MPFNL 2023: Dayne Beams steps out for Pearcedale in practice match

A voice from over the fence made Dayne Beams’ return to football after three years even more special in an MPFNL practice match on Saturday.

Dayne Beams has a laugh with Ryan Bastinac at quarter time.

It was only a local footy practice match, but for Dayne Beams it was significant.

The former AFL star played his first game in nearly four years when he lined up for Pearcedale against Koo Wee Rup on Saturday.

A little rusty early, the 33-year-old moved well enough to suggest he will be an important player for the Dales in MPFNL Division 2 this season.

“He had three shots at goal so, you know, if he’s kicking three a week we’ll be happy,” Pearcedale coach Peter Bastinac said on Sunday.

“He’ll be a sore boy (today), it was his first game for a long time.”

Bastinac said Beams thoroughly enjoyed the game, although he noticed one big difference between AFL and local football — the umpiring.

“He just said, ‘oh, gee, you get away with a bit can’t you?’,’’ Bastinac said.

“So he said once he works all that out he can use some tricks.’’

Dayne Beams and his Koo Wee Rup opponent.

Beams at the Pearcedale huddle.

Pearcedale faces Paddy Ryder’s Devon Meadows in a blockbuster season opener next Saturday and Bastinac said Beams, although he played mainly up forward in the practice match, was likely to slot into the midfield.

“He wants to play as a midfielder,’’ he said.

“I just said to him yesterday, ‘let’s just get you through a game and let you have a bit of a look at what we play like and what our ball movement is like, so you get a bit of an understanding’.

“He’ll do a lot of work with the mids this week at training and then we expect him to be playing probably more midfield than forward.’’

And Bastinac confirmed Beams would play the entire season with Pearcedale.

“He’s our player, mate, so he’s committed to us for the year,” he said.

“So that’s not just one or two games, that’s every week.

“He loved it yesterday, when the ball went over near the fence, he could hear this little girl going ‘hi Daddy’, he looked around and there’s his daughter. He thought, ‘how good is that’.

“He loves that part of it.”