North East Regional Extra, Wednesday, August 20, 2025 - Page 1
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I
N the footy wasteland that is the prefinals bye, we finally have something worth tuning into. No, not the cyclonedelayed Suns-Bombers match (yawn) – rather, after a six-year Covid-induced hiatus, the popular AFL Legends Game is back. Considerably less serious than what will be taking place on field over the finals, this tongue-in-cheek match is always a good bit of fun, with players, officials and the commentary team all conspiring to keep things as entertaining as possible. As before, it’s also for a good cause, raising money for the Australian Prostate Centre in honour of football legend EJ Whitten, who died from prostate cancer 30 years ago. The Victorians v All Stars format is maintained, with recent AFL Hall of Fame inductee Luke Hodge captaining a Big V team that includes Gary Ablett Jr, Brendan Fevola, Dane Swan, Stevie J, Bob Murphy and Brent “Boomer” Harvey. “I wasn’t originally going to play,” Fevola told SEN as his involvement was revealed. “You get older and I didn’t want to fail – but my kids made me.” Nick Riewoldt leads an All Stars side featuring Cyril Rioli, Ben Cousins, Dan Gorringe, Andrew McLeod and Isaac Smith. “For me, the chance to play alongside Cyril… I’m excited about that,” Cousins told listeners of his WA radio show about why he chose to take part – while trying to sound confident about his return to the footy field. “It’s supposed to be like riding a bike, isn’t it? It’s a young man’s game but I can get myself up for one, surely. “How hard can it be?”
AFL LEGENDS GAME FOR PROSTATE CANCER
Seven, next Thursday, 7pm
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