In an attempt to raise awareness and funds for the Robert Rose Foundation, we compete for the Robert Rose Cup - named in honour of the former Footscray and Collingwood player.

The son of AFL Hall of Fame member Bob Rose, Robert played 26 games for Collingwood and nine with Footscray, and was first class cricketer for Victoria in the early 1970s.

Tragically, in 1974 at the age of just 22, he suffered a spinal injury in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic. Robert Rose remained a popular figure at Footscray until he died in 1999, when the foundation was formed.

Spinal injuries – particularly in sport – have made the sporting headlines many times, with NRL player Alex McKinnon suffering a broken neck in a match, and Beau Vernon and Casey Tutungi suffering injuries in country football.

All three of these men have made remarkable progress and are an inspiration to many people, as is Neil Sachse, who suffered a similar injury while playing with Footscray in 1975.

His foundation, along with the Robert Rose Foundation, supports more than 10,000 Australians living with spinal cord injuries.

The match against Collingwood on Sunday aims to do more than just support people living with these injuries. Football is a great vehicle to promote disability inclusion in our community, whether it be playing, supporting, or even coaching.

I was recently invited to St Albans to have a chat to a few players from their disability team. I watched them train for a while and found the players amazing. 

The people around them were equally impressive. They were there because they wanted to ensure that people of all abilities have the opportunity to participate in recreational activities most take for granted. The experience gave me a newfound respect for the people who are there out of the goodness of their hearts and love of the game.

Ballarat has a similar team – the Northern Knights – who I trained with in my days as a Rebel. Their absolute delight just being able to pull on a pair of boots with their mates made the session one to remember.

If you find a few spare hours in your weekend, try to catch a Knights game. I’m sure they could use the extra support, and we could all use a little extra inspiration.

WESTERN Bulldogs vice-captain Jordan Roughead writes this column exclusively for The Courier. Roughead was drafted from North Ballarat Rebels in 2008. He played with Lake Wendouree juniors.