SCHARLAINE Cairns' first taste of Australian Rules Football was a game that would go down in history.
It was 1970, and her father Jack took her to Whitten Oval to see Western Bulldogs legend Ted Whitten play his 321st and final game.
The full-time book editor would never forget it, and her memories of the day are vivid.
"The emotion of that game was overwhelming," Cairns told AFL.com.au.
"Everybody jumped the fence, Ted was on the back of the truck, he was crying and the rain was falling on his face, and I just said to dad, 'Why haven't I been at this all my life?'
"The last quarter of that game there were only I think four points scored by either side in the mud. It was just a really hard-fought game and we ended up winning by three points.
"It's the game where you see those highlights of Ted where he gives the speech to the players at three quarter time about giving all the grit and determination you've got in your body.
"I see that video every time and I think, 'That's my first game of footy'."
That game changed her life.
"That hooked me. I only missed two games of football in the next eight years, including finals, even though we weren't in them. I just became completely hooked on the game."
Her love affair with the Western Bulldogs had begun, and since then, Cairns has volunteered enormous amounts of her time to the club.
She has served on numerous committees over the past 23 years, and served as president of the Western Bulldogs player Sponsors.
Using her experience as a book editor, Cairns edited 'A History of the Footscray Football Club: Unleashed' as well as contributing to the funding of that book, and has donated her editing and writing skills to put together stories for 'The Bulldog Heritage', with volume two expected to be released next year.
She also served as the club's first media liaison, promoting the club through press releases and articles in the local paper from 1997-98.
Her tireless efforts haven't gone unnoticed, with Cairns nominated for the 2013 Football Woman of the Year Award.
"It is the most important thing in my life. I'm 56 years old and I've been a member for 43 of those 56 years," Cairns said.
"That whole community feel and the feeling that I can put something back into that. I believe that I will always owe that debt to the footy club. No matter what I do, it has singularly been the most important thing in my life."
