ALL sorts of superlatives get thrown around in sporting circles these days.
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A player need only kick a bag of goals or rack up a swag of possessions and we can be quick to label them a “champion” or their performance “heroic”.
No doubt there would have been plenty of Wangaratta supporters at Norm Minns Oval on Saturday night lauding Michael Newton, who went into the grand final under an injury cloud, for his eight-goal, best on-ground display against a powerful Albury team.
And deservedly so.
But the actions of the Magpies skipper, along with his coach Dean Stone and premiership teammates Will Reilly and Zac Hedin on Tuesday in saving the life of Wangaratta cricket legend Barry Grant is the stuff of true heroes.
Despite being a little worse-for-wear after a few days celebrating the Ovens and Murray premiership, the group of Magpies, which included club volunteer Rob Doolan, had the presence of mind to perform CPR and then use the club’s defibrillator to help Mr Grant regain consciousness.
“I am forever indebted to them ... I owe them a great debt as does my family,” Mr Grant, who will be implanted with a pacemaker, said.
The ability to perform under pressure is a skill that’s valued on the sporting field but it becomes even more important when you’re talking about a life-and-death situation which the Magpies found themselves in earlier this week.
Most sporting organisations, across all codes, now have defibrillators at their clubrooms but this week’s good news story – which could easily have been a tragic one – should serve as a reminder to any clubs without the life-saving machines to get one straight away.
“I’m sure clubs are always encouraged to have defibrillators and ultimately it is what has saved Barry’s life. We all chipped in and did what we had to do,” the Pies coach said.
Of course, it’s not just sporting clubs that would be well-advised to make sure they’re equipped to respond quickly to an emergency situation.
Mr Grant, who works as a printer at The Border Mail, could just as easily have taken a turn at work.
Not everyone has the talent to kick eight goals in an Ovens and Murray grand final but we do all have the ability to learn CPR, which could save someone’s life.
Now that’s a goal worth kicking.