THERE is plenty of excitement around the South Gambier Football Club at the moment, but it does not relate directly to the performance of the A Grade side on the park.
The club announced recently special guest, 2017 Richmond premiership player Jack Riewoldt would be attending a sportsman’s night out at Blue Lake Sports Park on July 30, for a major fundraiser for the Demons.
Club committee member Nick Jenkin said it was an exciting opportunity to have such a high-profile name attend the night.
“He is a big name and a character around the league,” Jenkin said.
“There would be a lot of Richmond supporters out there who would be interested in his story, plus how the club has developed over the last few years would be very interesting to listen to.
“They did not seem to be going that well, then bang, they won a flag.
“It will be interesting to see how it all happened.”
Just to have Riewoldt attend the night during the AFL season was a big coup for the Demons, with Jenkin surprised how easily it unfolded.
“I was talking to agents from Adelaide and Melbourne, trying to get some recent footballers just out of the AFL and not many of them jumped out of the gate,” he said.
“The ones we wanted were assistant coaches and that type of thing, which made them hard to get hold of.
“Then I spoke to one agent in Melbourne, trying to get an ex-player.
“But he suggested Jack Riewoldt.
“I thought he would not be able to do it during footy season, but I gave the agent some date options and he called me back the next day.
“I do not think we could have got a better bloke, especially this time of the year and coming off a flag.
“It is a surprise to all of us in the club.”
Jenkin said the advantage of having a current player attend the night was clear.
“I think he is a down to earth person and it will be good to hear a current player talk about the football of today and to see how it all runs,” he said.
“It will be good to hear about how a club at that level performs and operates, plus his own personal story.”
South has been one of the struggling clubs in the Western Border league for the last couple of years now, as was Richmond before its 2017 premiership flag.
Jenkin said that in itself should be an inspiration to the young players in the Demons ranks at the moment, as the club rebuilds to its own premiership form of just a few short years ago.
“We have a lot of youth in our side and he will be an inspiration to them,” he said.
“Richmond kept their side, let it develop, did not sack their coach when everyone thought they would.
“The way they developed and reached that level will be inspirational for our boys to see.”
Apart from that Jenkin said there was sure to be plenty of questions thrown around, including about Riewoldt’s grand final celebration antics where he jumped on stage with The Killers to sing Mr Brightside after claiming the flag.
“That will definitely get mentioned by a few of us,” he joked.
“We will see if he will sing a song for us.”
As it has turned out, an average fundraising drive for the club has turned into so much more.
“It was not mean to be, but now it will probably be one of the biggest fundraisers for the club this year,” Jenkin said.
“We normally have an auction every second year, but we will have one as well on the night.
“It will be good for the club and good for the town to get a big name like that here.
“Hopefully everyone supports it and gets around it.”
Tickets will be available at the door or for pre-sale through South Gambier Football Club, the South Aussie Hotel, Lennons on Lake Terrace and Sportspower.
