FREE TO READ: Persistence paid for Crows group founder

IT’S no surprise that heart rules over head when Gwen Webber submits her AFL tips each week.

As the founder of the Riverland Crows Supporters Group, Waikerie icon Gwen is a fiercely loyal Adelaide fan and rarely allows the team’s form to influence her tipping decisions.

“I don’t tip them every week,” she said, “but pretty close to it.”

Boasting a relatively static membership, peaking at 130 about five years ago, the group is officially aligned with the Crows, and conducts regular gatherings and events.

Members also travel to Adelaide – and occasionally interstate – to attend matches together, while the Crows provide two tickets for each of their 11 home games at Adelaide Oval.

Gwen supported the Crows from the club’s first season in 1991 – an attachment only strengthened by home-town boy Mark Ricciuto’s recruitment in 1993.

“I really wanted to support South Australia when the Crows first came about,” she said.

“And of course when Mark became involved, our hearts went there as well, so it was easy.”

Persistence, plus a spike of interest after the Crows’ inaugural premiership in 1997, propelled the Riverland group’s formation.

Given a polite ‘thanks, but no thanks’ when proposing a local supporters’ group to former Adelaide Crows CEO Steven Trigg after the 1997 grand final, Gwen helped harness community interest and tried again.

“When I first got in touch with Steven he said they probably had all they could manage in supporters’ (groups) at that time,” she said.

“So when 1998 came, I sent pages of signatures in from Waikerie alone.

“Then I got a phone call from his secretary, asking to arrange a meeting in the Riverland, somewhere central, and saying that he would consider it.

“So we held it at the Barmera-Monash Football Club, and The Pioneer was involved.

“But leading up to it, I’d had about 40 apologies, so I rang and said ‘Don’t bother, we won’t have enough’.

“But he said they would come anyway and (Crows official) Phil Harper was with him.

“Anyway, 130 people turned up at the meeting.”

Gwen has enjoyed the fellowship offered by the group, plus the chance to enjoy watching matches together, including on big screens at local venues. The 1998 premiership was special, but altruism has driven one of the most satisfying aspects of her involvement.

“The reason I’ve wanted it to be successful is to be able to take people who don’t have tickets to the games,” she said.

“Even at (last month’s) members’ day, two new members said ‘We just want to go to the football, we’ve never been to Adelaide Oval’.

“Another highlight was when Jan Pearson and I were picked to go out on the oval when the players ran out.

“We were out there with flags cheering the boys on before the commencement of the game. So that was pretty exciting.

“And then another day, it was the country round, and the whole busload was allowed to walk around the oval.”

However, bittersweet is the best description of Gwen’s most special moment: meeting former Crows’ coach Phil Walsh, who lost his life in tragic circumstances in 2015.

“Because we sponsor the team we get two tickets for free for the 11 home games, but we’re also invited to special dinners occasionally,” she said.

“We got invited to the launch of the 2015 season. Nobody wanted to go, so I asked my son-in-law to take me.

“Mark Ricciuto brought Philip Walsh over to me to introduce us and he said ‘here are some Waikerie folk’.

“So I got quite emotional over that (tragic) incident.”

Note: Gwen is something of a one-eyed supporter at the moment. She had a nasty fall at home last week, before Pioneer staff Paul McCormick came to take her photo.