Bulldogs vice-captain Jordan Roughead writes a fortnightly column for the Ballarat Courier. The following excerpt is from a piece he wrote on ‘Unsung Heroes’, for the full column, visit the Courier website.
There’s a fascinating sense of belonging when you have been involved with a football club for several years.
In such a fickle sport, where the bounce of an odd-shaped ball can be the difference between the success you dream of and the heartache more commonly felt, it is the men and women who can bring perspective and make a team feel like a family that keep a club functioning.
We have a “Thought of the Week” board in the clubrooms at the Kennel.
Last week’s question was: “What does love mean to you?”
Among the answers – some well-constructed, others not really answering the question – this one caught my eye: “When I leave home in the morning and come into the club, it feels like I haven’t left home.”
There was more than a hint of sarcasm in this particular answer, but it got me thinking all the same.
In my time at the Bulldogs, I’ve seen the passing of three club legends.
Charlie Sutton – one of our club’s greatest champions and our only premiership captain – was an exceptional footballer and, importantly, an exceptional man.
His passing in June, 2012, struck an emotional chord with our playing group, the administration and many in the football world.
The other two men would be known by very few people outside the club, but internally, the emotion was similar.
Ben Bradley passed away this past pre-season.
The club’s head trainer for about 30 years, he was involved either in a paid capacity or as a volunteer for more than 50 years.
Eddie Walsh was a property steward at the club for about 60 years. He died during the 2013 pre-season.
I never saw him in his prime, but he was the man in charge. If a player wanted new shorts, socks or a jumper, they were in Eddie’s domain, and Eddie ruled that domain fiercely.
Every morning as each player shuffled through the property room, he was met with the same greeting: “Morning Ed.”
“Yep.”
The sign-off each afternoon matched: “See you tomorrow Ed.”
“Yep.”
Few people with more passion than Charlie, Eddie and Ben ever walk into an organisation.
Fewer still are respected and remembered as fondly as these three are by so many people.
It is people like them who make football clubs feel like home – the boot studders, the property stewards, the canteen workers.
They are the unsung heroes.
