{"id":793319,"date":"2026-07-11T10:20:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T10:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/793319\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T10:20:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T10:20:21","slug":"nathan-fitzgerald-remembered-epping-football-club-mourn-lost-teammate-who-died-after-catastrophic-on-field-head-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/793319\/","title":{"rendered":"Nathan Fitzgerald remembered: Epping football club mourn lost teammate who died after catastrophic on-field head injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bridget<\/p>\n

Updated July 11, 2026 \u2014 7:02pm,first published 6:10pm<\/p>\n

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In many ways, it felt like a normal game day at Epping Football Club \u2013 gangly youths leaning over a fold-out table trying to pick out their jerseys, a club official attempting to keep some semblance of order, joking with them as she swatted them away.<\/p>\n

Except this Saturday, one jersey was missing.<\/p>\n

It has been one week since Nathan Fitzgerald died in hospital<\/a> after sustaining a catastrophic head injury during a reserves game in Lalor.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old was a much-loved teacher at Mernda Central College<\/a>, son, brother, partner and friend, as well as a marathon runner and fierce footballer. His jersey number 34 has been retired.<\/p>\n

\"EppingEpping footballers join in a moment of silence for Nathan Fitzgerald, who died after an on-field collision last weekend.Penny StephensRelated Article\"Epping<\/a><\/p>\n

Exactly one week after his accident, his reserves teammates gathered at their home ground, donning jerseys that would for once remain clean. While the junior and senior games would go ahead, the ressies had decided to sit this one out.<\/p>\n

Instead, they wrapped black arm bands around pullovers and puffer jackets, jerseys snug on top, and walked out with the rest of the club to form a guard of honour on-field. One by one, they were joined on the pitch by those present last weekend \u2013 the medics and trainers who had been first on scene delivering first aid, the Lalor reserves side and coaches \u2013 and finally, Fitzgerald\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

With his wife and children at his side, and hundreds of people gathered around the ground, Gary Fitzgerald, Nathan\u2019s father, stepped up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do I start?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"NathanNathan Fitzgerald\u2019s father, Gary (far left), speaking at a memorial for his son at Epping Football Club\u2019s home ground.Penny Stephens<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t been blind to the fact that so many people have been impacted by the event and tragic death of Nathan, and a football incident that, for the most part from what I understand, has never happened before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt teaches us a lesson about life, how precious life is \u2026 and I just want to express my appreciation for the love, and the support, and the generosity of those that have given. It\u2019s been a phenomenal response and quite overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Club president Luke De Vincentis called for a moment of silence, and then the siren sounded for the seniors to take the field.<\/p>\n

Watching from the sidelines, reserves assistant coach Jacob D\u2019Angelis said everything \u2013 including standing there, speaking to a reporter \u2013 felt very surreal.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Epping<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s no real way to describe how we feel. I mean, it\u2019s like we\u2019re trying to get back to normality, but it\u2019s not normal at all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had our training on Thursday night. It was the first training we\u2019ve had without him \u2026 It was also the weirdest thing \u2026 seeing his name on the whiteboard, like his little magnet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just feels bizarre that it\u2019s seven days later and we\u2019re here, football\u2019s being played, and he\u2019s not here \u2026 Maybe an hour ago last week, I was discussing with him his role in the third quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelis said Fitzgerald had been playing in the backline but at half-time they had decided to rotate him into the midfield \u2013 a decision that was not out of the ordinary for the skilled all-rounder, but one the assistant coach has since struggled not to regret.<\/p>\n

\"MatthewMatthew Fitzgerald (right) stands on Epping Football Club\u2019s home ground, looking at a tribute to his brother Nathan, painted on the field.Penny Stephens<\/p>\n

In the seven days since, the team had met every night, D\u2019Angelis said, crying together at times, and coming up with ideas of ways to honour Fitzgerald, such as renaming the ground Fitzy Park or creating an award in his honour.<\/p>\n

All 18 AFL clubs are wearing black armbands this weekend in honour of Fitzgerald, and tomorrow his family and teammates will watch Richmond play Melbourne at the MCG as guests of the Tigers, Fitzgerald\u2019s team. The Epping reserves players will join the Demons and Tigers on field for a guard of honour before the game.<\/p>\n

Reserves teammate Neville Kershaw-Richards said Fitzgerald was \u201cthe ultimate club man\u201d on and off the field, and \u201csomeone who made us walk taller\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe treated everyone with the same respect and love, and that\u2019s why he\u2019s so loved by everyone at the club and the school. He\u2019s just a phenomenal guy. He\u2019s probably the best human being. And as a footballer, he was tough. He was fearless.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the reserves decided not to play this weekend, Coby Eyre said they were looking forward to returning to the field.<\/p>\n

\"EppingEpping reserves footballer Neville Kershaw-Richards described teammate Nathan Fitzgerald as \u201cprobably the best human being\u201d.Penny StephensRelated Article\"Flowers<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt hasn\u2019t really changed my view of footy. If anything, it\u2019s probably made me realise how close a footy club can be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s brought us really close together. You know, if you\u2019re going to take a positive out of it, that\u2019s probably it \u2026 I think the boys that are playing today, they\u2019re really doing it for Fitzy \u2026 and if he was here, he\u2019d probably be playing today and he\u2019d do the exact same thing he did last week. He wouldn\u2019t change what he did. He would put his head over the ball 100 times.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the last month of his life, Eyre said Fitzgerald had been in the best form he had seen him in. D\u2019Angelis said he had been well on track to contend for best-and-fairest.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the best bloke and the fairest bloke. Literally, there is not an award around to describe someone better than the best and fairest because … as much as he was a gun on the field, he was probably more of a gun off the field,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"TeammateTeammate Coby Eyre said Nathan Fitzgerald had been in his best form ever in the last month of his life.Penny Stephens<\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelis said the outpouring of grief and love had been a testament to this, and also how deeply the accident had hit home for the wider football community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just a small suburb in the northern suburbs of Melbourne,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are completely irrelevant, and all of a sudden, everyone\u2019s posting about us. We\u2019re hearing about Epping on the radio. We\u2019re seeing it on the TV, in the newspapers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s honestly just surreal. But it\u2019s deserved because of how much of a good bloke he was. And I think you don\u2019t realise how important someone is in the community and in society until they\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the rain set in and the wind picked up, the clubrooms started to fill up. Beers were poured, children ran through legs, and stories were told of a soft-spoken man with a massive smile who would never be forgotten.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"BridgetBridget McArthur<\/a> is a sports affairs reporter at The Age, covering the intersection of sports and politics\/business\/economy\/society.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated July 11, 2026 \u2014 7:02pm,first published 6:10pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793320,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-793319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793319\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}