Richmond Tigers help fulfil Nate Anderson’s dreamSarah Olle
Foxsports.com.au
May 26, 2016WHEN the Tigers ran out on to a rain-soaked Subiaco Oval on Friday, they were accompanied by their adopted mascot, Nate Anderson.
Despite having a prosthetic leg, Anderson burst on to the ground, belying his six years and battle with leukaemia.
In doing so, he achieved his dream of running through the Richmond banner with the players who had been so instrumental in lifting his spirits during his cancer battle.
One of those players, Jack Riewoldt, said Anderson was now a part of the furniture at the club.
“He’s been our little warrior over there for the past four years now,” Riewodlt told AFL 360.
“The club’s sort of adopted him and they look after his family.”
Anderson first came to the Tigers’ attention when they received word the young supporter was preparing for the fight of his life after a leukaemia diagnosis in 2014.
Former Richmond player Jake King flew over to Perth to meet Anderson and his family before paying for them to come to Melbourne for Anderson’s birthday. After the match — a win against St Kilda — the entire team sang happy birthday to their biggest fan.
Since then, Anderson has defeated cancer, but lost his leg through infection. Now a prosthetic limb adorned with Trent Cotchin’s face takes its place.
“Nate and his family are a part of the Richmond family now,” Riewoldt said.
“Whenever we go to Perth, we catch up with his family, he comes to training and he ticked off one of the things on his bucket list, with getting out there and running on the ground with us.
“It’s really rewarding as a player to be able to provide something like that for someone who’s having a tougher time than you are.
“Especially for some of our younger guys, who are drafted at 18 ... they get to see people who are less fortunate than themselves and they get to learn a lot from it about themselves through people like Nate.”
While footballers are seldom acknowledged for their charitable work, four time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis said the benefit players reaped from that kind of interaction was reward enough.
The veteran midfielder said it put winning and losing into perspective.
“Maybe when you’re not winning and you’re not playing as well as you’d like to, you’re getting bashed in the media and bashed by everyone ... these kids just love the day,” he said.
“And that’s why footy clubs are so good, too, because we can bring kids in and give them an experience they wouldn’t get otherwise and just make them happy for the day.
“It takes them away from the illness they’re actually going through.”
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