Moments before kick-off, a clash between the Kurri Kurri and Central Newcastle rugby league sides was awash with sadness.
Key points:
- Players and fans at rugby league and AFL games across Australia have paid tribute to the victims of last week’s bus crash
- Newcastle Knights players are donating personal memorabilia to help fundraising efforts
- Public memorial services and liturgies will continue across the Hunter next week
A minute’s silence and a tribute to local first responders were held to honour those impacted by last week’s bus crash in nearby Greta.
Both teams’ number 10 jersey was retired to the sidelines to honour the 10 people who lost their lives.
“I can’t imagine the feeling at the moment,” Kurri Kurri Bulldogs president Shaune Collingwood said.
“You always think it always happens to someone else. No it doesn’t. It can happen to you as well.
“We will be here for them if they need.”
The Singleton Roosters AFL club, about 20 minutes away from Kurri Kurri, lost members in Sunday’s crash.
As a sign of respect, all local AFL games were cancelled this weekend.
The Kurri Kurri Bulldogs passed around donation buckets at their game to contribute to a fundraiser managed by Rotary NSW in conjunction with the state government.
More than $240,000 have been raised so far, with $100,000 coming from the Minns government.
“It’s just being able to show that we care and give them as much support as we can with the donations,” Mr Collingwood said.
“Hopefully we get a fair bit together.”
Playing at a packed home ground, the Newcastle Knights wore black armbands as a sign of respect for the victims but also for the survivors, first responders, families, friends and loved ones impacted by the crash.
The players, along with the close to 14,000-strong crowd, fell silent for a minute.
On Friday head coach Adam O’Brien said the club had been heavily impacted by what happened, and the players had been discussing how they could help.
“The boys have come up with the initiative of donating some personal memorabilia to raise some funds for those affected, so that will commence over the next week,” he said.
“Our town, our community, is hurting and the players aren’t immune from that.
“For 80 minutes we get to hopefully change a little bit of the feeling for a short period of time by putting in a performance for our community.”
Beach tribute
Meanwhile In Sydney’s north this afternoon, dozens of friends and family gathered to celebrate the life of Zach Bray, who was among the 10 victims.
The 29-year-old’s family arranged a paddle out at North Curl Curl Beach, where they held hands to form a circle on the water, and threw flowers into the centre.
Dozens more watched from the sand in front of the local Surf Life Saving club, where the mining engineer spent a lot of time as a child.
His sister, Montana Bray, took to Facebook to invite those who knew him to the event, saying: “This is the place where Zach grew up, was a Nipper and enjoyed surfing with his mates.”
At the age of 25, Mr Bray was diagnosed with bowel cancer.
He posted about his experience on his Facebook page, where he also wrote about his pride at becoming an ambassador for The Gut Foundation after his recovery.
Mr Bray was also remembered by the Manly Warringah Wolves where he played before moving to the Hunter region.
The club said he had many friends and his family was “deeply entrenched in our footy community”.
‘Play like Kane would play’
In Hobart, the beloved AFL team of victim Kane Symons, the Lauderdale Football Club, also took to the field in black armbands.
Mr Symons’s family has a strong connection to the team where he played as a junior before moving to Singleton, and his father is one of the assistant coaches.
Club volunteer Justin Foster remembered him as a “great kid” who embodied the spirit of both his footy and surf community in Carlton, where he devoted much of his time as an adult.
“He was energetic, he was a great footballer, he was a great leader, he was a great person to be around,” Mr Foster said.
He said it had been a very hard week for a number of the young players about Mr Symons’s age, but having him in their thoughts carried them through.
“I know before the game they spoke about making sure they played the game he would want to, and to do it for him. They were really keen to play like Kane would play and put everything into it.
“And I think they were really, particularly our captain who is a really close mate of his, impressed in how they did that.
“They were pretty emotional towards the end with a couple of goals that were scored and they knew they were going to get the win.”
Public memorial services and liturgies will continue to be held in the Hunter Valley next week.
On Tuesday, a liturgy will be held at Newcastle’s Sacred Heart Cathedral at 6pm, while on Thursday a service will be observed in Singleton, at St Patrick’s Church, at 6pm.
“The devastation in our community will be felt far and wide. I was deeply saddened to hear of the terrible loss of life and injury,” Bishop Michael Kennedy said in a statement.
“I offer my condolences and prayers to all those involved.”