For the first time in more than three decades, senior football returned to a small East Gippsland oval where generations of residents once gathered every winter weekend.
Ensay Recreation Reserve hosted a special tribute match between Swifts Creek and Buchan on Saturday, marking the first senior football game at the ground since 1992 and celebrating the town’s long-standing connection to the sport.
Swifts Creek, wearing Ensay’s blue and gold colours, defeated Buchan, with 15.9 (99) to 11.6 (72), in front of about 200 spectators who gathered at the reserve for the occasion.
Swifts Creek players donned Ensay Football Club jerseys for the match. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)
The return marked a significant milestone for the Tambo Valley community, about 98 kilometres north of Bairnsdale, where football had once been at the heart of local life.
NAIDOC medal awarded
Swifts Creek Football Netball Club captain Conor Harvey was the recipient of the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) medal for best on ground in the senior football match.
Mr Harvey said he was surprised to have won the medal.
“A few of them [players] picked me to win it so it was good,” he said.
Mr Harvey said it was great to be back at the Ensay oval and that it was one of the best grounds in the league.
Conor Harvey was awarded the NAIDOC medal for best on ground on Saturday. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)
“This is good for the community; it brings everyone together again,” he said.
“It was something a bit different, it was good to come out and have a win.“
Former players get in the spirit
While Ensay’s own senior club folded in 1995, the weekend’s tribute match has brought together former players, members and supporters from far and wide to reconnect with the town’s footballing legacy and each other.
Former Ensay player Geoff Neeson wore the team’s colours to the match on Saturday, complete with sewn-on numbers and chevron.
Geoff Neeson used to play for Ensay and returned to the town in the blue and yellow jersey for the day. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)
“It’s been really good. There’s a big turnout of locals around here,” Mr Neeson said.
“It signifies what an important event this is to the local community.“
He said he used the day to catch up with old teammates and reminisce on the old rivalry between Swifts Creek and Ensay, something that looked to be a thing of the past, at least for the weekend’s tribute match.
“It’s a good thing for Swifts Creek to come and play the game here in the Ensay colours,” Mr Neeson said.
Buchan junior footballer Oliver Benton said he hoped to play for the seniors one day, and was inspired by what he saw on Saturday.
Oliver Benton, Asher Eleftheriou, Ryan Harvey among the crowd at the Ensay Reserve. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)
“It’s impressive for all the people to be here. It’s a really good day,” he said.
Swifts Creek supporter and former player Raymond “Gags” Gallagher said the day held particular significance for those who had been part of Ensay’s football history.
Raymond Gallagher says the special tribute match is a reminder of the work required to keep country football alive. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)
“We felt pretty sorry for them when they lost their footy side,” Mr Gallagher said.
“Country football is just essential for all the little towns.
“It doesn’t matter where you go, you see the people just coming out and having a day out at the footy.
“If it wasn’t for the footy, they probably wouldn’t get out and socialise with their mates.“
He added the match was also an opportunity for the Swifts Creek community to recognise the contribution Ensay had made to local football.
“The game was just a way of showing our thanks,” he said.
The historic clash brought Ensay’s colours back to the ground after a three-decade absence. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)
Ref returns and reserve restored
Tracey West, a retired umpire, also returned to the ground for the big day and put her hand up to umpire again along with her husband, Dale West.
She said the energy of the day was “huge” and showed how footy could bring communities together, not just to the match but to the footy ground itself.
Tracey West returned to umpire the special game. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)
“This reserve, like any other in these small towns up here, is very important,” Ms West said.
“To attract people, visitors, locals to use [the ground], that’s the thing. They’re here for everybody to use.”
The Ensay Recreation Reserve had months of preparation before the historic fixture, with volunteers working to ready the playing surface and install temporary facilities to accommodate players, officials and spectators.
Portable change rooms, showers and toilets supplemented the venue, while marquees were erected to support the day’s football and netball competitions.
The event featured Under 16 football alongside the senior match, while netball was played across A Grade, B Grade, Under 17s and Under 12s, with the ground filled with the noise and energy of a traditional country sporting day.
Players wore special blue and gold commemorative jumpers inspired by the original club colours to celebrate the history of the former Ensay Football Club, with the jumpers auctioned off after the match.
Players donned the blue and yellow colours of Ensay, not seen in senior football for more than 30 years. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)
For many, the return of senior football represented a rare opportunity to reconnect with a town whose football ground had once served as a focal point for the wider district.
Mr Gallagher said the special tribute match was a reminder of the work required to keep country football alive.
“It’s the only way we can keep footy in our town, and if we lose the footy, that would be a tragedy for our town,” he said.
“So we’re doing everything we can to keep it going.”
