ON SATURDAY we had a fantastic occasion for the Gympie Football Club with the unveiling and grand opening of the Ray Warren Oval.

The stage was set for a big day on the field but unfortunately we went down by 25 points to Bay Power who clearly played a much better brand of footy over four quarters.

For us there are some positives to take into our next encounter against the Hervey Bay Bombers this coming week, we played in my opinion our best footy in a 15 minute patch in the third quarter where we had the opportunity to win the game or in reality pinch it.

Led by our guns, Jack Cross, Lanze Magin, Beau Ridgway and Adam Hendry we took the challenge right up to the Power in a quarter that was reminiscent to what we are more than capable of and to what we have come to expect from our playing group in recent times.

But that was not enough to gain victory over a quality team like the Bay, as they beat us in effort, drive and of course scoring shots. Our key performance indicators were well down, as the Power's long and direct approach to the game suited the conditions and was executed better than us in a more even performance.

As a group, we honestly know that one quarter of footy doesn't win games. Full credit to Bay Power as they were fantastic and we appreciate the respect they showed our club in the pre-game celebration and learn from their gallant performance they produced on Saturday.

But that is the beauty of football, we learn from our losses and then reset for our next challenge seven days later. Football is a very forgiving game and you get the chance to bounce back and redeem yourself very quickly.

Last night we ran out a gut wrenching and grinding two hour training session at the Ray Warren Oval, the boys showed a heap of resilience and effort in a much needed competitive and physical session.

That's what we want to bring to the table every week; we want to be first to the footy, hunt in packs and to be tough and strong at the contest. From what I've heard that's exactly how Ray Warren went about his business.

The word 'legend' gets tossed around a little bit too easily sometimes but in this case it fits.

After carving out a brilliant playing career in country Victoria, luckily for the cats, Ray and his family relocated to the area and added another 200 games of football finally retiring at the age of 48.

His role as a player, coach, president and vice-president is a reflection of the character of the bloke and his commitment to the Gympie Football Club, when you think of the names the cattery has produced since its inauguration, the Warren name is at the top of the list.

Not only has Ray been a huge part of the history of the club, his wife Helen has worked tirelessly as a volunteer and matriarch of the club.