West Adelaide reaches out to raise spirits at battling Roxby Downs

WEST Adelaide has completed a three-day trip to Roxby Downs as a gesture of goodwill to the community, which is facing more job cuts and economic uncertainty.

WEST Adelaide has completed a three-day trip to Roxby Downs as a gesture of goodwill to the community which is facing more job cuts and economic uncertainty.

SANFL clubs are not required to visit their regional zones but the Bloods have been to Roxby — 560km north west of Adelaide — every year for the past five.

The record smashes a perception the club might only care about taking the best players out of the mining town without giving something in return.

A Westies delegation headed by football manager Andrew Marks, former Crow Jason Porplyzia, current young gun Tom Schott and two AFL recruiters with Fremantle made the trip from August 3-6.

They ran an internal trial game, junior clinics, school visits, a pizza and Q & A night as well as touring the underground mine and making the trip to Andamooka, where the school has just 16 students.

Roxby Downs is doing it tough with business, property and jobs on the decline. Earlier this month BHP announced it would axe a further 380 jobs from its Olympic Dam operation within weeks.

“There was always this undertone of ‘what’s going to happen next?’ and there was a little bit of uncertainty,” Marks said.

“But they had an appreciation that three blokes from Adelaide had taken the time to come to their home, kick the footy with their kids and take their mind of work for a bit.”

West Adelaide has three players on its list from Roxby Downs, including Schott, who was a hit with the local juniors.

Port Adelaide defender Jack Hombsch is believed to be the only AFL player from Roxby Downs but he came through SANFL club Sturt before the region was zoned to the Bloods.

Among the young footballers Westies met this trip was a 17-year-old from South Africa who had moved to the region with his family and captured their attention with his strong marking and movement around the ground.

They were also struck by a 28-year-old driller whose work day is a 6am to 6pm shift underground on his own before going to footy training on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

“He was jumping out of his skin to get to footy training and see his mates,” Marks said.

Porplyzia said the trip gave the club an appreciation for what the region was going through.

“It was good to get their minds focusing on something else instead of work,” Porplyzia said.

“We were able to bring a bit of positivity and it felt like a really close-knit community where football was a big part of that.

“And you could tell they really did appreciate us going up there.”