The Ocean Grove Cobras might have taken home a trophy from last weekend’s state of origin against the Glebe Greyhounds, but at the annual charity games, everybody won best and fairest.
Cobras vice-president Aaron White said the club was lucky enough to take more than 110 kids on a trek up to rainy Sydney for the event, with families paying their own way to take part.
“We went up there and played seven games ranging from under-10s through to under-14s… in an annual match that has obviously been on hiatus the past couple of years, with Covid,” White said.
Each year, the Cobras and Greyhounds take turns hosting the event to raise money for River’s Gift, a local charity supporting Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) research.
The state of origin was founded by two school mates, Cain Sarah now living in Glebe and Harvey Stephenson from Ocean Grove, who got chatting while they were celebrating Christmas together six years ago.
A few beers in, they hatched a plan: to have their sons, separated by border lines, play against each other in a footy trip. They would raise money for their other school mate Karl Waddell’s charity, River’s Gift, established after the death of his son.
“The best and fairest crown for the whole day was the two clubs all together, and the committee that put it all together,” White said.
“We were faced with some real challenges leading into the weekend, due to the amount of rain in Sydney.”
While winning has never mattered in this friendly contest, White was pleased to say the Cobras came out on top with seven wins across the seven matches – it was a “resounding effort”.
After two long years without the annual games, he said the boys and girls were absolutely stoked to compete again, and wanted to thank all the people who helped make it happen.
“The joy that was not only across the kids’ faces but also the adults, just to see the kids out there doing it all again, it’s really exciting to see,” White said.
“We hope that it continues to grow bigger and bigger every year, from here on in.”
