Bipartisan agreement in ACT politics is rare, but Liberal Leader Mark Parton and Labor Minister Chris Steel are both playing on the same team in the annual charity footy match, the Reclink Community Cup.
Watching rival politicians play nice is enticing enough but throw in local journalists and musicians (plus a healthy dose of pranks) and you’ve got yourself a match.
This is no ordinary AFL game.
It’s media (The Noise) versus musos (The Limestones) and all bets are off.
In fact, what starts out as an AFL game often spills into a music festival.
Team captain of The Limestones and musician, Heya Gosper, said it didn’t matter who wins, “footy and charity wins on the day”.
“I’m the pranks coordinator so I’m mostly focused on pranks and shenanigans,” she said. “I playfully subvert expectations on and off the field, have a good time and support charity.”
If you’re wondering why Liberal Leader Mark Parton is on the media team, he used to work in commercial radio (he also has a drum kit in his lounge room, so could have played with the musos).
As for MLA Chris Steel, he’s the sports Minister so he must lead by example.
To maintain a level playing field, Independent MLA Thomas Emmerson will play for The Limestones.
“I think The Noise are probably due for a bit of a comeback,” Heya said, who wears the number 37 jersey. “It always is a revenge match for The Noise – except when we let them win and then it’s a pity match. It’s not really about trying too hard to win or beat the other team into submission, that’s just something that we do on the side – it’s a bit of kayfabe.”
Off the record, there is a slight advantage to being a musician.
“There’s a move that you do in football called the one-two, so anything with counting, musicians generally have a little bit of an edge,” Heya said.
As an unbiased journalist, I can unequivocally say that the media team is looking promising this year.
Team captain and WIN TV journalist, Maddi Green, said that after two months of training: “I’m hoping for the noise but am I cliche in saying that it doesn’t matter who wins?”
“We lost last year so we’re hoping to bounce back,” Maddi said. “When you’re on that field it doesn’t matter what the score is because the game has pranks, it has surprises. It’s all about music and raising awareness for charity, that’s the biggest thing.”
Reclink Australia will be the real winner on the day, with all proceeds going toward providing structured sport and recreation programs helping to improve life outcomes for those experiencing disadvantage.
It’s a charity footy match that turns into a music festival (or vice versa).
Game day is Sunday 13 September at Boomanulla Oval, Narrabundah. Live music and entertainment starts at 11am (family activities, kids’ zone, BBQ, coffee van, canteen, licensed bar). Tickets: tickets.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/13dc298b-1173-49c1-ae7e-e9cf4e34126f
