Tathra Aussie rules juniors have formed a guard of honour around GWS Giants players during a trip to Canberra over the weekend.
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The Sea Eagles under 7s and 9s were invited to compete in half-time matches at the Giants game, and by coincidence met the Bega Bombers on the field.
Tathra junior coordinator David Howard said the visit had been pre-planned, but worked out wonderfully after the tragic fires hit Tathra.
“A lot of the kids had been quite traumatized by the fires, so it was great for them to make the guard of honour, meet all the players and have a great experience up in Canberra,” Mr Howard said.
The youngsters then got to take a load off and were provided seats to watch the Giants play.
The youngsters took the field in Tathra Sea Eagles jerseys, while the Manuka ground took gold coin donations for the mayoral fund – which at time of writing was nearing $250,000.
With the crowd numbers up there, that could be a sizeable donation, but it’s just one part of the recovery efforts Mr Howard said.
The Sea Eagles opted out of the Lightning Cup pre-season fixture on Saturday, but instead ran multiple fundraisers, including raffles in Eden, while the men’s team sold bacon and egg rolls in Bega.
Around $1500 was raised in Eden and a similar figure at the barbecue.
“On behalf of the Tathra Sea Eagles Australian Rules Football Club, we just want to thank Eden and the rest of the Sapphire Coast AFL for their support,” Mr Howard said.
“We’re keeping record of everything and it will all go in the mayoral fund.”
Fundraiser surges
A football club raffle has swollen beyond organisers’ wildest dreams.
The Tathra Sea Eagles “mobilised swiftly” to organise a fundraising raffle in the wake of last week’s fire, but none could have expected the magnitude of donations.
More than $20,000 in prizes and goods will go off at a special event at the Tathra Beach Bowling Club on April 7, while the club will also have auctions on the night with the money to go into the mayoral fund for Tathra.
“It’s going to be a huge event,” says club spokesman David Howard.
He commended Madeline Keevers and the Sea Eaglettes, who had banded together and quickly had donations flowing in.
Tickets sold quickly both in Eden and Bega on Saturday with raffle tickets still available through the club for $5 each or three for $10.
Mr Howard said some of the items included highly lucrative grabs like signed jerseys from the GWS Giants and Sydney Swans.
More details will be released next week ahead of the fundraising event.
