Little battlers meet their Crows and Port footy idols

PORT Adelaide captain Travis Boak may have “looked tired” and Adelaide captain Taylor Walker may have been “shorter” than expected, but the South Australian footy champions have still thrilled a group of their littlest fans ahead of Showdown 44.

PORT Adelaide captain Travis Boak may have “looked tired” and Adelaide captain Taylor Walker may have been “shorter” than expected, but the South Australian footy champions have still thrilled a group of their littlest fans ahead of Showdown 44.

The two footy legends did a ‘meet and greet’ with little battlers Gary Wanganeen, 11, and Finlay Naylor, 4, when they appeared at children’s charity Variety for a pre-Showdown press conference.

The Power and Crows will be vying for the newly named Variety Showdown Shield at Saturday’s game.

Seaford Meadows youngster Gary, who was born with chronic pancreatitis, said he was “excited” to meet Walker and catch up with Boak, who he’d met before.

“They were nice,” he said.

“(Boak) looked tired.

“(Walker was) shorter than I thought.”

Power captain Travis Boak and Crows captain Taylor Walker with Toby, 9, Gary, 10, Finlay, 4 and Angus, 6. Picture: Sarah Reed

Gary, a Port supporter, hoped his team would win the Showdown.

The junior football player was the first in Australia to undergo a paediatric islet auto-transplant operation.

During the operation, Gary’s pancreas was removed and the islets were extracted before reinjecting them into his liver so it can produce the insulin he needed. Variety assisted Gary’s family by helping with accommodation costs during his hospital stay and proving a car to enable the family of seven to get to his many medical appointments.

Sheidow Park local Finlay, who has cerebral palsy, told The Advertiser he also enjoyed meeting the players.

“It was fun - It was good,” he said.

Variety is asking footy fans at the Showdown to donate to the organisation by texting ‘V’ to 0437 371 371 and taking a selfie with the ‘V’ sign. Those who text the number will receive an auto-reply with details on how to donate.

Originally published as Little battlers meet their Crows and Port footy idols