DECADES ago South Rovers stalwart Colin Hetherington stopped lacing up his footy boots and started rolling up his sleeves.
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Few volunteers have clubrooms named after them but Mr Hetherington hasn’t let the honour stop him from doing plenty of the dirty work for the football-netball club.
The former club president helps out in any way possible, from timekeeping and cleaning change rooms to cutting oranges and scrubbing toilets. After 63 years with South Rovers, there aren’t many jobs he hasn’t done.
“I played 250 games for Rovers – I started in ‘52 and I’ve been here since,” the 81-year-old said during a break at Walter Oval on Saturday.
“I played in three grand finals and I was president when we won our first premiership in ‘75.
“It’s my home away from home.
“The missus reckons I should have a bed up here.
“I’m retired now, naturally, and it gives me something to do. It’s somewhere to go and you get tied up with it.”
The Warrnambool and District Football Netball League life member has been recognised in the past with the competition’s volunteer of the year award, named after long-serving WDFNL administrator Logie Watson.
Mr Hetherington said the future of South Rovers would be made by the volunteers and their fundraising efforts.
“The people who run the league are doing a pretty good job,” he said.
“Volunteering is a must for local footy.
“Volunteers put the goal post covers on before the game, and you’ve got goal keepers and boundary runners up to the reserves, then after the game we’re picking up the litter, which there’s a fair bit of.
“You have more parents involved with the club since netball started.
“The newer parts of our clubrooms were built by volunteers.”
South Rovers senior committee member John Downie said there were few club stalwarts as dedicated as Mr Hetherington.
“Ever since I’ve been here, from 1986 right to now, I’d still class him as the backbone of the club,” Mr Downie told The Standard.
“He’s at every committee meeting and does all the jobs no one wants to do.
“He’s here on Sunday morning cleaning the toilets, picking up rubbish, and every Saturday now he’s here filling the ice bags, cutting the oranges and cleaning up.
“If we said we needed a new president, he would probably put his hand up.
“He’s just a part of everything. A lot of the young ones probably don’t understand that blokes like this hold the club together.
“He’s got so much passion for football and for the club.”
