MISTY eyes shone through the fog on Sunday, watching the Gundagai Tigers under 16 side take the field for the first time since teammate Lui Polimeni was critically injured.
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“Play like Lui,” Gundagai Tigers secretary Martin Hay told his young charges.
“It doesn’t get much worse than this, but the boys have shown themselves to be truly courageous,” Mr Hay said.
“Everyone’s sticking together, spending as much time as we can with the family.
“We’ve had messages of support from as far away as Hull in England and all over Australia, which gives you an idea of the esteem Lui was held in.”
The Wagga Kangaroos players linked arms with their devastated Tigers opponents for a moving minute’s silence in memory of the 15-year-old who succumbed to a severe concussion on Wednesday.
He died 72 hours after being airlifted to Canberra Hospital and placed in an induced coma.
On the sideline burly men and teenage netballers shed tears, in a somber sign of the grief being felt for the loss of the talented footballer with a passion for the game.
President of the Kangaroos, Peter Cook, said the entire local rugby league community was mourning.
“This is not an easy day for anyone, let alone these brave kids,” Mr Cook said.
“The whole league community has bound together.”
At Saturday’s under 14 match between the Kangaroos and Brothers, a try celebration was stymied by the realisation a moment’s silence was being observed on another field, prompting players to take a knee themselves.
“Once those young players realised what was happening, they stopped celebrating immediately and put their arms around each other,” Mr Cook said.
“No one prompted them to do that, which goes to show how everyone has been impacted and is sticking together.”