence, Help Make Local Sports More Accessible for Women: Pittwater MP's Petition, Infrastructure Grants: sport and recreation, $5.5 million to keep our surf clubs beach ready, Stop Lies in Political Advertising: NSW Parliament Petition, Avalon Public School 75 Years Celebrations, Discover Sailing Day Resources Now Available, celebrating 80 years of North Palmy SLSC!!, Council seeks input on refreshed Better Together 2040 Strategy, Wakehurst Parkway: August Works Notification, SNB Surf Sports Calendar for 2026-2027, Vietnam Veterans Day (Northern) 2026 at Palm Beach RSL, Avalon Community Library Needs Volunteers, Griffin Encourages Local Organisations To Tap Into Grant Opportunity, Pittwater  Residents Associations, Sports, Environment and Social Groups, Pittwater Offshore Newsletter, Local JP's, + more

Environment Baby Bandicoot with Mum at North Narrabeen - August 5 2026: first of the new bubs, Powerless against bird flu? Not entirely. Here are 8 ways to help protect Australia’s birds and mammals, Why Australia should urgently vaccinate wildlife most at risk from H5N1 bird flu, Australia has long relied on volunteers and wildlife carers. As bird flu spreads they will need support, Bird flu decimated South America’s marine mammals. What can Australia do differently?, We don’t know how well threatened species fight off bird flu – but we need to, The warning signs are over: Australia now faces a devastating bird flu outbreak in wildlife, Feral cats likely kill far more Australian native animals than we thought: first DNA analysis, Have Your Say On: Barwon–Darling Floodplain Management + Gwydir Valley Floodplain Management Plan + Hunter Water operating licence review , Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment August Forum - AGM: Thursday 20th August 2026, Stony Range Spring Festival 2026: Sept. 13, National Parks protect Southern Right Whales with new ‘stay away’ distance of up to 500 metres, PNHA Activities 2026, Australia has pledged to restore nature. But could we ever bring back lost ecosystems?, The world’s mangrove forests are bouncing back. That’s good news for our coasts and climate, Giant ice mountains on the other side of Earth once dictated Australia’s climate – new study, Butterflies are on the move as the planet warms: new research, Pesticide exposure at work may increase motor neurone disease risk – new study, Snakes aren’t simple tubes. Their bodies have five regions – including a short neck, Sea turtles diving through the eye of the storm help develop better cyclone forecasts, New museum find shows nature can’t stop inventing seahorses, Birds messing up your garden mulch? Why I’d think twice before reaching for the mulch glue, Mona Vale Dunes bushcare group: 2026, Bangalley Headland WPA Bushcare 2026, Sydney Wildlife Needs People for the Rescue Line, 2025-26 Seal Reveal underway, 622kg of Rubbish Collected from Local Beaches: Adopt your local beach program, This Tick Season: Freeze it - don't squeeze it, Protect wildlife: dispose of fishing gear responsibly, Notice of 1080 Poison Baiting, Volunteers for Barrenjoey Lighthouse Tours needed, Johnson Brothers Mitre 10 Recycling Batteries: at Mona Vale + Avalon Beach, Reporting Dogs Offleash - Dog Attacks to Council, Plastic Bread Ties For Wheelchairs, Stay Safe From Mosquitoes, Mountain Bike Incidents On Public Land, Report fox sightings, marine wildlife rescue group on the Central Coast, Possums In Your Roof?: do the right thing, Aviaries + Possum Release Sites Needed, Bushcare in Pittwater: where + when, Friends Of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment Activities, Pittwater Gardens, Environment Groups and Organisations in Pittwater, Ringtail Posses, Pittwater Environment History insights + Walks, Birds +

• All August 2026 Environment News

Children Sunday Cartoon and Animations This week: the coconut - Shaun the sheep, Baby Bandicoot with Mum at North Narrabeen - August 5 2026: first of the new bubs, Orange Field Days (1968): Australia's Farming Technology Showcase, 2026 Premier's Reading Challenge, Curious Kids: If an insect is flying in a car while it is moving, does the insect have to move at the same speed? + Do ants have blood? + How does the Moon, being so far away, affect the tides on Earth? + How do shells get made?, Stories this week: And Then It's Spring + 'Professor Nincompoop' read by Bryan Cranston, Local activities and clubs for you

