Honouring a true hero

[Marns]

No matter what the outcome with Troy Broadbridge (whether he comes home or not - I bloody hope he comes home), I feel the need to recognise the sacrifice he made for someone he obviously dearly loved. I will be buying the no.20 and ironing it onto my Demon jumper. The word hero can be easily used in football, but I don't think anybody will find a problem with using it to describe Broady. I hope that everyone (at least Melbourne supporters) does something to remember and recognise the sacrifice that he made.
I also hope that when the Dees play Port, there is some sort of medal for the winning team.

Come home Broady.

 

[PortProudWA]

No matter what the outcome with Troy Broadbridge (whether he comes home or not - I bloody hope he comes home), I feel the need to recognise the sacrifice he made for someone he obviously dearly loved. I will be buying the no.20 and ironing it onto my Demon jumper. The word hero can be easily used in football, but I don't think anybody will find a problem with using it to describe Broady. I hope that everyone (at least Melbourne supporters) does something to remember and recognise the sacrifice that he made.
I also hope that when the Dees play Port, there is some sort of medal for the winning team.

Come home Broady.

I dont think you would get any argument from Port or Port supporters on that. Broady was one of us, a port boy.....lets hope he will be part of us all in 2005.

 

[Marns]

How many games did he play for your boys?

 

[Supermercado]

And like I said in the other thread if worst comes to worst we should retire #20

 

[wellsythegr8]

We are all still hoping and praying for the best! Regardless of the outcome, surely a medal will be created in his honour and it would be a fitting gesture to retire the number 20 if the worst possible situation does eventuate.

However, there is still hope! It would just be great to see Troy run out on the MCG in front of the Melbourne faithful in what would as an emotion filled game as the McCartney game last year!

 

[demon_dave]

How many games did he play for your boys?

40, he would have heaps more but knee and shoulder reco's stuffed that

 

[HighRoller]

40, he would have heaps more but knee and shoulder reco's stuffed that

I Think she meant for PA.....i think he was just on the rookie list for PA and grew up in Adelaide however he does have ties to both P.A and Melbourne..lets hope he makes it

 

[StingaArmstrong]

I think he played with Port Adelaide Magpies before coming to the rookie list at demonland.

 

[goal_umpire]

Fantastic to see so many supporters and opposition supporters giving their thoughts on Troy Broadbridge.

I will add my thoughts and prayers to help find him.

Fantastic person who shows that selfless attitude around him. He's surely missed.

I hope that they find him.

I will be sad if they don't find him.

 

[noddy]

All the best guys & i hope the news we all receive on Troy Broadbridge is on the positive side & that he returns home safe & sound.

 

[tiger_chick]

Id say retire the number 20. Im sure Richmond would have done the same. A medal as part of the b and f. I know its hard but DONT LOSE HOPE.

 

[PortProudWA]

Demon now races for recognition
By Chloe Saltau
May 30 2002

When he was 17, having just anointed himself the third-fastest under-18 hurdler in the land, Troy Broadbridge decided the Olympics were "a long way out of reach".

He needed to slice four seconds off his 400-metre time to compete at senior national level, and figured he would be better off sticking with the game, football, he had recently returned to after turning to the track when he was 10.

"When the next summer came around I had a choice between footy, doing a pre-season with Port Power, or going on with athletics. I decided to head out to the Power and ended up getting picked up by Melbourne," Broadbridge explained.

That was 1999, around the time the Demons were excluded from the first round of the national draft and the first three rounds of the 2000 draft for salary-cap breaches. When fellow South Australian defender Anthony Ingerson's knee tendinitis finally forced him into retirement last season, Melbourne risked, in football manager Danny Corcoran's words, being "bereft of key defenders".

An unwavering commitment to the "long-term project", as coach Neale Daniher describes Broadbridge, had been born. And a "succession plan", of which he has been an integral part since being taken on to the club's rookie list, began.

