J Mac to play 100th game as Cuneo debuts

This week Jamie McNamara will celebrate his 100^th League game for the East Fremantle Football Club on Sunday in our 11:40am game vs Perth Demons.  “J Mac” as he is affectionately known, played his junior football at the Booragoon JFC and has come through the East Fremantle Football Club’s talent pathway.

In 2006 he was selected in the WA State 18’s Academy and that same year also made his debut for the Sharks, in the Round 19 derby against South Fremantle.  Jamie ended up playing four games at the back end of that year before being drafted to the West Coast Eagles with Rookie Pick #16 of that 2006 draft.

Wearing the number 45 jersey, Jamie made his debut against St. Kilda in round 21, 2007 at the Telstra Dome as it (Etihad Stadium) was known back then.  In that game he picked up 10 possessions in an 8 point win.

At the start of the 2008 season Jamie was handed the number 12 jersey and wore that for the final two years he was on West Coast’s list, where he played 19 games in total, collecting 282 possessions and kicking 4 goals.

In 2010, after his delisting Jamie returned to his beloved Sharks and remained with us for 2 years, finishing runner-up in the Lynn Medal in each of those two seasons.  At the end of the 2011 season Jamie pursued an opportunity to play in Melbourne, in the VFL, for Williamstown, in a 2 year stint that he enjoyed in the crazy mad football state that is Victoria.

But to the Sharks’ benefit Jamie and his partner Jess returned home to live and as we all know returned to play for the Sharks once more.

In his 99 games to date for East Fremantle Jamie has amassed 2276 possessions @ 23 per game, 538 marks and kicked 35 goals.  With good hands and a hard-nosed attack on the ball the three words on the banner this weekend say it all; courageous, consistent, passionate.

We wish parents Roy and Lee-Anne all the best and of course Jess.

Josh Cuneo

Congratulations to Josh Cuneo, who makes his League debut on Sunday. Josh is another of the great East Fremantle stories, similar to J Mac, in that he has come through the talent pathway, representing the Sharks at 14,s, 15’s and 16’s Development Squad level, before moving in to the Colts program in 2013, where he played 14 games and was also selected in the State 18’s program. 

Josh originally hails from the Winnacott JFC and through those years, and during the development squads for that matter, was a versatile player, who often played in a variety roles, before forging himself as a defender once in the Colts program and whilst in the State squad.

Josh moved straight in to the Development League squad at the start of the 2014 season and showed from the start that he had excellent on-field leadership.  Josh played in all 21 games, amassing 256 possessions, often playing on taller opponents and his tenacity, ability to run off and create saw him finish 3^rd in the best and fairest.

The East Fremantle Football Club wishes Josh all the best in his debut this weekend, along with parents Mike and Sue.