MORE than a year after junior Swans fan Edwin Bruty thought he had lost his one and only chance to get his Buddy doll signed, the seemingly unimaginable happened.
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Lance "Buddy" Franklin heard about his young fan and made sure to come and meet him when Edwin, aged seven, and younger sister Mia, five, had a rare chance to catch a Swans training session at Gosch's Paddock on Saturday.
Edwin and Mia had been all ready to watch their heroes in Ballarat last year when the Swans were pencilled in for a Battle of the Bridge clash with Greater Western Sydney at Mars Stadium. A rising COVID-19 lockdown threat prompted the AFL to shift both teams to Queensland.
The Bruty siblings were devastated.
Meeting some of their favourite Swans this year definitely made up for it.
The duo watched training and chatted to Tom Papley and Isaac Heeney as well as Franklin. A day later Edwin and Mia went to their first AFL game with the Swans taking on North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
They enjoyed watching their heroes play pivotal roles giving them the chance to sing the Swans theme song loud and proud at the final siren.
When asked how it was to finally meet his heroes, Edwin could not wipe the smile from his face: "It's awesome. I'm a bit overwhelmed and too excited".
Mars Stadium was a late call-up to host the Sydney derby last July, a fortnight after offering the Giants a temporary home to host Gold Coast Suns.
Barracking for the Swans - and the Bloods - runs in the family blood. Edwin and Mia's dad is a life-long supporter just like his mum and his grandparents.
Mr Bruty has said there was strong ties to the Swans in Ballarat such as Dale Lewis, Tony "Plugger" Lockett, Darren Jolly, Dean Towers, Jake Lloyd and, of course, dual Brownlow medallist and four-time all-Australian Adam Goodes.
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