TALK of mateship is big in footy-netball club but ultimately, as Buninyong president Wayne Barrenger says, you cannot stop working on mateship.
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Being part of a team and a club can promote a sense of belonging. Continually fostering a good club culture, truly looking after each other, is vital for mateship.
Barrenger said the Bombers' recruitment of forward Aiden Domic this season had been just as much about his off-field work in well-being and mental health awareness.
Not everything was about premierships.
The Bombers had also looked to SALT sport and life training programs for seniors and, in a couple of weeks, there will be a session for juniors.
An important focus on looking after your mate was also why the club had jumped at the chance to welcome back John Shanahan to speak to Bombers players and their rivals on Saturday.
The Bombers and Clunes will clash for the Nathan Shanahan Memorial Cup for the first time at Buninyong since the pandemic.
This Central Highlands Football League ficture continues the Walking Off the War Within legacy of Nathan Shanahan, a former Clunes junior who has extensive family ties in Buninyong.
The former special forces soldier and firefighter was a passionate champion in raising awareness of mental health struggles until he died by suicide about six years ago.
While Walking Off the War Within focuses on emergency and defence force personnel, the parallels of teamwork and mateship translates to community sport. The first Shanahan Cup contest came six months after Nathan's death.
The pandemic has highlighted what previously had been largely an unspoken, vital feature of grassroots clubs. Sporting clubs are a place where people not only feel they belonged but can know they are, in a sense, looked after.
This is particularly pertinent in small towns where the footy-netball club is at the heart of what holds the community together.
When lockdowns hit, this was the part that hurt more than any missed physical training sessions or match days.
This goes from players and officials to volunteers and the regulars who gather for team dinners or pop in to have a chat and watch a bit of training.
That all stopped and, for some, has been hard to rebuild.
Barrenger hoped the Shanahan Cup fixture would at least encourage people from both clubs to give a mate a call or strike up a chat with someone about the community. He hoped people take the time to check in.
This is what country footy-netball clubs can do best: awareness.
We can see a similar united front at Mount Clear Recreation Reserve on Sunday with Mount Clear and East Point Juniors working together to fill ute trays with food, blankets and clothing to help people in need this winter.
Buninyong and Clunes are contesting for far more than a cup or the four points. This fixture can get people talking long after the final siren.
The Bombers and Magpies are playing to create vital, positive ripple effects.
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