Sullivan Logistics WAFL Trophy Tour hits Dongara

The Sullivan Logistics WAFL Trophy Tour is back for a second year, bigger and better than the inaugural edition.

The five-day northern tour kicked off on Monday night at Dongara’s Irwin Recreation Ground, home of the Dongara Eagles.

Ninety-three kids took part in a free clinic, jointly run by WA Football, Country Football WA and Perth Football Club, while their families watched on from the Sullivan Logistics Sports Deck.

Inside the Eagles’ clubrooms, a Coach Your Way coaching presentation was also conducted for the new local female coaches, designed to upskill and provide greater opportunities for women to get into the coaching box.

There were also free giveaways and a sausage sizzle, with the Sullivan Logistics WAFL and ATCO WAFLW trophies also a massive hit with the budding footballers.

Among the Demons players was Brandan Parfitt, a former Geelong premiership player who’s now one of the biggest stars of the WAFL competition, while proud Dongara product Noah Cachard was popular with the kids in his hometown.

Earlier, WA Football staff and the Perth players visited Dongara District High School where 21-year-old Cachard, now a WAFL league regular, detailed his journey from Dongara to the Demons.

“We couldn’t be happier with how the second edition of the regional Sullivan Logistics WAFL Tour kicked off in Dongara on Monday night,” Sullivan Logistics founder Tim Sullivan said.

“After the success of visiting Katanning, Pinjarra and Albany last year, we decided to head north to several more regional football heartlands.

“Sullivan Logistics is proud to be a part of the trophy tour and connect with the regions, just like we have on a day-to-day basis since our inception in 1995.

“It was great to see so many kids attend our first junior football clinic in Dongara and we’re looking forward to connecting with more regional footy communities throughout the week.

“As naming rights partner of the WAFL and major partner of the WAFLW, we know the importance regional communities play in keeping the competitions thriving.

“Some of the greatest players in the WAFL and AFL competitions have come from the regions and we’re hoping to inspire the next generation of WAFL and WAFLW players.”

“It was a fantastic start to our second annual trophy tour in Dongara, the support from the Dongara Eagles Football Club and local community has blown us away,” WA Football’s Head of Commercial Oliver Condon added.

“To see such an amazing turn out from the families in Dongara and surrounding communities certainly makes it all worth it and we hope to play a small part in helping inspire the next Jaeger O’Meara or Simon Tunbridge out of the region.

“We loved having a bigger cohort of WA Football staff coming along this year including members of our coaching and women and girls’ teams, with Dhara Kerr Medal winner Krstel Petrevski and fellow ex-AFLW players Bea Devlyn and Hayley Bullas.

“It couldn’t have been achieved without the support of our partners including Sullivan Logistics, ATCO, Kia, AAMI, Construction Training Fund, Asahi Beverages and Rixx Eyewear as well as Perth Football Club and Country Football WA who helped with the school visit and clinics.

“Sullivan Logistics are a driving force behind the tour and share WA Football’s passion for growing grassroots footy in our regional areas and grow a great connection with the WAFL.

“It makes my job really fun and enjoyable when we have partners that share our ambition to bring more activations to the regions and help continue to grow our great game.”

Stop two of the three-leg tour is in Carnarvon on Tuesday evening before finishing at Towns Football Club in Geraldton on Thursday night.