Hawks and Jets to honour legend with trophy

By Simon Brunsdon
Updated November 7 2012 - 3:09pm, first published June 30 2011 - 11:09pm

FARRER League premiership points will not be the only thing on the line when East Wagga-Kooringal and Northern Jets come together at Gumly Oval on Saturday.Former East Wagga and Ardlethan legend Greg Smith will be honoured in the round 10 clash, with the introduction of the Greg Smith trophy.The Hawks and Jets will battle it out for the inaugural trophy, which is expected to become an annual prize for the Farrer League fixture.Rob Richards - a devout supporter of both clubs - first came up with the idea when he met Greg Smith at the East Wagga "old boys" function last year.Smith - a former South Melbourne-Sydney, Collingwood and All Australian player - will be at Gumly Oval again tomorrow to witness the battle for his namesake trophy."Rob has put a lot of work into this and the club is pretty excited," EWK coach Chris Jackson said yesterday."Greg's football resume is very impressive and he has done a lot for football."It's a good idea, to give the players an opportunity to play for something like this."It always seems to be a good battle with (Northern Jets) when we play, and this adds that little bit more to the game."Smith started his football career at the age of six with Ardlethan-Beckom, before joining East Wagga in 1978.He played two seasons with the Hawks before being snatched up by VFL club South Melbourne-Sydney, where he played 96 games and kicked 64 goals running from the midfield.He later switched to Collingwood and played 31 games over two seasons, and finished his career with Central Districts whom he captained for three years.The Hawks are well on target to play finals football again this year, while the Jets continue to push for a spot inside the competition's top five.Jackson says while his team will go into Saturday's all-important clash as favourite, the Hawks can not afford to underestimate their opponent."I think they beat us at this time last year, in pretty similar circumstances," he said."They look like they are starting to win a few games and I'd say they will be tougher than last time we played them."EWK downed Northern Jets by 47 points back in round three but can not afford to let its guard down against a Jets team desperate for a win.The Hawks are a chance to welcome back Jason Coombes and Dayne Watt this weekend, who both missed last week's win over Coleambally.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Get the latest Wagga Wagga news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.