By George Kouroumalis
It may have been a freezing Friday morning in Melbourne but it didn’t stop all those involved with our club sacrificing some sleep to pay the ultimate respect to the ANZACS at the Shrine of Remembrance.
Every senior listed player and member of the coaching staff was in attendance, as well as each member of the junior coaching staff, club media representatives and board members and volunteers.
The entire South contingent met on St Kilda Road at 4am, walking as one to the shrine for the 6am dawn service, where they were surrounded by thousands of Victorians, inclusive of many former men and women who had served for our nation, as well as many family members associated with such heroes.
Our Captain Michael Eagar is both an Australian and New Zealand resident, with the service giving him an understanding of the sacrifices that were made by troops of both nations to assist in paving the way on how we live life today.
Speaking to smfc.com.au, an emotional Eagar said “It was a wonderful experience to come to the shrine with the club and be involved in paying some respect to the brave men and women who lost their lives for our countries. Sometimes sport pales into insignificance when you sit back and realise the sacrifices that were made in order to ensure that the future generations (like ourselves) could live in a free society and essentially have the choices to do whatever we want.
It was great to see not only every member of the playing group, but all the senior and youth coaching staff, board members and club volunteers all as one and representing this great club”
Senior coach Chris Taylor also praised all club officials for all attending, stating that “it was fantastic to see all aspects of the club represented this morning at the service and that the entire club was committed to paying respect to these brave and selfless people.
At the start of the season we all made a commitment for one another, whether that was on the park as a playing group or off the field in continuing to drive the club forward.
When you hear about the commitment that the ANZACS made for one another and the stories of how many people did not come back to their family and friends, it really hits home that the commitment we have all made is quite minor compared to the ultimate sacrifice many made to make the world a better place”
We would like to thank everyone who represented the club with dignity this morning and would urge anyone who has not yet been to the service to do so in the future.
Lest we forget