A much-loved and admired member of the Berwick Football Club, Cliff Donegan. 70586 Picture: Donna Oates
By David Nagel
THE year is 1959: a 12-year-old boy runs the boundary for the Berwick Football Club.
Fast forward to this year and a 64-year-old man is president of the BFC.
In isolation, there’s nothing remarkable about these two scenarios, but when both relate to the same person, it becomes a tale of commitment and dedication.
Cliff Donegan has fought some tough battles at Berwick – including the failed VFA experiment of 1983 to 1988 and a bitter boardroom battle in 2009 that almost split the club.
Donegan has also faced personal battles. Nine years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer with one effect being the loss of his right eye. However, the negatives don’t resonate with Donegan.
“It’s going well, I see the doctor once a year and the feelings are great when he says, ‘I’ll see you in 12 months’,”Donegan said.
And the tough times at the football club?
“In my opinion, we shouldn’t have gone to the VFA, we had little support, we’d go to Sunshine and if you took the families away, we’d be lucky to have 10 supporters watching,” he said.
“It has taken a long time to get that back, it’s still happening, to get that support back, but past players like Brad Molyneux are involved again and the future looks positive.”
Donegan played under 17s, reserves and seniors at Berwick and he then coached juniors for seven years.
“I was a bit lazy,” he says of his playing days.
His under 18s won two premierships in three years and he guided the reserves to a grand final in his first year.
Since then, Donegan has been a committeeman, this stint as president being his second after previously serving seven years.
Donegan’s face lights up when he start talking about the club’s successes and the future.
“We went back to back in 1977-78, they were great days, Jim ‘Frosty’ Miller kicked 202 goals in ’77, it was unbelievable,” Donegan said.
“Chris Nisbett was another great player, he was centre half forward and I’ve never seen other teams fear one man, he was as tough as nails.
“The 1999 flag was special, Tony Blackford was a tremendous coach and everyone just loved him, there was a great feeling around the place.”
And what of the future and the reappointment of Dean Rice as senior coach?
“I can’t speak highly enough of Dean Rice, in 12 months he has changed this place completely, he’s taught these kids things they never thought of, he has been great,” Donegan said.
“Our committee is fantastic, we’ve had a lot of junior parents come through to senior positions, they’re hard-working and it has made the relationship with the junior club stronger.
“It all looks tremendous for the future.”
You get the sense, that means everything to Cliff Donegan.
