Marrar regained top spot on the ladder on Saturday with an 80-point win over Coleambally, and it was only part of the story.
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On a day to remember late teammate, Graeme Reid, at Langtry Oval, the Bombers wore jumpers emblazoned with his image.
“It was a pretty special day,” Marrar coach Shane Lenon said.
“What the club and the Reid family have done to raise awareness of mental health and raise money for ‘Good Talk’ is pretty amazing.”
After Reid’s brother Zach Walgers presented the players with their jumpers, they set about remembering their former number 32 on the ground.
In slippery conditions, Coleambally held the Bombers close early, but they found their range in the second term.
With Cal Gardner kicking all three of his goals in a quarter, the Bombers booted eight to the Blues’ one to virtually put the contest to bed.
Another five goals (and six behinds) followed after half-time for Marrar while the visitors were kept goalless, for a 14.13 (97) to 2.5 (17) final score.
“We just adapted after quarter-time, we got clean with our ball skills and we lifted our work-rate,” Lenon said.
“I was pretty happy with our last three quarters.”
Jackson Moye was brilliant through the middle and captain Josh Hagar produced an inspired performance to be awarded the inaugural Graeme Reid medal.
Shannon Williams played a big role at centre-half-back as did full-back Geoff Spriggs in his return.
Tom Morton and Chris Cerato were the Blues’ best.
The Bombers head into a bye having reclaimed top spot after North Wagga’s capitulation at The Rock.
But that almost paled into insignificance as the Marrar community got right behind the Reid family in their fundraising and awareness efforts, as the jumpers were auctioned off.
In an amazing effort, the guernseys themselves fetched $31,700, let alone additional donations to ‘Good Talk’, the charity set up to help raise funds for research into bipolar disorder.
Organisers of the event were blown away by the result, and onlookers simply in awe.
“It was unbelievable,” Lenon said.
“They were hanging off the rafters in there. It was great to be a part of it. I was really impressed. It was pretty special and the amount of money raised tells you how good a job Reidy’s family and the club have done.”
Hagar had earlier paid tribute to the crowd at the ground, which braved the weather to support a cause and spread a message about helping others.
And he paid tribute to his old friend.
“It’s an absolute honour to win a medal named after Graeme Reid. A pretty good mate. Yeah, it means a lot.”
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