Paul played his first game of football for the Onka Valley in 1988 at the age of 8 with his 6 year old brother Steve by his side under the guidance of his first coach Ray Coffey.
Being in the same side as his younger brother made for great sibling rivalry especially in 1992 when DIbba managed to beat Dingo for the Under 12’s Best and Fairest award.
In 1993 Dingo moved into the junior colts and in 1994 was devastated by losing his first Grand Final by less the a kick. Within hours though he was back to his best by standing with the huge OVFC ground on the hill at Lobethal to watch his beloved A grade win their second ever and most recent premiership.
In 1995 Paul moved into the under 17s where it was clear that being about a meter shorter than anyone else on the field may have an impact on his playing career for the next year years at least.
1997 was Dingo’s last year of under 17s and was fortunate enough to play in a winning premiership side under the guidance of Shane Collins. Although he only played no more than 5 minutes of game time he gave everything he had to the side and was grateful to be part of such a strong group.
In 1998 he moved into the senior ranks playing B grade under the guidance of past OVFC premiership, captain and club president Craig Pasckhe. He found himself running water during weeks where he was unable to make the best 21 but still managed to celebrate with the winning 1998 B Grade premiership side. 1998 was also the year where at the age of 18 Dingo took up the position as the coach of the under 12s. This was his first time in a coaching role and saw him coach a few of the current senior list including Damien Green, Matt Francis and James Smart.
In 2000 under the guidance of Glen Elliott, Dingo made his A grade debut in Round 9 (24/06/2000) against Uraidla at Balhannah and it was a Draw. Fast forward to the start of season 2010 with brother and current captain Dibba suffering a preseason injury, Dingo was announced as the clubs 23rd club captain under the coaching of Dave Evans. Dingo did play 200 A Grade games (and yellow carded) against Uraidla and then played his last A grade game in Round 18 2013 at Blackwood handing the captaincy back to Dibba and then joined his mentor Steve Wallace in the box as the A grade assistance coach for season 2014. In 2015 Dingo took on the role as B grade playing coach naming himself as resident B full forward and ultimately won the B Grade association goal kicking trophy with just 31 goals.
Dingo has spent 13 years In different coaching roles at the Onka Valley Football Club and whilst he has made it to the big stage on several occasions he finally tasted the ultimate success in coaching the 2012 under 17 side to a premiership over Hahndorf at Balhannah which included current A grade stars such as then Captain Matt Dean, Jake Adcock, Andy Vines and Ben Hochuli, Tyler Bosman, James Cornish and Zac Georg-Dent.
Dingo is a highly decorated club person previously serving 3 years on the senior committee, winning multiple on-field and off field club person awards and received club life membership in 2011 and is the current Junior Development officer.
Congratulation on your 300 club games and may there still be a few more to come
Being in the same side as his younger brother made for great sibling rivalry especially in 1992 when DIbba managed to beat Dingo for the Under 12’s Best and Fairest award.
In 1993 Dingo moved into the junior colts and in 1994 was devastated by losing his first Grand Final by less the a kick. Within hours though he was back to his best by standing with the huge OVFC ground on the hill at Lobethal to watch his beloved A grade win their second ever and most recent premiership.
In 1995 Paul moved into the under 17s where it was clear that being about a meter shorter than anyone else on the field may have an impact on his playing career for the next year years at least.
1997 was Dingo’s last year of under 17s and was fortunate enough to play in a winning premiership side under the guidance of Shane Collins. Although he only played no more than 5 minutes of game time he gave everything he had to the side and was grateful to be part of such a strong group.
In 1998 he moved into the senior ranks playing B grade under the guidance of past OVFC premiership, captain and club president Craig Pasckhe. He found himself running water during weeks where he was unable to make the best 21 but still managed to celebrate with the winning 1998 B Grade premiership side. 1998 was also the year where at the age of 18 Dingo took up the position as the coach of the under 12s. This was his first time in a coaching role and saw him coach a few of the current senior list including Damien Green, Matt Francis and James Smart.
In 2000 under the guidance of Glen Elliott, Dingo made his A grade debut in Round 9 (24/06/2000) against Uraidla at Balhannah and it was a Draw. Fast forward to the start of season 2010 with brother and current captain Dibba suffering a preseason injury, Dingo was announced as the clubs 23rd club captain under the coaching of Dave Evans. Dingo did play 200 A Grade games (and yellow carded) against Uraidla and then played his last A grade game in Round 18 2013 at Blackwood handing the captaincy back to Dibba and then joined his mentor Steve Wallace in the box as the A grade assistance coach for season 2014. In 2015 Dingo took on the role as B grade playing coach naming himself as resident B full forward and ultimately won the B Grade association goal kicking trophy with just 31 goals.
Dingo has spent 13 years In different coaching roles at the Onka Valley Football Club and whilst he has made it to the big stage on several occasions he finally tasted the ultimate success in coaching the 2012 under 17 side to a premiership over Hahndorf at Balhannah which included current A grade stars such as then Captain Matt Dean, Jake Adcock, Andy Vines and Ben Hochuli, Tyler Bosman, James Cornish and Zac Georg-Dent.
Dingo is a highly decorated club person previously serving 3 years on the senior committee, winning multiple on-field and off field club person awards and received club life membership in 2011 and is the current Junior Development officer.
Congratulation on your 300 club games and may there still be a few more to come
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