Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier today my colleague and friend the member for Melbourne Ports spoke about his beloved St Kilda. That certainly reminded me of the importance of Aussie Rules football to our great nation. It is a sport that has endured for over a hundred years and I believe it would be fair to say that no matter which part of Australia you travel to you will find some one-eyed supporters of the local side getting totally caught up and involved in football being played in their community. So today I want to pay tribute to the local football clubs of my community. Football clubs ensure that football that begins at the grassroots in local communities in turn provides opportunities to youngsters to go on and play at the highest levels of football in this country. I have seen a number of young footballers do just that, and I will refer to them in a moment. In recent weeks I have been able to get to numerous local football games in the electorate of Makin and watch footballers from the Golden Grove, Tea Tree Gully, Pooraka, Para Hills, Ingle Farm and Modbury football clubs playing in the local league.

Fortunately for most of those clubs—and perhaps ‘fortunate’ is not the right choice of word—they have been able, through their efforts, to get into the finals in the last few weeks. Again, I have been able to go and watch some of those finals games, from the juniors right through to the seniors. What strikes me as I go to each and every one of them is undoubtedly the parochialism and the passion that you see from the followers and the supporters of football even at that very local level.

Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It’s great, isn’t it?

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My colleague from Melbourne Ports says it is great. Indeed it is. In fact, it is sometimes more noticeable than what you will see at the elite level, where it is accepted that footballers are playing for a national side and you tend to see them win and lose and you watch them on television. When you go out and see them at the local level, you get more parochial and passionate about them because the chances are that you know many of the players personally, you know the families personally and each of them knows each other personally. When you get local clubs playing each other, that sense of rivalry is even greater, as it will be this Saturday when Tea Tree Gully plays Modbury in the C-grade division of the local league.

Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Which team are you supporting?

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In fact, they played last week and drew, and as a result of ending up in a draw they will have to replay the match this Saturday. Both sides are in my local electorate. As to which side I support, I support the side that wins, and may the best side win on the day.

Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You were happy with the draw!

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In fact, I was happy with the draw. I have to say that, having gone to both of those clubs on numerous occasions, it is indeed a difficult choice to make. In reality, I personally believe that what is important is that a level of sportsmanship is shown on the day and that the opportunity is provided to the players to get the most out of the football and the enjoyment that comes with winning, if that is the case, or at least having played in a final. I wish both of those sides well in their Saturday grand final.

I want to say something on a sadder note. Those clubs inevitably rely on the work of volunteers. Last month, I attended the Pooraka Football Club when it was celebrating its 40th anniversary. It is the club closest to my home and a club that I have been associated with since childhood. At the 40th anniversary I was able to catch up with a number of people that I had not seen for some years but equally with people that I see at the club almost on a weekly basis. Regrettably, two of those people, in recent weeks, have passed away. I refer to Tony Tomko and Fay Thamm, who were both stalwarts of the club and who provided an incredible amount of support over the years to the club’s administration and support base. To the families of both of them, I extend my deepest condolences. Time is running out, but on another occasion I will speak about some of the achievements of these clubs in greater detail.