AMAZING ACT OF SPORTSMANSHIP PRAISED

GEELONG Amateur coach Tim McGrath has praised his North Geelong counterpart Shannon Knox-Gray for her act of sportsmanship in an AFL Barwon women’s competition match yesterday.

Having started with fewer players than usual due to issues with availability, Ammos lost four of their starting side to injury inside the opening two quarters, leaving them depleted of numbers just a week out from finals.

But after seeing her opponents cruelled by the shocking run of injuries, Knox-Gray offered to lend Geelong Amateur her team’s bench players to ensure the match continued.

McGrath acknowledged it was a first during his time in football and said North Geelong had gone above and beyond in keeping the welfare of his players paramount.

“It was one of those days where we had all of these injuries all at once,” McGrath said.

“But North Geelong had a heap of spares on the bench so they lent us some players.

“That is a first for us because we have never had four go down in one game. Normally we have been playing with 18 and four on the bench but we were short anyway, and by early in the second quarter I had no players left on the bench.

“So the North Geelong coach came over and said ‘look, we’ve got a few girls we’re rotating in, we will give you a few so we can keep the game going’. If not I would have had to pull the pin because from a safety point of view we didn’t have enough players and we have a final to play this week.

“They were brilliant, North Geelong, and we were really happy that they did that for us. They didn’t have to but they did so it was great.”

Among the list of injuries were a dislocated finger to Mardi Dangerfield and a knee injury to Molly McGrath, while captain Bec Westwood fell ill early in the game.

Another player, Kate Fagan, was involved in an incident that resulted in her requiring dental surgery.

The Ammos fell to the Magpies by 78 points but McGrath said his only concern now was the health of his players.

REPORT: PAGE 36