Long-time footy fan Ken visits Koo Wee Rup to cheer on the Dees

Willow Wood resident Ken Retallick typifies the ideal clubman every sporting side needs.

He’s been involved in several sporting pursuits over the years, mainly helping clubs out at local level in line with his belief to “always be ready to help and assist when needed”.

Ken has umpired tennis, junior and senior competition, coached tennis and gymnastics through local church, and spent about 20 years officiating local footy matches in the South-East league.

A keen golfer who also enjoys his lawn bowls, Ken remains active on the putting green at Willow Wood, evidenced by this hole-in-one recently at a video shoot.

On Sunday, Willow Wood Manager Jess organised for Ken to return to a local footy ground at Koo Wee Rup to watch her nephew’s under-10s side hosting the Catani Blues.

A frosty morning never dampens the enthusiasm of junior footy players across Melbourne, and it certainly didn’t deter Ken from getting amongst the action either, taking part in some handball warm-ups in the rooms and on the ground prior to first bounce.

In fact, Ken had the honour of tossing the coin pre-match, shaking hands with both teams’ captains and the umpire.

Footy has always been a big part of Ken and his family’s life, with five sons making a certainty of that.

An avid Melbourne Demons supporter, Ken was stoked on Sunday to learn that Koo Wee Rup wore the same jerseys and had the same moniker.

“The club was fantastic with Ken and really welcoming. I must thank them for their support. Ken had a great day and got so much out of being there,” Jess said.

“He was cheering on the players as they ran on to the ground and thoroughly enjoyed being in the rooms pre-match, then watching on from the side-lines.”

Ken makes the point that all his sporting clubs he’s belonged to in his life are “very important to me”.

When you consider how tough it can be for local sporting clubs these days to find volunteers, you can only imagine how much the clubs he’s been involved with would reciprocate those feelings.

For the record, Koo Wee Rup Demons took the chocolates in Sunday’s clash 6.4 (40) to Catani’s 1.1 (7).

Photos of Ken at the footy on Facebook