I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Peter Cullen AM a few times over the years through my old footy club Werribee where Peter has been a long-time patron.

Peter’s organisation Reclink have been going over thirty years now, supporting members of the community who have effectively fallen through society’s cracks.

He is a tireless advocate for the disenfranchised, a wonderful conversationalist and passionate footy lover.

I have been involved in the mental health and disability sector now for almost ten years. It can be quite stressful and requires significant patience, something I was never good at.

Whenever I’ve caught up with Peter he reassures you that the work you do is making a difference and he reminds you of the possibilities, not the barriers. I always feel inspired after chatting to him.

In Ballarat we have a Reclink team, The Bushrangers who play on Wednesdays. It’s a typical Reclink team made up of a kaleidoscope of vulnerable human existence.

When he’s not working as a Support Worker like myself, coach Andrew does a brilliant job organising both footy and basketball events for the participants.

Having coached an intellectually disabled team in the AFL’s FIDA competition for four years in Melbourne, I understand the challenges and effort required to do what Andrew does.

I watched a game today versus Sunbury and it reminded me of the many times I played orchestra leader, interpreter and policeman during a game. These games often have unpredictable flashpoints and Andrew is someone well versed and suitably composed.

The reason I turned to Reclink and Andrew was because of a client I took on a couple of months ago. I’ll call him Jack for the sake of this.

Jack has been in a psyche unit in Ballarat for eight months due to a complete breakdown that culminated in him being stabbed eight times by a gang of five offenders and subsequently being flown to The Alfred in Melbourne where he stayed for six weeks.

Jack, who is in his 40’s was a auto mechanic for twenty years. He suffers from schizophrenia and unfortunately discovered Ice. Obviously it was downhill from there and after his parents passed away he spiralled to the point where he is lucky to be alive.

After building rapport I took Jack down to the beautiful City Oval to have a kick of the footy.

Jack hadn’t played since he was thirteen but I soon discovered he had extraordinarily clean hands and was quite an accurate kick.

Over the weeks I stepped up the intensity within moderation given he smokes forty a day, but I started throwing in ground balls and different scenarios testing his agility etc.

After getting the all clear from Andrew, I took Jack to a game to show him what a Reclink game looks like. He liked what he saw and even found a friend who was recovering from Ice addiction also.

Today was Jack’s first game versus Sunbury. He was nervous as you would expect but the beauty of Reclink is how welcoming everyone is.

No one is judged and the true spirit of footy is so evident. Jack was warmly greeted and immediately he relaxed.

Jack started in defence in the first quarter and didn’t touch the ball. To his credit he stayed close to his opponent but he was naturally a bit unsure as to where to run.

Andrew moved him to the forward line in the second quarter and at the five minute mark Jack was standing twenty metres out from goal when a team mate ‘bombed’ one in from forty out.

There was a team mate of sizeable girth standing in front of Jack which initially obstructed his view of the ball, when suddenly the ball went over the head of the big bloke.

Jack stuck his right hand out and caught the ball in one grab, clean as a whistle! The last time I got that excited was when I got to play with my brother in the late 90’s in the twilight of my playing career.

Ballarat won the game and Jack had approximately twelve possessions and four goal assists.

The most pleasing aspect of the game was witnessing Jack’s epiphany around the team spirit, and feeling a part of something with purpose. He was on a natural high.

So excited was Jack that he asked me to take him for a kick after the obligatory post-match pizza and soft drink.

We went back to the City Oval where he re-enacted his mark in front of the heritage listed grandstand.

I wish the AFL would play a Reclink or FIDA game as curtain raisers. Everything is so sterile before the game now. Thundering ‘doof doof’ and screaming ground announcers just doesn’t cut it.

To have a thirty minute Reclink or FIDA game across the width of the ground, not only would be exhilarating for the participants but would nourish the souls of all footy lovers at the game.

Thanks to Peter Cullen and passionate coaches like Andrew, Reclink continues to deliver it’s mantra every day;  moments of joy, human connection, opportunity and a sense of purpose for its participants.

Peter’s book The Power of a Football is available here:

https://www.westwords.com.au/product/the-power-of-a-football/