The 2005 drought-breaking Bulldogs side that won the Group 9 Grand Final 19-12 vs the Tumut Blues.
The Cootamundra Bulldogs will be looking to secure their third win of the season this weekend when they host the Wagga Brothers at Les Boyd Oval for what will be a special Old Boys Day.
The club will be using the occasion to raise money and awareness for Riverina Bluebell, a not-for-profit, volunteer community organisation dedicated to raising awareness about mental health issues in the Riverina. Riverina Bluebell’s mission is to encourage locals to share their stories, build awareness of the support available, and reinforce the message that asking for help is okay.
They aim to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness by having residents with “lived and professional experience” share their personal stories.
Bulldogs coach David Buttriss emphasised the importance of the day and the challenge ahead. “This week we are playing at home against Brothers, and it’s Old Boys Day, we will be wearing different jerseys for the Riverina Bluebell charity,” he said.
Buttriss is wary of a motivated Brothers side, who are still chasing their first win of the season. “It’s a game we definitely won’t be taking lightly. For them to only go down 12 points by Temora, Temora is a very good team, so obviously Brothers are probably getting to the back end of the year, and they’re just putting everything into each game, hoping to get that win. So, they’ll probably see us as the target, just above them, so I think they’re going to throw everything at us and we have got to turn up ready to play.”
The day will also feature an auction of the special jerseys to raise funds for Riverina Bluebell. “I think the way they’re going to do the auction is we are going to auction off the jerseys after the game. And some of the proceeds from that will go towards the Riverina Bluebell charity,” Buttriss confirmed.
The coach also shared some good news on the injury front with the return of a key player. “We will welcome back Luke Levitt this week. I’m looking forward to having Lukie back on deck. He’s one of those players who does everything right on the field. He plays hard, plays 80 minutes and never lets anyone down. I think he played seven years of consistent footy up until this injury, so we are just used to having him out there, and now that he’s not, you can barely see it.”
After a much-needed bye, the Bulldogs are focused on finishing the season strong. “We are looking forward to these last three games. We will try to finish on a high. We needed that week off; a lot of boys had some niggling injuries that the 14-day recovery would suit them perfectly. We are nearly back to a full squad now and looking to finish the season strong, hopefully start this weekend.”
Buttriss hopes a big crowd will be on hand to support the team and the cause. “Hopefully, the day is a cracker down there and there’d be nothing better than getting a heap of our old boys and all the people who have supported us throughout the year to come down for this one. A big crowd always helps regarding getting that win.”
– Tully Potts
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