Rugby league is a fascinating game. It’s a game of extremes.
All at once, it can be simple and complex, easy and hard, uplifting and devastating.
But at the end of the day, it’s a game that brings the community together through a mutual love of the pastime and the story I’m about to tell is one of someone who already loves the game of rugby league, but fell in love with it even more being the witness of the phenomenal compassion and respect of the players in a local under 15s Friday night footy game on the Sunshine Coast.
For those of us who love the sport they call the greatest game of all, this time of year is special for so many reasons.
The air is crisp. Kids who were new to the game start to find their feet.
Our teenagers and seniors are roughly mid-way through their seasons, and we start to think about who will play finals footy.
We’re neck-deep in State of Origin chaos with Women’s State of Origin and Game II of the Men's series just around the corner... there's so much to look forward to.
But not everyone in our rugby league community has the same spring in their step come mid-June.
This Sunday, June 20, is the anniversary of the last time James 'Ackers' Ackerman - a true warrior and gentleman of our game - ran the ball for the last time.
And in a loving display of solidarity with James’ family, Queensland Rugby League clubs and players will take a #KneeforAckers throughout this weekend’s fixtures.
This movement first started the year Ackers passed, and it continues to grow every year, with more and more clubs and players - not just in rugby league - getting involved to pay their respects.
While weekend's like this are a brutal reminder of how fragile life can be, and how easily tragedies can happen, they also create opportunities for us as a community to unite, show compassion and hold each other up.
I played all my junior footy with Ackers.
We both joined the Caloundra Sharks within a year of each other around the age of 10 or 11, and we would go on to play together until the age of 17.
As juniors, we had really similar paths. We were quiet and let our footy do the talking.
We both made our first Sunny Coast rep team together and at the age of 16, we made our first regional rep team together, going on to play at the State Championships where we also roomed together.
As far as teammates went, he was the best.
Once we reached seniors, I stayed local and he went on to play on much bigger stages, but it all started with our days at the Caloundra Sharks.
These days, I do some work for the QRL’s digital team, but I’m also a local ref.
And by sheer coincidence, my Friday night appointment was for the under 15s Caloundra Sharks versus Bribie Island Warrigals clash at Caloundra’s home ground; a ground where Ackers and I spent endless hours training and playing together.
So already this game had all the ingredients to be really special, as I also knew that before kick-off, we’d all be taking a knee for Ackers.
I parked myself in the middle of the field and blew the whistle for both teams to join me before kick-off. I shook hands with the captains and one of the trainers double checked with me if we were going to take a knee for Ackers to which I said ‘absolutely!’, and I told him that I’d actually played with him for years, right there at the Sharks home ground.
At this point, the Caloundra captain was shocked to learn I’d played with Ackers and told me that he was his cousin, Caiden. And as he said it, we both shared a moment where we understood that this game was special for both of us.
I corralled everyone into a circle, and both the Caloundra and Bribie teams and the refs, embraced each other and took a knee.
It was dead silent, and every player waited until I gave the nod for us all to stand up and get going. Already, I was so impressed by all the players' respectful demeanour, but that wasn’t even the most special part for me.
In the very first set, Caloundra made a line-break through their second rower, who with some great footwork, pierced the line on the blind side, and as the opposition fullback closed in to shut the play down, the second rower drew the fullback in and passed to his supporting halfback, who just happened to be the captain, Caiden, running away with it and slamming it down under the post for the first four-pointer of the game.
The play itself was slick and clinical, and simply a joy to watch. Before his teammates had caught up with him to celebrate, he pointed up to the sky, and it was clear that he was playing for his cousin, and the entire Ackerman family.
Although impartial as I must be as a match official, I couldn’t help but be filled with joy and gratitude to be a part of such a great moment.
I awarded the try and as I was catching my breath, one of the Caloundra players - whom I had never met before but must have heard me say at the start of the game that I played with Ackers - walked up to me and said, "I’m so sorry for your loss".
I couldn’t believe it and for a moment, I was actually lost for words. I was blown away.
As simple as these few words were, this young man, whom I had never met, went out of his way during a game of footy, to say something so thoughtful and so impactful. When I finally realised I had to say something back to him, I mumbled something that I’m not even sure made sense, by which time he’d already started running back to his position.
As a ref, you spend a lot of energy focussing on the play and blocking out the noise of players and spectators, but I was so happy just to listen.
The players revving each other up after we took a knee, the ball boys guessing if a conversion was about to be kicked, the trainers who showed care when a player was hurt, the mums and dads shouting words of encouragement for their boys who were playing, the post-try celebrations when this four-pointer means more than the others.
For a fan of rugby league, it was a delightful symphony that only a local footy ground could compose. But the most beautiful sound I heard were the words of a young player who went out of his way to offer his condolences because I lost a teammate six years ago.
So often we hear stories of rugby league gone wrong. The back page or social media is filled with outrage saying the game hasn't done this or the game hasn't done that.
But everything about this moment was so right.
We paid our respects to a fine young man, and I got to see the next generation of fine young men playing at the club that Ackers and I used to play for.
What I witnessed made me so proud to be a part of the Sunshine Coast rugby league community and made me fall in love with the greatest game all over again.
