THERE are no words, no gestures that could ease the unthinkable grief of Lui Polimeni’s family and friends right now.
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All who knew the Jugiong teen have been left blindsided and bereft by his death, which came just days after he was concussed in a seemingly innocuous tackle during an under 16s match at Gundagai.
His family was on Wednesday forced to make the most heartbreaking decision imaginable – to turn Lui’s life support system off.
The decision has sent pulses of grief through the close-knit Gundagai Tigers club, the Murrumburrah High School student body and the community of Jugiong.
Lui is being remembered as a tough as teak backrower, with blinding speed and sublime ball skills.
He loved life on the land, helping his parents tend to their farm and unloading trucks of fruit and veg for the family business.
And despite being in his first year at the Gundagai Tigers, he had a passion for the black and gold.
The Polimeni family immersed itself in the club, becoming part of the famous Tigers’ streak.
Just last week, Lui offered to sell a book of tickets – at $100 a ticket –for a Harley Davidson raffle the club was holding.
He returned two days later with an empty book.
It might sound trite to say a 15-year-old boy, with his whole adult life beckoning, died doing what he loved.
But it’s true.
Lui Polimeni lived and breathed rugby league.
He embraced footy just as he embraced life, with a giant bear hug.
He knew the dangers associated with the game.
And he would not want the Tumut player who tackled him before he was concussed to feel guilt about the outcome.
It was a legal tackle, performed in the spirit of the game but one that tragically led to what a neurosurgeon described as a “one in a million” accident.
In the wake of Lui’s death, we must resist the inevitable calls for tighter restrictions on the game of rugby league.
Accepting freak accidents are part of the game, and not calling for wholesale rule changes, are the best ways of honouring Lui’s memory.
Rest in peace, young fella.
And don’t forget the chip and chase when you arrive at the pearly gates.