“Knowing the club had the right people in the right positions to take them forward helped Bartlett in retiring. “The time was right for a change,” he said. “The newly elected president, Derek Harnwell, loves the club as much as I do and has been my vice president for a long time. Kerry Slater has been elected for a further term as Secretary, he has been a stalwart of Sorrento for more years than I was president. And the rest of the committee is filled with professional people who work well together and are able to make hard decisions.”

Sorrento rose from lower league to top flight football just two years before Bartlett was voted into office in 1989. After a lengthy period of consolidation the Gulls claimed their first major pieces of silverware by winning the pre-season Night Series and end of year Top Five Cup in 1999. Two year later they finished top of the Premier League table for the first time with further title wins in 2006 and 2008 consolidating their place amongst the competitions’ pacesetters. The final piece of the puzzle was the State league Cup which Sorrento secured by defeating Perth SC only a few months ago.

Not one to measure success in trophies alone, Bartlett ranks the development of Percy Doyle Reserve into one of the State League’s premier venues as one of the achievements he is most proud. “We’ve taken the pitch from being a sand patch to the very good surface that stands up to heavy traffic that we have today,” said Bartlett. “New dressing rooms, improvements to the club house, floodlights and so forth have been accomplished by a hard working group of committee members and supporters, and I am proud of everyone them.” And it’s towards those same individuals that Bartlett tips his hat for Sorrento’s remarkable success. “The fact we have had a committee that has not changed year-on-year has given us consistency in decision making,” he explained. “They had the foresight to bring in experienced coaches from the UK like Trevor Morgan and Steve Neville. And they also put faith in our youth, players such as Jamie and Todd Harnwell, Neil Young, Glen Thomas, Simon Harland, Andrew Bowyer, Scott Neville and Sean Murphy first played for Sorrento as 7 and 8 year olds.”

Under Bartlett, Sorrento has evolved into a highly professional club which has the respect of their State League counterparts. “A lot has changed at Sorrento, things are no long hit and miss. The club now is run as a business, not a hobby,” said the out-going president. “We have budgets which are strictly adhered to, we cut the cloth according to what revenue is forthcoming and we endeavour not to waste money. Most importantly we are respected as a well-run club by people that matter in the football fraternity.”

Amid this change Sorrento are at heart the same club they were two decades ago. “It is still a family club and Percy Doyle – aka Windy Hill – is our home,” Bartlett commented. “Many supporters from yesteryear come down to the club for a beer on game day. With such Stalwarts as Derek Harnwell, Kerry Slater, Allan & Ruth Gray, Paul Dongray, Val Varlow as well we support staff such as Frank Gaffney, ‘Doc’ Chapman, Dave Brooks, Stewart McLellan and many others are still there after a very long time … this is what makes Sorrento unique in a very much changed society.”