Youth Vertigo crowned winner of Northern Composure 2026, Supporting the Next Generation: Australian Sailing establishes Youth Pathways Team, Baby Bandicoot with Mum at North Narrabeen - August 5 2026: first of the new bubs, Orange Field Days (1968): Australia's Farming Technology Showcase, Opportunities: OptiChicks at RPAYC, Youth Ambassador Program Applications now open + Nature Writing Prize 2026 Now Open to Enter + celebrating 80 years of North Palmy SLSC!! + Young Filmmakers Comp 2026 + New Theatre Group seeks Volunteers + Wings & Tins Dee Why: Bands wanted! + 2026 Premier's Reading Challenge, Financial help for young people, School Leavers Support, Word Of The Week: Ponder, See the Sun’s surface in higher detail than ever before in new telescope images, Fruit and honey fuelled the early evolution of the human brain, Dodos probably weren’t as stupid as historians made them out to be: new research, How Hitchcock’s Vertigo gave us the dolly zoom – one of cinema’s trippiest visual effects, Newspaper space for political cartoons is shrinking – but we need these artists as much as ever, Monkeys keep pets too – animal specialist on the world of interspecies friendship, Europe’s stone age hunters made sea voyages to Malta – thousands of years before evidence of sails, How Queen Caroline turned King Arthur into an 18th‑century royal PR strategy,  Local Services 4U

Seniors Beryl + Beryl + Brian + Brian + Julia + Narrabeen's JRLFC, Parramatta in 1957, Federal Government needs to review Private Health Insurance plans: COTA Australia, ASO teams up with National Seniors Australia, Health insurance rebates may change for the over‑65s. Our new study shows what to expect, 85% of Australians will complete the census online. Here’s how to avoid potential scams, Nature Writing Prize 2026 Now Open to Enter, Bones are much more dynamic than scientists once believed – they even have a daily rhythm, NSW Seniors Festival to spread far and wide in 2027: Grants, Avalon Community Library Needs Volunteers, MWP Care Seeking Volunteers, AvPals Term 3 2026 Schedule, Vietnam Veterans Day (Northern) 2026: August 16 at Palm Beach RSL, Local groups, clubs, events and services for you

Aquatics Pelé the Pelican – discarded Fish hooks and Lines caused this local Narrabeen Lagoon Seabird to ask for help: rescued by community members + Sydney Wildlife - Turtle + Penguin also in care due to fishing tackle - please don't leave your hooks and lines where wildlife lives

DIY Ideas DIY Fathers' Day ideas + August Garden Jobs

Pictures Avalon Hosts Narrabeen at Hitchcock Park on Old Boys Day 2026 - two great JRLFC clubs celebrate community and connections prior to heading into last game before the finals rounds commence

Food Silver beet - Spinach

Silver beet and Spinach is in season now, and like all seasonal crops, rises to keep balance in all that may ail thee throughout every season of every year. High in Vitamin C as well as Vitamin A, this leafy green vegetable will support your immune system through the sniffle season and act as de-tox for all those other poisons that may arise during the last month of winter.

This Issue a range of silver beet and spinach recipes which you can serve as mains or side dishes. The classic Spanikopita is also delicious cold.

Avalon hosts Narrabeen at Hitchcock Park on Old Boys Day 2026

The Gold Open ladder top 4 teams, as we go to press, is Mona Vale, Avalon, Cromer and Narrabeen. Forestville, which Avalon plays today, Sunday August 9 for their Round 15 and final game in the schedule, sits at 5 on the ladder. This will be the third game between these two clubs in the 2026 Season, with one win each in prior match ups. 

The Round 14 game on Sunday August 2 for the 2026 Open Gold A-Grade teams was the first time Avalon and Narrabeen met across the 2026 Season after their first scheduled game for Lake Park was a washout at the end of May.

This time, it was Avalon's turn to host, with Hitchcock Park and the Bulldogs lit it up for their 2026 Old Boys Day - a chance for past players to gather and catch up under brilliant Winter sunshine - and in celebration of Jacko’s (Jackson Lloyd) 300 games. 

This was a great afternoon of community footy with both teams representing their clubs with great skills and a great attitude. They teach the youngsters who turn up to cheer them on how the game develops a sense of belonging and the feeling of being a valued member of a community bigger than just themselves. The game fosters fitness, teamwork and life skills, having a positive social impact.

This extends across the community – they all know each other and would step up for each other when needed – spreading the brotherhood and sisterhood through footy across the whole community.

Team members are supported by dedicated coaches, managers, trainers, drinks runners, club presidents, sideline and ground keepers and officials, the canteen helpers, BBQers, line markers, referees, and a score of volunteers across committees and teams who keep clubs running purely out of love for the game and their local area. Club’s fan clubs members range from the young to the elderly, from those still in school to those holding down full time jobs – it’s democracy on the local village green – your Lake Park, Newport Oval and Hitchcock Park, from the knee high to the grown tall, everyone is in.

The clubs in and the Manly Warringah Junior Rugby League have done it again this year. If you want your youngster to be surrounded by caring people who will encourage and help them to grow up, not just grow tall, see if they want to have a run with one of our local sports clubs or surf clubs over Summer or Winter. 

Local clubs bring families, fans, and players together to create a welcoming home and a powerful sense of belonging. The game brings together players of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds, uniting diverse groups under a common passion – footy and community - making everyone a winner. 

For the last fully Footy pictorial for 2026's Season, a few pictures from Avalon hosting old mates Narrabeen to celebrate, album here for extras for your own family albums RUNS HERE