Saturday night’s clash with Hawthorn at Optus Stadium will be more than three years in the making, and one worth waiting for, for Rohan Lord.
Rohan is arguably Fremantle’s biggest fan on the Central Coast in NSW, but has been unable to join the team to celebrate a Starlight Purple Haze Game in person for the past few years.
Fortunately, the 11-year-old is now recovered from his brave battle with cancer, receiving his last treatment when he was eight after spending five months in hospital.
Right beside Rohan as he beat cancer was Starlight’s superhero Captain Starlight, who will be celebrated in the 21st anniversary of Fremantle’s first Starlight Purple Haze Game in 2023.
As they have done for thousands of sick kids around Australia, Captain Starlight made sure morale stayed high within Rohan’s family while he was undergoing treatment.
Rohan and his family have been eagerly counting down the days until his long-awaited Starlight Wish, to attend the Starlight Purple Haze Game.
“I’m looking forward to training and meeting some of the players as well as running onto Optus Stadium with all the purple lights,” said Rohan.
Rohan will be a special guest at Fremantle in the leadup to and during the Hawthorn game this weekend.
He will arrive in Perth on Wednesday afternoon and be treated to lunch and a tour of the Club with some of Freo’s Starlight ambassadors, which include Michael Walters, Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong, Bailey Banfield, Liam Henry and Tom Emmett.
He will then run water for the players during Friday’s Captain Starlight Run and learn a trick or two from the players throughout the session.
He’ll also be a special guest in the rooms on game day, running out with the team and being invited on the ground post game alongside other Starlight families as Fremantle acknowledge their courage and resilience.
To celebrate the 21-year milestone, Fremantle will wear a special edition jumper paying tribute to the tireless work of the Captain Starlights.
This year’s jumper will feature four yellow stripes that fade to white as they come together in the middle to meet at a Starlight wand.
