It wasn’t just Melbourne and Bulldogs fans having their moment in the sun on Thursday around Shepparton.
While most attention was on the fans of the two clubs in Saturday’s AFL grand final, Darryl Twitt Motors staff members of all stripes were able to don their footy colours to raise money for charity.
Like hundreds of workplaces across the state, the car dealerships came together for Footy Colours Day, an initiative by Fight Cancer Foundation to help children with cancer keep up in school.
Darryl Twitt Volkswagen dealer principal Ewan Shultz said staff would be fundraising and donating money to the cause, and the company in turn would double what staff raised.
He said he hoped to reach $500 raised.
It’s the first year they have held the event, with Mr Shultz jumping on board with his beloved Demons in the big dance.
“If I’m being completely honest it’s partially because Melbourne was in the grand final and I had an excuse to celebrate, but also it’s for a good cause,” he said.
Mr Schultz enlisted the help of his children Noah and Isla to help cook hot dogs for the troops, and while Mr Schultz is a Melbourne fan following a brief stint following Fitzroy, Noah and Isla follow the Bulldogs and Tigers respectively.
Isla jumped on the Tigers bandwagon a few years ago, while Noah picked the Dogs out for a simple reason.
“My mum asked me what team I’d like to go for, so my mum showed me a photo of the different teams and we’d only got our dog a short time ago and I like dogs,” he said.
It means the Bulldogs-Demons rivalry will be alive and well over the weekend.
“We’ll be respectful to each other, won’t we mate?” Mr Shultz said.
“I don’t know about you,” Noah quipped back.
To find out more about Footy Colours Day or to donate, head to https://www.fightcancer.org.au/footycoloursday/after-your-event/donate-your-money
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