For all the anonymity Broadbridge has enjoyed in Melbourne as an emerging member of the Demons' back line, his surname is well known in South Australia, where his father played in seven grand finals for Port Adelaide.

"He was regarded as one of the real hard men of South Australian football," Corcoran said. "But Troy has . . . made his own name here." With 20 senior games, and plenty more accumulated with Sandringham's first and second VFL teams, Broadbridge can rest assured the football world is starting to take note of his name. While Alistair Nicholson takes the opposition's No. 1 forward, Broadbridge, at 180 centimetres, has been pitched against short and tall opponents, from Trent Croad to Simon Garlick.

Daniher said the 21-year-old would have good and bad patches, but he took careful note of the athleticism he brought to contests during the Demons' narrow win over the Kangaroos last weekend.

"He couldn't quite catch (Brent) Harvey and (Leigh) Harding, but he gave them a bit of a scare," Daniher said. "He's probably not a key-position player now, but maybe in three years' time he'll have the strength."

Indeed, having spent many of his teenage years on pursuits other than football, Broadbridge is only now beginning to feel that the game is not rushing past him in the kind of blur that characterises his memories of last season.

"Each week I seem to pick up something new," he said.

"Coming to Melbourne's been the best thing, because there's a lot of focus on footy." He thinks his home town - he grew up in the Adelaide Hills and his younger brother plays junior footy for Port Adelaide - can become very much like a "fishbowl". "I think that kind of pressure probably hurts a lot of blokes when they go over there. I'm sure it wouldn't have been good for me."

 

[viccles]

My prayers and wishes are with Broady and his family and I hope he is found safe and sound

 

[Cro_Pavo]

My prayers and thoughts are with the Broadbridge Family and the Melbourne Football Club aswell.

If the worst case scenario does occur I believe too that his number should be retired and honour him by leaving his name on the Senior List for the 2005 season.

 

[melbournemartin]

he is a fighter, i have faith in him returning safly.

dont get ya self down by thinking of worst case scenarios, all it will do is make you depressed even more about it

good luck troy even though i know u cant see this

 

[the_mighty_pies_3733]

If the worst should occur, I reckon they should only name 23 players for the first Wizard Cup game.

 

[The Shev]

If the worst should occur, I reckon they should only name 23 players for the first Wizard Cup game.

While the sentiments are there, I'm not too sure if this would ever happen.

All last year I was debating about what number to wear on my back. But now there is no doubt that I will wear the number 20 on my back, as a tribute to a true hero Troy Broadbridge!

 

[Supermercado]

The first game is in Cairns isn't it? There'd be more than 24 players in the side anyway if that's the case.

 

[bel_21_melb]

if the first game is in cairns it would be a great shame...the AFL should change it to the "G" so that all the Melbourne supporters can celebrate the life of Troy Broadbridge with the boys...RIP Troy

 

[- PC -]

I am probably not everyones favourite person here, but thats my concern and shouldnt be yours.

May I make a suggestion..instead of making a cup between 2 teams whos links are tenous at best, why not honour Troy by naming one of your end of season awards after him. My suggestion would be either ''Most Courageous'' or ''Best First Year Player''

I dont think the Melbourne-Pt Power idea has much merit as Troy never played for Port Power, and for those who try and link the Magpies, well 2 weeks ago everyone was saying there was none.

Please look at the ideas mentioned and not who mentioned them

 

[BT]

I am probably not everyones favourite person here, but thats my concern and shouldnt be yours.

May I make a suggestion..instead of making a cup between 2 teams whos links are tenous at best, why not honour Troy by naming one of your end of season awards after him. My suggestion would be either ''Most Courageous'' or ''Best First Year Player''

I dont think the Melbourne-Pt Power idea has much merit as Troy never played for Port Power, and for those who try and link the Magpies, well 2 weeks ago everyone was saying there was none.

Please look at the ideas mentioned and not who mentioned them

Just go away mate.