EARLIER THIS week, Jacob Weitering was one of four Blues to make the trip down Royal Parade to the Peter Mac Cancer Centre.
It’s something which the Blues have whole-heartedly embraced for a number of years, with Weitering joining close mate Sam Docherty as well as Tom De Koning and Matthew Cottrell - as pictured above.
For the Blues, the connection to this round has always been evident through Docherty, whose work with the Peter Mac Foundation has been oft-told since his cancer diagnoses a number of years ago.
But as is unfortunately often the case, there’s an extra personal connection for Weitering, who spoke to SEN’s Whateley about the challenges his family is currently facing.
“It can affect so many people. For me, I have a family member going through it at the moment - I guess on the positive side of things, it’s amazing what it does to bring a family together,” Weitering said.
“I remember they were moving house quite recently, and we organised a packing day for them - aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins all came together to do that for the weekend. We’re going to be doing the Mother’s Day Classic as a family as well, raising awareness and funds for breast and ovarian cancer.
“It’s a horrible thing, but as long as you’ve got the love and support of your family… I hope my family member is feeling that at the moment. There’s many affected by it, so make sure you’re loving and supporting those affected.”
The enormity of the rivalry in itself is one which is felt across the entire football world, but Weitering loves the added significance of having the two teams - who have largely lived an eternal feud essentially since Collingwood’s inception - come together for a “higher purpose and a greater cause”.
A stand-in captain for the Blues’ Peter Mac Cup triumph in 2021, he looks back to the most recent Peter Mac Cup between the two sides as a moment he fondly looks back on.
“A long-standing rivalry, an amazing atmosphere and game. I remember last year when all the lights went off before the bounce, the vibe was absolutely incredible.
“We had our annual Peter Mac Breakfast on Monday morning, where it was great to see a lot of players and representatives from both clubs. We had a number of speakers including Anthony Rocca, which really hit home for a lot of the players - being so vulnerable and talking about his story.
“Then there’s our relationship with Sam and what he’s been through. To raise awareness and funds, to get along to the hospital [on Tuesday] and hear about their stories and hopefully put a few smiles on faces.”
