‘More than a game’: AFL tribute match to help Hillcrest community heal
Families affected by the Hillcrest tragedy have received some good news about community donations as they made an appearance with loved ones at Devonport’s AFL tribute match.
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THERE were both cheers and tears at Devonport Oval as a sell-out crowd watched an historic AFL pre-season clash between Richmond and Hawthorn.
Some of the biggest cheers were reserved for homegrown Richmond legend Jack Riewoldt who kicked three goals in the showdown in front of more than 8400 fans.
The clash was also a tribute match to raise both spirits and funds for the Devonport community which is still reeling from the horrific events of December 16.
Six children died, and three others were seriously injured, when a freak gust of wind picked up a jumping castle and zorb balls at Hillcrest Primary School and carried it 10m into the air.
The children fell onto the oval bringing a shocking stop to what was meant to be a fun end-of-school activities day.
Georgie Gardam, the mother of Zane Mellor, said her son was with her in spirit as he watched the game.
A framed picture of Zane sat on an empty chair in the grandstand.
“It was very emotional but today felt good,” Ms Gardam said.
“I am in awe of how many people came out.”
AFL CEO Gill McLachlan said the league was proud to be able to play a part in Devonport’s healing process.
“It will take a long-time and is still very raw and fresh,’ Mr McLachlan said.
Richmond Football Club CEO Brendan Gale said Tasmania’s North West, where he grew up, was a football stronghold.
“Football connects communities, especially in places like Tasmania,” Mr Gale said.
“It is a privilege to come here and hopefully give people something to smile about after an unfathomable tragedy.”
Hawthorn CEO Justin Reeves said his club was happy to play a role in the community’s healing process.
Tasmanian born Brisbane Lions big gun Alastair Lynch said the tragedy had made a huge impact not only on the Devonport community but the nation.
“This is a rich football heartland so to have an AFL game here at this venue so close to the main season in front of a packed house in fantastic, everyone’s loving it,” Lynch said.
A fundraising dinner planned for after the game was cancelled but an online auction had raised more than $120,000 by three-quarter time and bidding continues until Friday.
Premier Peter Gutwein - who no doubt had some words to say about the formation of a Tasmanian AFL team as he watched the game in the company of McLachlan and Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett - said the more than $1.4m raised through a GoFundMe campaign for the families impacted by the tragedy would be released now legal requirements had been finalised.
“You can see from the crowd how important this day is. This tragedy touched people across the world. The crowd is testimony to the depth of feeling in this community about that dreadful day in December,” Mr Gutwein said.
“I am pleased to confirm the outstanding legal issues surrounding the release of funds raised by Zoe Smith’s GoFundMe campaign have today been resolved.
“We have seen recently in other states just how difficult it can be for public donations to reach the people they were raised for, and we have ensured those difficulties are not repeated with these funds.”
Money raised through the online auction will go into the Hillcrest Community Public Fund which is being administered by the Devonport City Council.
Ms Gardam has already raised concerns that people would assume the money they donated to the community fund would also be going to the families but that would not necessarily the case.
A committee will decide how the community fund is distributed.
Young survivor’s special role in Hillcrest AFL tribute match
YOUNG survivor and massive Richmond fan Declean Brown will be on hand for Saturday’s AFL pre-season clash in Devonport and will even do a ball throw in at the start of the match.
Declean, 12, was one of nine children injured in a freak jumping castle tragedy at Hillcrest Primary on the last day of school last year.
Six of the children died and the pre-season clash between Richmond and Hawthorn at the Devonport Oval tomorrow is being played in tribute to the young lives lost and the grieving families left behind.
Declean still has some recovering to do. He has been home from hospital since December 31 and still has fractures, a brain injury and will start rehabilitation to walk again at the end of the month.
Devonport raised Richmond great Matthew Richardson was at a football clinic held at the East Devonport Oval on Friday which gave local kids to have a kick with their football heroes.
Tickets to the game have already sold out with 8000 fans expected to head to the Saturday’s game.
”This is a significant weekend,” Richardson said.
”I love coming home. I wish the circumstances were different this time around though. But footy brings the community together and that is what this game is all about.”
“This tragedy really touched me. I was at the gym when I saw the initial coverage on the news and it caused a great sense of sadness.”
Head of AFL Tasmania Damian Gill said he hoped the football match would “put some smiles on faces” in a community which has gone through the toughest of times.”
“We visited Hillcrest Primary and some other Devonport schools today and the players and the kids loved it.
“The AFL can play a role in helping the community and that is a great thing.”
The last time AFL was played in Devonport was back in 2000 and the community has embraced its one-off return.
“The tickets sold so quickly and all the families of the children impacted by the tragedy have been invited to the game,” Mr Gill said.
Hawthorn’s Jaeger O’Meara said footy was a great way to bring people together.
“We want to bring some joy to people in Devonport. Hopefully we will put on a good show,” O’Meara said.
“There are plenty of kids out here having some fun and it is great to see.”
Hawks to unleash fast game against Tigers for Tassie clash
HAWTHORN has one last chance to test drive its new attacking game-style in its AFL Community Series clash with Richmond in Devonport on Saturday in a tribute match for the families and communities of Hillcrest Primary School following the tragic accident late year.
