Auskickers to farewell Sheedy in style

Eight local clubs will take to the field for half-time Auskick at Skoda Stadium on Sunday.

The match is the GIANTS’ last home game for the season and marks the final time current Head Coach Kevin Sheedy will take the reins in Sydney.

It will be the perfect opportunity for the young Auskickers to have fun with their friends and to experience the thrill and excitement of running out onto an AFL Premiership ground in front of their family and an excited footy crowd.

The halftime NAB Auskick program will give more than 130 kids from Greater Western Sydney an experience that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

The following clubs will participate in half-time Auskick: South West Tigers, Bathurst Bushrangers, Katoomba, St Clair Crows, Hawkesbury Saints, Liverpool Eagles, Holroyd Parramatta, Penrith Swans.

To mark Sheedy’s final game, the GWS GIANTS will don a special commemorative guernsey as part of larger celebrations when they take on the Tigers.

The first 10,000 fans to come through Skoda Stadium’s gate will receive a special Kevin Sheedy flag, and both Essendon and Richmond members will be able to enter free of charge with their 2013 membership passes.

The budding young AFL hopefuls will watch the opening quarter of the GIANTS and Tigers game before making their way to the stadium’s change-room facilities – a rare opportunity to visit football’s inner sanctum.

The Auskickers will then kit up in their AFL gear before making the exciting walk to the entrance of the playing field for one of the most exciting and enjoyable games of AFL.

At the conclusion of the half-time match, the Auskickers will form a guard of honour to welcome back the teams as they run onto Skoda Stadium to play out the second half of their game. All players will then return to the stands to cheer on the GIANTS as they take on Richmond.

South West Tigers President, Ros Malloy, said the entire club was excited at the prospect of being involved in such a significant occasion for an icon of the game in Kevin Sheedy.

“We’re fielding two teams in Auskick on Sunday,” Malloy said.

“We’re going to be in all our match gear and then we’ll be doing a guard of honour, which will add some polish to the day for Mr Sheedy.

“We’ve also got a fair amount of people coming to the game…I’ve been sending out emails and reminding everyone to come along to the game, encouraging everyone to get to kick-to-kick and I’m sure there will be festivities afterwards for the retiring of Kevin.”

The NAB AFL Auskick program provides boys and girls with a fun and safe Australian Football experience that serves as an introduction to a lifetime of involvement in the game. The program is not just about introducing children to Australian Football – it activates and develops within each child the desire for a healthy lifestyle and an association with our great game. 

This is achieved through activities and programs for individuals, small groups and teams, and aims to assist development of personal and social skills.

For more information about the game or to buy tickets please visit www.gwsgiants.com.au

For more information on how to get involved in AFL, visit www.aflauskick.com.au or www.aflnswact.com.au