Yves M. Sibenaler

The Sibenaler name is today synonomous with the Lions. It begins with five very tall and very strong brothers with French accents who never mind a beer - Zac, Yves, Guy, Francis and Peter - all fine footballers who reached A Grade level between the 1960s and 1990s. Of course Yves senior went the furtherest to play league for the Bulldogs while during the 1970s the GDFL was dominated by Club legend and Life Member Zac.

The youngest son of Zac, Yves junior, grew up at the club with his older brother Andrew. Yves has quite a football pedigree apart from his namesake Uncle who also played league or being another Sibenaler boy - his mother Janice is the daughter of the great Maurie Martin, while the legendary Anton Noack is his uncle by law.

A member of the 1995 Junior Colts premiership, and the Senior Colts Best and Fairest of 1996, Yves finished third in the BLGFA Mail Medal in 1996. Subsequently, he was invited down to Centrals with good friend Kane Officer (son of another champion in RO) from 2000. Coming up through the Bulldogs' ranks, closely watched by our own Jeff Brown, this youngest Sibenaler emerged into a classical centre half back and senior player at Elizabeth Oval.

Firtsly a member of Centrals' 2002 Reserves permiership, Yves junior went onto enjoying being a key defender in the 2003, 2004 and 2005, and then the 2007, 2008, 2009 and recently 2010 consecutive SANFL premierships. Furthermore, in 2005 he was named down back in the SANFL Team of the Year for season 2005.

Yves is now forunate enough to have played in seven SANFL flags for the Bulldogs and go down in history as part of their great SANFL dynasty (nine flags in eleven years). After 132 league games, he actually retired from footy at Centrals to pursue work in Darwin at the end of the 2009 season, but such is his imposing figure in the Dogs defence that he was enticed out of retirement late in season 2010 and flown down every weekend to once again take a key post in yet another SANFL premiership.

We wonder if he will go around again next season?