Under new coach Sam Mitchell, the Hawks will put the pedal to the metal through the midfield.
“Sam has been big on us being a tough team, tough to play against generally and we want to take the game on,” said key defender Sam Frost.
“We will be looking to score heavily and exactly what that looks like we will figure out along the way.
“We want to be an exciting team to watch and hit the scoreboard as hard as we can.”
The Hawks fully understand what the Richmond game stands for.
“Tasmania has always been so welcoming to us. It’s a home away from home,” Frost said.
“With the tragedy the whole school community has had to go through we are hoping to bring a little bit of joy and a welcome distraction to that community and something for them to get excited about.”
It will be a final test for Hawthorn’s youngsters ahead of their opening round match against North Melbourne on March 20.
“We’ve got some young guys we’re putting time into to develop and give them some exposure,” Frost said.
“With a new coach we want to figure out what our game plan looks like going forward and test the waters on a few things and see what sticks.”
Teenage onballer Connor McDonald is a Hawk on the rise based on form over the summer months.
“Connor’s had a pretty impressive pre-season, [midfielders] Ned Long and Josh Ward are looking really strong, and down back Denver Grainger-Barras is looking good,” McDonald.
Frost will step up his leadership as a key defender. His aggression and speed have been an asset since his arrival from Melbourne in 2019.
“Our backline is looking really good,” Frost said. “There a lot of excitement around guys “CJ” [Changkuoth Jiath] and Will Day, who will be coming back from injury over the next weeks, and James Sicily coming back into the side,” Frost said.
“There’s a lot to look forward to but we weren’t that impressive against Collingwood last week so we’ve got a lot of work to do but Hawk fans should be excited about wat we will bring.”
‘More than a game’: AFL tribute match to help Hillcrest heal
IT is Richmond’s most important game since its 2021 season ended and the Tigers final hit out before another premiership tilt in 2022 – but it’s not about that.
Richmond and Hawthorn will meet in Devonport on Saturday in each side’s last pre-season match, but the day is about healing a community — and a state — that was left devastated when a day that was supposed to be about celebration ended in utter heartbreak after six Hillcrest Primary School grade six children lost their lives in a horrific jumping castle tragedy on the final day of the school year.
Tasmania’s Tigers star Jack Riewoldt, 33, says the club has not lost perspective on what the game is all about despite the requirement to prepare for another gruelling season ahead.
“Purely for the game it is important because we need to have a great hit out,” Riewoldt said.
“We are going to play our best team and we are going to go there and get ready for the season proper.
“But clearly the emotional side of things and the community side of things that come with the game and an event like this are more important and significant than the actual game of football.”
Riewoldt was helping out with one tragedy when he was thrust into the heart of another.
He was in Hobart at the time of Hillcrest, organising a charity cycle ride to raise funds for a local footballer, Ryan Wiggins, who had broken his neck in an off field incident.
The ride started from Devonport just three days after the jumping castle incident, with each rider donning a specially made tribute to Hillcrest on their tops.
“I can remember it was a really eerie feeling even at the other end of the state and it shocked the Tasmanian community in general,” he said.
“Then in Devonport I didn’t want to tread on anyone’s toes, and be respectful to what had happened.
“A lot of the guys who rode down had young children and it really hit home for us that something like this could happen in Tasmania and kids of similar age to their own.
“I ventured up to the school and paid my respects and dropped off a couple of tokens of thought.
“It was a really, really soulful time in terms of delving into your own being to think about what is really important in your life.”
He believed for many in the Devonport and Tasmanian community it would be a pilgrimage to come together, some seeing those also directly affected for the first time since the incident took place on December 16.
“It will mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people and we are just lucky we get the chance to pay our respects and go out there and do something we love but get to do it for someone else,” the triple premiership veteran said.
“From my own personal point of view, it gives me the chance to show off the great state of Tasmania and we are so lucky we have so many great things in Tasmania.
“The one thing I’m really looking forward to the boys experiencing when they do come down is that sense of community that no other state has that real community spirit that Tasmania has.
“It is probably due to the fact we are an island but also the population isn’t as big as the other states of Australia.
“Once you are a Tasmanian, you’re always a Tasmanian and you will always be a Tasmanian.
“It is something very special that comes from living and coming from the Apple Isle.”
Riewoldt pushed the AFL for the event to be much more than just a game of footy and the league and clubs have jumped on board.
Players from the Tigers, including new co-captain and fellow Tasmanian Toby Nankervis, Hawthorn and North Melbourne will be in Devonport on Friday meeting with families and children affected by the tragedy ahead of Saturday’s game.
Now a father himself, Riewoldt was preparing for some difficult conversations on Friday with still grieving families.
“It is so delicate you have to be so open minded with the response you are going to get from any question and be ready for anything,” he said.
“But if you genuinely care, you will have the right answer.
“We go down there with open arms, and there will be some people who want to chat and open their souls up to us and to the community and there will be people who aren’t ready yet and that’s grief and grieving.
“The families and Tasmania will never get over this but people deal with their challenges in different ways.”
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Originally published as ‘More than a game’: AFL tribute match to help Hillcrest community heal
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