A generous donation to the freshly amalgamated Nelson Bay Marlins AFL Club will see its players kitted out in all new matching uniforms this season and the pre-loved guernseys sent to remote Indigenous footy clubs in the Northern Territory.
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Rebecca and Meg Dean from First National Real Estate Port Stephens have come on as major sponsors of the AFL club this season, making a $10,000 contribution that has purchased all new uniforms for its junior and senior players.
"This will be the first time in 15 years or so that Nelson Bay's junior and senior AFL players will be wearing the same uniform," club president Josh Horvath said.
"The sponsorship now enables us to donate our old guernseys that would have just sat in a cupboard to Indigenous communities.
"In the next few months we'll send some 200 uniforms to remote community football clubs in Arnhem Land."
On sponsoring the AFL Club, Rebecca Dean said: "We're passionate about supporting local sport".
"We were very happy to help when we were asked to sponsor the club."
Nelson Bay's senior men's team will debut the new uniform, the design of which is a throwback to the '84 undefeated premiership-winning Marlins side, when they take to the field for the first time this season on Saturday, April 2.
The men's team, led this season by long-time Marlins player Matt Blyth and coached by Nic Griffith, will face Killarney Vale in round one of the Hunter Central Coast competition.
On Tuesday, a location for the match had not been decided but Horvath said he hoped it was hosted at the Marlins homeground of Dick Burwell Oval.
The Marlins men had two "really good hitouts" in its pre-season trial games against Lake Macquarie and the Hunter Masters, Horvath said.
The Port Stephens senior women's team, made up with a mixture of Port Stephens Power and Nelson Bay Marlins players, will also face Killarney Vale on April 2.
The junior AFL competition will kick-off on April 24. The club has about 130 kids, from under-9s to under-17s, signed up to play this season.
Horvath said First National Real Estate was one of about eight new sponsors that have come on board this year.
"The support we have is amazing, especially in a rugby league and union dominated area," he said.
"Sponsorship enables us purchase quality merchandise for the kids, to buy new footballs to replace old, broken ones, to continue the upkeep of the fields and to buy new equipment which makes our players feel valued. It also brings new people into the club.
"That support also helps us support the kids who might need help buying some gear or the players who are picked for representative-level footy."
Horvath added that there was a "real buzz around the club" heading into its first season after amalgamating.
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Ellie-Marie Watts
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
