Coldstream footballers Brendon Duke, Ricky Wilson-Ross and Dylan Stoer are on oath to look out for themselves and each other on the roads.
By Kath Gannaway
COLDSTREAM footballer Brendon Duke made an oath to himself that he wasn’t going to be an idiot on the road.
The 18-year-old who got his licence last month has backed up that commitment by signing up for the Transport Accident Commission’s My Blood Oath campaign.
The club has got behind the state-wide campaign which aims to remind young footballers that their mates’ lives are in their hands when they’re behind the wheel.
Players across the Yarra Valley have been signing up in droves to support the campaign, and for the chance to gain valuable dollars for the club.
Duke and team-mates Ricky Wilson-Ross and Dylan Stoer said taking the oath was a commitment to the club, as well as a personal oath, and something they didn’t take lightly.
Wilson-Ross, 17, a newcomer to the sport, and Stoer, also 17, are on their learners, but say the message about drinking and driving responsibly is part of the process.
Wilson-Ross has excelled in other sports but says football is very social.
“I am really enjoying the team aspect, it’s something that doesn’t happen anywhere else and that mateship and looking out for your mates is all part of that,” he said.
He said the oath is working. “I have been in a car with one of my mates when he said ‘I should slow down, I’ve taken the Blood Oath’, so it is something you think about,” he said.
Stoer said the message was brought home to him when a friend crashed his car recently.
“It’s about stopping P-platers from being P-platers and committing to drive responsibly when they have got mates in the car,” he said.
Duke says he knows if he is going to drive, he is on zero alcohol.
That’s not a problem for him, and he says, neither is peer pressure. “I’m just not going to put myself in a situation where I am going to be wrapped around a tree, and I don’t have to drink to have fun,” he says.
Coldstream president Steven Hancock said the club is right behind the campaign, and not just for any prize-money that might come their way.
“We are supportive of anything to get the message out there to our players about safety on the roads.
“Being part of a big club, between players, friends and families, people are always affected by the road toll, whether it’s directly or indirectly and we are always trying to get it into the boys that they have to take it easy out there,” Mr Hancock said.
“There is only so much you can do within the club and it is great to see players taking the initiative to look after themselves and each other,” he said.
Mr Hancock said the players were making a commitment publicly on Facebook, which made that commitment very widely known.
“I would say all our footballers have signed on and we have others who have signed on through our club to support the campaign,” he said.
Coldstream is sitting second on the metropolitan leader board at 880 behind The Southern Dragons on 1599.
