St Kilda steps in at Beaumaris Football Club to help club cope with grief of Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones’s death in Laos

Beaumaris was left reeling last year when players Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones died of methanol poisoning in Laos, but St Kilda’s men and women’s sides have stepped in to help.

Shaun Bowles watched on with a smile in the rain as a promise was fulfilled at Beaumaris, with St Kilda stepping into bring some joy to a local football club reeling from tragedy.

Despite the wintry conditions, the Saints gladly joined the Beaumaris Football Club to help a community still grieving the loss of players Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, who died of methanol poisoning in Laos in November.

The entire St Kilda AFLW squad took a special training session for the under-18 and senior Beaumaris women’s teams on Monday – teams that Holly and Bianca played for – and male AFL Saints ran a junior clinic at the club on Tuesday night.

Beaumaris players Ginger Fennessy, Skye Shipton and Sophie Keogh with St Kilda players Hannah Priest and Kyla Forbes this week. Picture: Ian Currie

Watching on during the Monday session, Shaun Bowles recounted the support Beaumaris has provided during seven months of grief.

“Football clubs, they are great places,” he said.

“These guys have been phenomenal for us, the support they have given us has been second to none.”

The Sharks turned a home game last month into a celebration of their two cherished teammates and Shaun Bowles said the club was “a special place”.

“It is a place to come where you can leave everyday life behind,” he said.

“You come down here and you have a couple of hours of running around training. Women’s football, so much of it is having fun, so when you can get together with your friends and do that, it is a good thing.

“There is just something about it, something about football clubs that is a community thing.”

Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones were premiership players in the U18 team in 2023. Picture: Instagram

Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles died of Methanol poisoning in Laos last year. Picture: 60 Minutes

Beaumaris coaching director Brian Royal, a former 199-game star with Footscray, said it had been an “emotional” season so far for the Sharks.

“I would be lying to say it hasn’t been tough, it has been really tough,” he said.

“It has been emotional because a lot of the girls were really close to both Holly and Bianca … the club has been unbelievable to rally around not only our girls but the Jones and Bowles families and they have been fantastic throughout all of this.

“I think there is no better environment because it is an opportunity where everybody can get together and talk and share their feelings.”

AFLW St Kilda players hold a football clinic at Beaumaris FC. Picture: Ian Currie

St Kilda reached out to Beaumaris late last year to offer to help the club however it could.

The female session on Monday night was a chance to have fun with some stars.

“We wanted to bring joy and share our energy as well and we felt like it was the least we could do after the tragedy they experienced and (Monday was) just about bringing our community together and connecting with people within our St Kilda region and making sure we are supporting our people,” Saints W captain Hannah Priest said.

Royal said it was “unbelievable” for the Saints to lend a hand.

“It has been over six months now (since Holly and Bianca’s deaths) and it feels like it is never-ending in a way, but (the St Kilda visit is) great, the girls really appreciate it and I know the families are enormously proud of what everyone is doing.”

Originally published as St Kilda steps in at Beaumaris Football Club to help club cope with grief of Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones’s death in Laos