This weekend Tim Scoular plays his 100^th open-age game for the Demons in the round 18 match against St George Dragons.

Season 2022 is Tim’s 9^th season of footy with the Pennant Hills senior club. He turns 32 later this year.

Tim started his footy career with the ‘mighty’ Westbrook Bulldogs in the Under 10s in 2000. He played for 7 seasons in what was a ‘super successful’ side that won three consecutive premierships between 2003 and 2005; Under 13, 14 & 15. The side included well known Demons players Ranga Ediriwickrama, Matt Thomas, Dan Witt and Nick Baglin.

His junior coaches described Tim’s footy ability in glowing terms: “Tim possesses a very strong mark and penetrating kick … his marking skills and mobility around the ground are always strong and he will definitely fit into the senior role in the future”. These are all attributes that Tim eventually brought to the Demons.

After finishing his time at Westbrook, Tim faced the prospect in 2007 of either joining the Demons or playing with Macquarie University, which was loosely aligned to Pennant Hills at the time. As the Demons were flush with new starters and were fielding two Under 18 teams, Tim choose Macquarie University.

This decision gave Tim the opportunity to immediately play in Macquarie University’s Division Two senior side, debuting in Round 1, 2007. That day, Mac Uni beat the Penrith Rams by 12 goals and Tim kicked 2 goals on debut. As a ‘fresh-faced’ 18 year old, Tim was a member of the premiership side that defeated UTS in the 2009 Division Two Grand Final. He was named amongst the best for Mac Uni. Other familiar names from his time at Mac Uni include Phil Hare, Donnie Ollington, Jeff ‘Sticks’ Hardman and Carter Mullins.

Tim’s time at Mac Uni finished in 2010, but not before he was named in the Mac Uni Team of the Decade 2000 – 2010 … remarkable!!

Tim “… played in two U18 rep carnivals in January 2008 & 09. I also got invited to play in a few one-off games – a pre-season game with the Geelong squad and one with the Swans. I was a top-up player for two Swans reserves games.” He also coached two seasons of junior footy from 2010-2011. “I had the privilege of coaching Jordan Rene, Matt Vile, Nick Hey, Jesse Hare, Stewart Hodges and others. I even coached Callum Mills for a week at an U13 rep carnival in Albury. Taught him everything he knows!”

‘In 2008 I did draft testing with the Western Bulldogs in the lead up to the rookie draft. Dane Rampe and I were the two players our age who were tested and the Dogs chose neither of us. Fair to say we’ve had different paths since then!’

In 2011 Tim moved across to Pennant Hills in order to play Premier Division football. In his first season, Tim recalls that the team ‘scraped into finals’. He finished runner-up to Kieran Wright in the 2011 Best & Fairest … ‘only the backline saw enough footy to get votes that year!’ His debut for Penno Premier Division was in Round 1 and ‘… we were beaten by a Balmain side that included former Swans Jason Saddington and Nic Fosdike!’

Tim says that it’s ‘… a little known fact at Penno that I had agreed to terms to play for East Coast in their inaugural NEAFL season. The only reason I didn’t play for them was that I moved overseas in 2012.’

After two years away from the game, Tim returned in 2014 and played CHF in the Prems side that lost the Grand Final to a strong Manly outfit. ‘By that stage, I was working at church and training twice a week became too difficult.’

So, in 2015 Tim played mainly in the Reserves at CHB and was a member of the team that lost the Grand Final to Sydney Uni. Watching the Ones barnstorming final quarter to beat East Coast in the Premier Division GF was the most ‘… bitter sweet experience I’ve had in football. I was over the moon for the boys who had saved their best quarter of footy for the year until last. I was so bummed that not only was I not with them, but I’d just lost my second GF in two years. This one by a point.’

After the devastating loss in 2015, Tim stopped playing footy and was away for 3 seasons, 2016 – 18, before returning in 2019:

‘At that point, I figured that if I couldn’t train twice a week then I wasn’t going to play. I was also shattered on Sunday mornings where I was working at church and I decided to take a break and play soccer for a few years with some mates. Probably the worst spring decision I’ve made. I missed the footy club at Penno more than I thought I would. I came back for another go in 2019, to lose another Ressies Grand Final, this time to St George!’

Despite two Covid-shortened seasons in 2020 and 2021, Tim has his mojo back and won the League’s Snow Medal for the Best & Fairest in Premier Division Reserve Grade in 2020. And in 2021, he was adjudged the Pennant Hills Footballer of the Year and became the inaugural winner of the Chris Yard Trophy.

With one round to play in the 2022 home & away season, the Ressies, currently in third place, are sitting comfortably in the final five. Regardless, of this week’s result, Penno looks set to meet North Shore in the Week 1 Qualifying Final with the double chance. For Tim and his team-mates, this finals series is another shot a winning that ‘elusive’ Penno premiership!

Reflecting on Tim’s career, it is clear that he has great talent and ability and definitely some unrealised potential. At different stages he had to make hard choices about his life’s priorities … his Faith or Football? Faith won out and for Tim there are no regrets! Thankfully, he is now doing both again!

On the field he is unrelenting, giving his all to the team and his teammates. He is a great role-model on and off the field. A key position player at CHB, he is taller than most but it’s the adept use of his ‘long levers’, arms and legs, that give him a distinct advantage against the opposition.

Tim is also a great person and a highly respected member of the footy club. We wish Tim all the best in his 100^th game and every success for him and his team during this season’s finals series.

Go Penno!