The Newtown Jets’ NSW Cup grand final win on Sunday “literally killed” their former president.
The Jets triumphed 28-22 over the North Sydney Bears – but news later emerged former boss Barry Vining had suffered a heart attack while watching the game. He was 85.
Newtown icon John Singleton had known Vining more than 50 years and was shattered by the news.
“When we scored the last try, Barry jumped up in excitement and died,” Singleton told this masthead.
“He had lost his hearing. He was 100 per cent deaf. He was really down about it when I spoke to him about six months ago.
“He couldn’t answer the phone or enjoy a movie. He said there was no reminiscing with mates, no nothing. He was angry about it.
“But he lived for Newtown and watching his Jets.
“He was like me, he played, but he was no good. He was Newtown through and through.
“I met Barry in the 1960s, he lived in the same back lane as Barry Wood in Newtown, and when I was president, he was my ‘vice-captain’, and when we got the arse [from first grade] in 1983, no team, no nothing, I went back to work in 1984, but Barry took over with Terry [Rowney], and had run it ever since.
“They didn’t get a penny in remuneration, expenses, nothing. What a loss – but what a way for Barry to go.”
Singleton watched the game in Cairns, only for the live TV broadcast to switch to the NRLW game when the Jets’ game was in the balance. He later called Jets greats Col Murphy and Rowney who played the game through their phones, complete with their own commentary.
Newtown president Barry Cotter said of the news: “I spoke to his family this morning, and Barry literally leapt to his feet to celebrate the win, then had a heart attack and died – it’s extraordinary.
“I said to his daughter [Jamie], ‘if that’s the way you’re going to go, I couldn’t think of a better way’.
Newtown Jets celebrate their NSW Cup win on Sunday.Credit: Mario Facchini
“Barry was a football bloke who had five daughters. His greatest legacy was keeping this club alive between 1983 and 1990 before we were readmitted to [the Metropolitan Cup] in 1991. Barry and Terry Rowney met in a telephone box every month in a bid to keep the club afloat, even though there was no football team.”
Another friend of Vining’s, Rob Howard, told 2GB’s Ben Fordham Live: “It’s very, very sad news. Unfortunately, Barry did not make it.
“The irony is just palpable with how he left us. He loved Newtown Jets to a point of where it literally killed him.
“He was with his wife and his family watching the game at home. He was so excited [by the win] that he suffered a heart attack.
Former Newtown president Barry Vining died after full-time on Sunday.
“I don’t think he could’ve orchestrated it any better ... if he had to go, I don’t think he could’ve arranged it any better.
“I’m sure he would’ve liked to say goodbye to the family, but he lived for that team and that club.”
Vining became a Jets’ official in the 1970s and became the club’s RLFC director in 1980. He stood down as president in 2018 after 32 years. Vining was also the mayor of Marrickville for more than a decade.
After winning four Metropolitan Cup premierships in the 1990s, Vining helped the Jets to be granted admission into NSWRL first division competition.
The Jets, one of the game’s 1908 foundation clubs, clung to a memorable victory against the Bears at CommBank Stadium. Despite having no players left on the bench, the Jets dug deep and won their first NSW Cup title since 2019.
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