July 23rd, 2022Road safety match

Last weekend, clubs in the Central Highland Football Leagues plus over 1000 clubs across Victoria banded together donning blue armbands for TAC Road Safety Round in honour of every life lost on the roads.
The round – a joint effort by the Victorian Transport Accident Commission and AFL Victoria – was first played in 2019 to promote leadership and advocacy for road safety among some of the most at-risk road users and serve as a reminder that everyone has a reason to drive safely.
Regional roads continue to be overrepresented on the road accident and death toll with 126 people dying last year compared to 85 in metro areas. People driving on regional roads travel longer distances and at higher speeds, meaning when mistakes happen the consequences are often worse.
Hepburn Football Club president Pete Pedretti said the club’s footballers, netballers and supporters travelled thousands of kilometres every season “so it is really important to us that they arrive to every game safely and return home safe every week”.
“Zero is the only acceptable number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads, and this round helps raise awareness to achieve that. The round highlights this issue and it provides an opportunity for the club to remind everyone to drive safely. As a club, we are very conscious of the important role we play in mentoring our young players.”
Meanwhile, in terms of football, Pete said after two years of Covid lockdowns it had been a challenge to get everyone enthused again. “But we have found the club to be in a good position this far into the season, with more and more interest every week. It’s a very open year, where I think anyone in the top eight are very capable on their day and as the old saying goes, we’re just taking it one week at a time, but if all the cards fall right, hopefully yes, another grand final.”