Amongst the list of names of those who have been awarded the Chris Brown Trophy for best clubman at Uni Blues is that of Lori Galli.  She regards the acknowledgement as the highlight of her time at the club.  “I was very proud to be a female and win it.  I have many fond memories of my time at Uni Blues and the people I met.  I was very new to the football culture and what went on.  But I can honestly say that I was never made to feel uncomfortable being a female in a predominately male domain.”

Lori came to Uni Blues in 1986 with Bernadette Foster (then Walsh) to be a trainer as a fieldwork component of her Physical Education degree.  She was a trainer at the club “on and off” until the early 1990s but can still recall her introduction to the club:

“At my first game I remember Bernadette and I trying not to laugh in the change rooms as the team members jumped around, in a huddle pushing and shoving each other to psych themselves up for the game.  I couldn’t believe these were grown men doing this.  I didn’t have any brothers and didn’t know what went on behind the scenes at football games.  We never did this at netball!”

Other surprises were in store:

“I remember one day a player got hurt and was lying on the ground in pain and said he couldn’t move.  Bernadette and I were very worried about a spinal injury.  We didn’t want to touch him and thought we should get the stretcher.  Along comes Geoff “Goober” Allen.  He kicks him and says, “Get up you bastard”.  And he did and played on!!”

Lori does not profess to be an expert on the game and is reluctant to select one player as being the best that she saw during her time at Blues.  However, she does offer that she remembers Bernie Angel “as being very good and a real gentleman”.

Lori says that there were “lots of memorable off-field incidents” from her stint at Blues, making mention of the antics that occurred when “watching the Grand Final between Collingwood and Essendon at Steve Carroll’s place and the boys going out to play kick to kick in the park during the breaks”.

“Another highlight (maybe not) was taping Brian Lowe’s ankles.  He was never satisfied and I used to have to do them several times before he was satisfied.  He always used up all our tape.  Conversations with Brian were always deep.”

2004 Reserves Premiership coach Dave Matthews also made an impression during his earlier stint at the helm of the Blues Twos:

“I remember being in the rooms at half time at a reserves match and they were losing.  Dave Matthews  (coach) was ranting and raving at the team while I was icing injuries.  At one point he said in one breath “You’re all playing like bloody sheilas! Sorry Lori” and kept going.  I didn’t take offence.  Sometimes I almost got a game with the reserves, they were that desperate for players at times.”

Since her time at Uni Oval, Lori has pursued a teaching career:  “I finished my degree and went on to teach in schools in Melbourne.  I had a 5-year stint working in England before returning in 2003.  I am currently teaching at Presentation College in Windsor.”