RIVERINA FOOTBALL LEAGUE
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COOLAMON big man Ben Edyvean has extra reason to look forward to Saturday's qualifying final against Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes as he runs out for his 200th senior game.
It is hard to find a more popular figure at Kindra Park than Edyvean and the Hoppers will have that little bit more motivation on Sunday as they look to celebrate the ruckman's milestone in style.
Edyvean joined Coolamon in 2002 as a raw reserve grade player that has transformed into one of the premier ruckman in the Riverina.
Matt Hard has overseen Edyvean's time at Coolamon and said the improvement he has shown over the last 12 years is amazing.
"He came across because he struggled to get a game in Marrar twos and he even struggled in our seconds to be honest," Hard recalled.
"He hadn't played a lot of footy but he's come a bloody long way through hard work and wanting to better himself.
"He never misses a training run and he really worked hard on his game."
Edyvean eventually worked his way into Coolamon's first grade team and has continued to get better as the years have gone on.
He won Coolamon's best and fairest in 2006 and was an integral member of last year's premiership team.
Edyvean has also represented Riverina Football League on multiple occasions.
He has done all this as an insulin dependent diabetic.
"Ben forged his way into first grade and that was probably because we didn't have a lot of big men," Hard said.
"We thought we would get him in to see how he goes and he has transformed into a really good ruckman.
"He's improved that much that he's now regarded as the number one big man in the Riverina, he and Jacob Olsson have been for the last four or five years.
"He's also very highly regarded by his peers as well and that's a credit to himself.
"Footy clubs are built around people like Ben Edyvean, loyal, committed and always give 100 per cent.
"He's been a massive part of ours."
Edyvean has also been described as the ultimate clubman as he regularly attends junior training to help out there.
Coolamon president John Piltz paid tribute to Edyvean.
"No one is more deserving of reaching this milestone of achieving 200 outstanding senior games and we only hope there are more to come," Piltz said.
Coolamon coach Lew Roberts summed him up.
"Ben is the heart and soul of our club. He represents everything that's great about playing for the Hoppers," Roberts said.