When words could do little to help a sick mate, former Fremantle player and current ruck coach Simon Eastaugh decided to let his actions do the talking.
Alongside another friend in Tony Watson, Eastaugh will undergo a day-long endurance challenge to help raise funds for brain cancer research.
From 6pm on Wednesday 21 December to Thursday 22 December at the Swan Yacht Club, Eastaugh and Watson will row for 24 hours on an ergo rower while 24 additional friends will put in an hour each of support on a second rower.
Eastaugh spoke on TAB Radio of his audacious plan to raise funds and awareness for brain cancer, and said that the club has thrown their support behind the idea, despite the playing group expressing some light-hearted concern for Eastaugh’s wellbeing.
“Don’t worry, I’ve been copping plenty of ribbings from the boys along the way at training,” Eastaugh said.
“But as we’ve got closer to the beginning of this row, the support has been unbelievable from all of the players and my fellow coaches.
“Everyone at the footy club has gotten behind this, and that sense of community typifies the Dockers in a large sense in that everyone pulls together and we’re really close knit.”
Eastaugh and Watson haven’t taken their fundraising bid lightly, with the challenge a culmination of almost six months of hard work.
“For me and for Tony it’s been 22 weeks of solid training and we’ve only just started to take it easy on the weekend,” Eastaugh said.
“We’ve done some huge sessions. We did five hours the other day just to top us up, so there’s been a lot of stiff backsides and a locked up upper backs.
“When you’re going through that sort of physical pain you cast your mind back to why you’re doing it, and when you’ve got that at the forefront of your mind it that pain feels pretty insignificant at the end of the day.”
The public are welcome to come down to the event from 5pm on Thursday to see Eastaugh and Watson row the final hour.
Fremantle players and coaches will be in attendance, with plenty of footy-themed memorabilia up for grabs in a silent auction at the after function that starts from 6pm.
Tickets for the function will be available on the door, with part proceeds from the tickets and the auction going to the Beanies for Brain Cancer campaign.
