MEMBERS of the Aldridge family will converge on Wollongong to take part in the Kids In Care Cup tomorrow, a rugby league tournament raising awareness about foster carers.
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Team manager, and Bega Rooster, Dennis Scott said the knockout round provided the first ever opportunity to field an all-family team.
“It is something that the family has wanted to see for generations,” Scott said.
“We are very much a rugby league family.
The squad will be known as Aldridge United in honour of the family’s heritage.
Several family members play with the Bega Roosters, while others are veterans of the Eden Tigers.
Scott said the games over the weekend will be an opportunity to play side-by-side with family, who are used to facing each other on the field.
“We’ve got so much excitement about being finally able to play together rather than against one another,” Scott said.
“It’s something the family has wanted for many years, it’s an exciting time.”
Scott said it was both an opportunity to play as a family, but promote awareness of foster carers and the need for more support.
“We have family members who are foster carers and foster children so it was important for us to go along and be part of it.
“We wanted to support what family members are doing and the sacrifices they have made.”
As part of the event, teams were invited to create their own logo, with the Aldridge United emblem symbolising the team’s heritage.
Family members will travel from up and down the coast to both play, and watch, the team in action over the weekend.
Scott said the Koori knockout tournaments are a powerful cultural tool for families, to be able to catch up and reminisce with extended family and friends.
“We’ve got cousins coming down from Sydney and Newcastle for the day just to watch us play and be part of the family.”
During the Kids in Care Cup, the team will be paying tribute to the heritage of its elders and embracing the legacy left for them by Joe.
“Our grandfather took the first South Coast team to a Koori knockout game,” Scott said.
“He was the team manager and organised everything, from jerseys to petrol to get them there,” he said with a laugh.
That original team was named the South Coast All Blacks and now, the family’s younger generation has come of age to take the rugby league reins.
“I’ve got my talented nephews James and Marty and their older cousin Alan Aldridge.
“From the children comes this team, it is a tribute to our grandfather and his legacy.”
Scott said he will act as the team manager and will play over the weekend.
“I’ll probably leave the captaincy up to Alan,” he said with a laugh.
Meanwhile, the games could be the last for some of the “older” members of the family, with Scott saying he is likely to hang up the boots after the weekend.
“To be able to go out with all the family and the boys it is important to finish that way.
“I have played football since I was five years of age, but this will be the most important time of my football career,” he said.
The knockout tournament will run as part of Foster Care Week and aims to raise awareness of the work done by carers in the region.