Matt Lopez remembered as likeably, funny, quirky character who was dedicated to the Tumut Eagles Football Club

The upcoming weekend has been dubbed 'Matt Lopez Round' in honour of the former Tumut coach, player, president and referee, who passed away earlier this year after a long battle with leukaemia.

Lopez was just 29 and left behind a young family. His passing left a huge whole at Tumut and the loss was felt across the Football Wagga community.

Tumut coach Lachlan Anderson applauded Football Wagga for honouring Lopez in such a unique way.

"It's going to be special for us," Anderson said.

"We didn't come up with the idea to have the Lopez Round it was Football Wagga's idea, they came to us and obviously we said yes because Matt was very special to us and did a lot of good things for our club.

"It'll be good to have everyone get around it, it will be nice."

Anderson described Lopez as a much-loved, quirky character who virtually saved the Tumut club.

"He was one of those guys. He was so likeable, he was funny, he was a bit different, a bit quirky and he just loved football," Anderson recalled.

"He was just so likeable, everyone loved him and he helped create our club culture. He drew people in, really. He really did save our club in a way. He got lots of people in.

"He was here for one year when he was only playing and in his second year he started coaching. He was coaching and he was president at the same time for a while, so he took on a lot of responsibility.

"I was lucky enough to become friends with him along the way. I was 16 when he started coaching...he was also a teacher, so he taught a lot of the guys and had a big impact on a lot of us."

Football Wagga president Tony Dobbin said Lopez made a big impact across the competition.

"Matt was a dedicated player and coach of the Tumut Eagles Football Club and had refereed in his football career," Dobbin said.

"Matt was also President of Tumut Eagles Football Club and through this and his on-field performances became well known to all clubs in our competitions."

"We know that Matt did a lot of hard work in building up the Eagles both in numbers and in player skills and this made them more competitive and hungry to achieve on the field. His work in building the juniors was commendable."

Dobbin spoke of Lopez's passion for the game and how well he represented his club at association level, contributing ideas and asking the right questions when new proposals were being considered.

"While he was an Eagle through and through he had an eye to the future of the competitions as a whole," he said.

With Tumut having shown promise early in the season but still yet to record a win, Anderson said there was no shortage of motivation to beat Wagga United on Sunday.

"I don't know too much about their team this year," Anderson said.

"We just need to get a win under our belt. That's the thing with having so many young guys, their consistency levels aren't quite there. A win would be good for us, good for the confidence and good to get our season going, considering we versed four of probably the top five teams in the first four rounds."

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As part of the celebration, there will be plenty of orange across Rawlings Park this weekend.

All five Pascoe Cup games are being held at Rawlings Park on Sunday, where referees will wear orange colours as part of the tribute.

A fundraiser is also being held to raise funds to support the Leukaemia Foundation in its research and support services for those suffering and their families.

Football Wagga had initially set a target of raising $1000 and then doubled it to $2000 after strong early support.

"Initially we had a target of raising $1000 but this was achieved in a few days. We have now raised our target to $2000," Dobbin said.

Heading into the weekend, the fundraiser has already reached over $4500. Donations can be made here.

South Wagga v Hanwood

Tolland v Young

Wagga United v Tumut

Henwood Park v Cootamundra

Lake Albert v Henwood Park

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