Wyndham Vale’s under 12B side with young Bulldogs players at Whitten Oval. 69872 Picture: EMILY LANE
YOU could not imagine a more devastating end to a season.
Almost five goals up in time-on in the last quarter of a preliminary final only to be penalised for an on-field mix-up and your score re-set to zero. The siren sounds and the grand final dream is over.
That’s what happened to Wyndham Vale’s under 12B team against Albion in the Western Region Football League recently. A Wyndham Vale player was sent off in the last quarter, but the coaching staff was not aware of this and substituted him. The rules state that any player sent off cannot be replaced for 15 minutes.
Albion called a player count and sure enough the umpire noted both sides had 18 players on the park. Albion advanced to the grand final and lost to Altona Juniors.
The Wyndham Vale boys were understandably shattered, but there has been a positive to come out of it.
The Western Bulldogs, no stranger to preliminary final disappointment themselves, heard about the mix-up and decided to legit the Falcons boy’s spirits by inviting them to a training session last Thursday.
The kids trained with members of the Bulldogs development squad, including rising star award winner Luke Dahlhaus, and also went to Barry Hall’s farewell match against Fremantle on Saturday.
Western Region Football League CEO Bob Tregear said the Bulldogs had gone above and beyond in raising the spirits of the boys and was hopeful the experience would show the youngsters that sportsmanship still existed at all levels of the game.
“In a week where the Bulldogs are no doubt focusing on their final game of Season 2011, it is great to see the club still recognises their role in the community and has been more than willing to assist these boys end their season on a positive note.”
