Footy’s the best medicine
Anglesea coach Paul Nigro turns to the game he loves to help him through his dark days in cancer battle
HE’S had a tumour cut from his spine and he can barely walk.
But that hasn’t stopped Anglesea coach Paul Nigro playing a small but vital part in his side’s eye-catching early-season form.
“He’s in the car,” stand-in ’Seas coach Andrew Bews said of Nigro, pointing to the elevated parking section at Alcoa Oval.
“I get messages from Paul all game and throughout the week, so I know his finger’s on the pulse.
“He was here today, he’s here for every game and he’s in my ear all week. He’s in the other coaches’ ears all week.”
Bews said with a laugh that he reckons Nigro has a “rotational list” of coaches he calls, texts or messages via Facebook.
“I’m always getting advice on what we should be doing, and it’s great because it solidifies in my mind that what we’re doing is exactly what he would be doing.
“So when Paul comes back from treatment, he’ll just be able to slip in seamlessly from treatment and I’ll be able to step back and nothing changes.”
Battling cancer and dealing with multiple doses of chemotherapy, first-year coach Nigro remains out of the coaching box indefinitely.
“Paul’s going through rehab,” ’ Seas president Peter Gowans explained. “He had an operation about five weeks ago now, it was a six centimetre tumour in his spine. Hopefully they’ve got that, however, he’s still going through chemo.
“He had his first dose two weeks ago and his next dose is on Tuesday.
“With the rehab side, he’s now starting to walk better. The cyst on his spine controlled how he could walk and he’s on crutches.
“He’s been on a walking frame, but he’s attending the Anglesea newsagency, which he owns, and he goes down there maybe for an hour or so every day.
“He keeps telling me, ‘I’ll be right next week, I’m gonna coach, I’ll be coaching’, but it’s just a wait-and-see.
“He’s here every week, he was up there (in the forward pocket) and the text messages and phone calls have been going backwards and forwards to the co-coaches on game day as well as (assistant coaches) Jordy Erskine and Ryan Williams on match days.
“He’s on the mend. The first dose of chemo he got through pretty well, it’s a big dose because they want to get rid of everything in case there’s any tumour left.
“However he’s got another one after Easter and another one in a few weeks’ time. He’s doing well. He’s way, way better than it could have been.”
Despite extensive treatment, Gowans said Nigro was in high spirits.
“Mate, I think he’s living through the footy club,” Gowans said.
“I don’t think he’s worrying too much about the world, but he wants to get back here to the boys and get back into the footy side of things and hopefully he will.
“For me as a president, Jordy, Ryan and Bewsy have been absolutely fantastic for what they’ve done to take over in this situation.
“We’re very fortunate that the boys have been able to step up and do it, but he’s giving them the guidance.
“He’s with them every step of the way.”
The tight-knit coastal hamlet of Anglesea is also rallying around Nigro as he take strides towards recovery.
“Everyone’s got his back, he’s got the full support of everyone in the Anglesea community,” Gowans said. “We can’t wait to have him back and it’s great to know footy is keeping him going. We’ve really got three coaches at the moment and Paul will come back and he’ll still have three coaches, but they will be his leaders.
“When he’s fit enough, and only when he’s fit enough, he can come back in and lead from the front like he always has.”
Bews admitted he was thrilled to see Nigro return to football, albeit in a limited capacity.
“I gave him a kiss on the cheek last week when I saw him,” Bews said.
“He looked tired last week, but today … he was sending messages through. He was sitting on the other side of the field, so if he sees something, he lets me know.
“I’ve got a few plants around the joint.
“I’ve got him and Mark Dahlhaus in the other pocket, John Dangerfield on the bench, Dale Carson doing our defensive stuff and these boys (in the elevated area above the bench) and then the boys out on the field, Ryan and Jordan.
“We’ve got a fairly solid bunch of eyes on the field. It’s bloody awesome.”
Bews said while the club was mindful of his illness and his recovery, football was the best medicine.
“If we blocked him out it would be the worst thing ever, but that was never going to happen,” Bews said.
“Everyone is on the same page.
We want him to feel that we’re just upkeeping it for him for when he comes back.
“That’s how we’re dealing with it.
“The players have been fantastic. The thing about what’s happening to Paul is it gave everyone at the club the opportunity to go ‘s---, we need to shoulder a little bit more of the load’.
“The boys have stepped up on the training track because they have the capacity to do it. Everybody has stepped it up a notch to cover what Paul would normally do, so when he comes back he’s got all these hands doing a little bit more work.”
HE WAS HERE TODAY, HE’S HERE FOR EVERY GAME AND HE’S IN MY EAR ALL WEEK. HE’S IN THE OTHER COACHES’ EARS ALL WEEK … I’M ALWAYS GETTING ADVICE ON WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING, AND IT’S GREAT BECAUSE IT SOLIDIFIES IN MY MIND THAT WHAT WE’RE DOING IS EXACTLY WHAT HE WOULD BE DOING. STAND-IN COACH ANDREW BEWS (ABOVE) ON COACH PAUL NIGRO, WHO IS BATTLING CANCER.