WHEN Carlton runs out for Spud’s Game for the first time tonight, there will be an extra connection for assistant coach Aaron Hamill.
Hamill’s main focus this week is getting the Blues back to their defensive best against the Saints in Round 9 action, but there’s also the personal reflection for ‘Sammy’, who grew close to Danny Frawley during his time at St Kilda.
Handed the No.2 jumper after he departed Royal Parade for Moorabbin as a player, Hamill was Carlton’s representative in 2024 when a person from every club headed out to the middle of the MCG to honour the former Saints captain.
This time around, the Blues will be in opposition to the Saints, providing even more of an opportunity for Hamill to reminisce and talk about the much-loved character.
“He was an excellent storyteller, ‘Spud’ - he was in his element. He’d rock up to my house after he’d been cycling, burst through the doors to tell a story from his on-field playing days.
“Quite often, you can forget the words and conversations you have with people, but you never forget how they made you feel. I’ve used that quite often when talking about ‘Spud’. He’d always make you feel good within: he was the life of the party, he’d tear the joint upside down and then just leave it in pieces of laughter.
“He always made people feel pretty special.”
The theme for this year’s Spud’s Game is ‘Don’t Carry It Alone’, which Hamill said was a sentiment that he’s incredibly proud of the Blues for embracing ahead of tonight’s action.
With the Blues having already competed in the Peter Mac Cup and Good Friday SuperClash, he said the Blues always embraced the role they play not only on the field, but making a difference off it.
“A problem shared is a problem halved. It’s significant… we can all do better at it, to create awareness with it. To leave any legacy like that with the [Frawley] girls driving it and really good people behind it, it’s something we can really embrace.
“The community programs we’re involved in, we don’t take lightly. It’s a privilege and an honour to play in them: we’ve got a really good understanding around the position in the community we take.
“Everyone involved in the footy club has a good understanding of that, ‘Vossy’ drives that incredibly hard. It’s a big occasion for a terrific cause.”
