By RUSSELL BENNETT
COMBINED, Emerald, Gembrook and Cockatoo are part of a big hills community – with an even bigger heart.
The outpouring of grief in the area over the loss of three young lives – Sharn Walker, Jason Breakwell and Felisha Allen – in the Avonsleigh crash has been matched only by the support for their loved ones.
Last Saturday, after Gembrook Cockatoo defeated Emerald in their Yarra Valley Mountain District Football Netball League clash, every Brookers and Bombers player stood arm-in-arm next to an opponent or opposition club person – forming a ring around the centre circle in the middle of the Gembrook footy ground.
Elsewhere across the weekend, teams from towns such as South Belgrave, The Basin, Yea and even Bonbeach paid their own respects in the wake of the tragedy.
The scenes were unprecedented, and for the Bombers and the Brookers Saturday was about so much more than football and netball. It was a way for them to come together as one.
Recent events have put sport – at every level, whether it is AFL or YVMDFNL – into a real context.
But it’s not “just a game”… Not really. What happens on the field or on the court fades into insignificance at times like these, but sport itself provides an outlet for binding a whole community together in its darkest hour and providing an overwhelming amount of support for those doing it so tough.
Earlier in the morning, with cars beginning to pack out the ground from well before 9.30, footy and netball players from both the Bombers and Brookers converged on the netball courts to pay a special tribute to Sharn. Amanda Paull, her coach and great mate, spoke prior to the gathering of well over 100 people releasing balloons into the winter sky.
“She really was a coach’s dream player,” Amanda said of Sharn.
“She was the first to step up and tell the girls to slow the ball and hers was one of the voices you could always hear on court throughout the game.
“There are so many traits that make our Sharn our Sharn, and we’re going to miss them all.
“We’ll miss her tanned, orange hands in our huddles; and her leaving (that) tan somewhere on the court when she fell over every week.
“We’ll miss her cheeky smile, and hearing her apologise to anyone who she may have accidentally knocked or elbowed in training or on-court.
“You were the first to pick someone up off the ground, whether they were your team mate or your opposition and you’d always go out of your way to make sure you said hello and goodbye to me.
“Sharn, you have impacted everyone’s lives in such a positive way.
“Your bubbly personality is just infectious to all who meet you. You really were the heart of our team and we’re broken without you.”
Gembrook Cockatoo senior footy player-coach Craig Clarke said the day was about so much more than numbers on a scoreboard.
“To see the community pull together as one over the last week has been unbelievable,” he said.
“We all grew up together, and we all know the same people.
“That just showed with the horrific accident, and when something bad happens we all pull together.
“Even though we’re rivals with the Bombers, it was so hard to play against them.
“There was talk of cancelling the game, which we would have been happy to do, but the parents wanted it to go ahead and to have that mark of respect at the end was just awesome.
“You play with your heart on your sleeve in footy, but it’s nothing compared to losing a family member.”
This Saturday at Chandler Reserve in Avonsleigh, the Emerald under-18s will play their first match since the loss of their mates. The game starts at 10am, with members of the hills community more than welcome to come along and pay their respects while supporting the young Bombers side in their clash with Monbulk – yet another town to show their support in this tragic period.
A Go Fund Me page – ‘Avonsleigh Angels’ – has been set up to help ease the financial burden of the families of those who died in the Avonsleigh crash on Tuesday last week. More than $35,000 has already been raised, with more than $3000 raised at the Gembrook footy ground on Saturday alone – an astonishing effort from a hills community grieving as one.
To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/avonsleighangels
