Rugby league’s State of Origin is as popular as ever while the Australian Rules football version at the highest level is all but extinct, however there’s a thriving rivalry between a Bellarine Peninsula junior footy club and a club from inner Sydney.
Ocean Grove Cobras and Glebe Greyhounds began the State of Origin concept six years ago when two old schoolmates Cain Sarah (Glebe) and Harvey Stephenson (Ocean Grove) started talking about how good it would be if their boys could play a game against each other.
A Geelong-based friend of the pair, Karl Waddell, had recently started the charity River’s Gift following the death of his son, River, from SIDS, and supporting such a worthy charity through a State of Origin concept was born.
Each year one club takes its turn to host the other and this weekend Ocean Grove will welcome their Glebe friends down south.
The very first match was 11 kids from each side, but this year Glebe is sending more than 140 junior footballers to Ocean Grove for two days of footy fun and fundraising for River’s Gift.
“Our aim is $30,000 this year,” Ocean Grove Cobras president Aaron White said.
“We’ve had some great support and fantastic contributions from multiple businesses from right across Victoria and Australia to be honest.”
Last year almost 200mm of rain fell on Sydney for the Cobras’ journey north, prompting their hosts to move the games from a waterlogged Jubilee Oval in Glebe across the Harbour Bridge to St Leonards in the inner north.
Mr White said the collaboration between the two clubs was “absolutely brilliant”.
“The friendships that have been built and the bonds that have been made, we’re looking forward to catching up,” he said.
“I took on the organising last year as I’ve got a soft spot for SIDS. No parent should have to go through losing their child, especially at such a young age. It’s something that I’m passionate about.
“If we can contribute in some way to the research to try and sort this, then that’s what we’ll do and continue to do.”
This year will be the first “clown show” otherwise known as the parents’ game.
Parents from Ocean Grove and Glebe will take on each other with more than 40 from each side playing. Mr White said he was thankful for the numbers because there would be high rotations on the interchange bench, allowing for a regular rest.
“That was my drunken idea last year,” he said.
“After a few too many cans in Sydney last year I thought why should the kids have all the fun?”
The State of Origin weekend is on July 1 and 2 at Collendina Recreation Reserve. Face painting, food, drink, and footy are all on the agenda and every cent raised will go to River’s Gift.
