Cranbourne Junior Football Club under 12 player Dale Wakefield (front) and under 10 players Alan Murphy, Martin Leinmueller, Brayden Roscoe and Ben Shelag will have to start the season in foreign guernseys after thieves stole 48 new club jumpers on the weekend.
By Alison Noonan
PLAYERS at Cranbourne Junior Football Club will be unrecognisable for the start of the 2006 season after their new jumpers were stolen just two weeks before the first game.
Members who gathered for a working bee on Saturday morning were shocked to discover thieves had broken into the clubrooms and pinched the under 13 and under 11 guernseys.
Club president Dieter Leinmueller said he was at a loss to understand why someone would want to steal 48 jumpers designed specifically for the Cranbourne club.
“They were in two plastic bags and were ready to be handed to the players for the first game on 9 April,” he said.
“We had them made especially for the club – you can’t buy them from the store. They are silky, like the AFL jumpers, and we had hoped they would last us the next six seasons.
“Surely they wouldn’t have taken them if they realised what they were because you can’t sell them and you can’t wear them around here.
“They are really worthless to anyone else.”
Mr Leinmueller said the young players would now have to borrow interleague jumpers from the Dandenong and District Junior Football League for the first match.
“We don’t have enough time to order new jumpers because it takes at least four weeks,” he said.
“Now the club will have to fork out another $3000 to purchase another set.
“That’s money we could have spent on other worthy projects that will now have to wait.
“It is very disappointing.”
Mr Leinmueller said the clubrooms, which were also used by the Cranbourne Cricket Club, had been broken into twice in the past month.
“We share the rooms with the cricket club and they have been attacked twice,” he said.
“It is basically like stealing from your neighbour. We are all locals. They probably live next door to one of our players.
“We are a community club and are not here to make money,” Mr Leinmueller said.
“Everything we make goes back to the club for the kids. To have this happen is very disheartening.”
Detective Senior Constable Ray Ross of Cranbourne Criminal Investigation Unit said police were appealing for witnesses to the burglary, which occurred at the Fairbairn Road clubrooms sometime between 8pm on Friday, 24 March and 9.50am the following morning.
Det Sen Const Ross said the jumpers were royal blue with a gold V on the front, gold trimming around the arms and gold numbers ranging from 1 to 25.
He said the jumpers ranged from size 28 to size 42 and were stored in two large striped plastic bags.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Cranbourne CIU on 5995 4577.
