REMEMBERING MOTHER HEN

By KEL ROWE

This weekend brings us Mother’s Day, and many are gearing up to celebrate their mums and other amazing women in their lives. For the West Footscray Football Club, it’s a particularly special moment — one to finally celebrate and remember Jan Hindson, who sadly lost her life to cancer in April last year.

Many across the League might remember Jan Hindson, she was a fantastic advocate for women’s footy in the West, a centre-point for the inaugural women’s team at West Footscray, and a well-known and much-loved member of the local community.

Inaugural WFFC Women’s team captain Steph James recalls Jan’s larger-than-life presence and passion for women’s footy.

“I met Jan at our very first training session at Johnson Reserve, back in 2017”, James said.

“Jan was unmissable in her signature high-heeled boots, big hoop earrings and red lips —she was a regular sight down at training during our inaugural season.

“Within weeks she was our Team Manager, earning the title of ‘Mother Hen’. Come game day or training session, if you had forgotten anything, Jan had it ready in her kit — hair ties, deodorant, tampons or lollies – she kept us all on track.­”

David Watson, a long-time WFFC Committee member, also remembers Jan’s commitment to the growth and promotion of women’s footy, having spent over two decades working alongside her at the Roosters.

“As soon as Jan had a sniff that women’s footy was a thing in the West, she was onto it,” he said.

“She worked tirelessly with other clubs to learn about how to set up a women’s team for the Roosters, and the following year, she was out there assisting other clubs to do the same.”

One of Hindson’s most notable achievements was her work to organise the Mother’s Day Cup, an annual match between West Footscray and Spotswood to support Breast Cancer awareness.

The day saw players from both teams don pink socks to raise funds for Breast Cancer Network Australia, and featured a charity raffle, sausage sizzle and a post-game function to celebrate the mums of the community.

In the spirit of Jan’s legacy, West Footscray will mark their Round 4 Victoria University Senior Women’s match on Saturday against Wyndhamvale as a special memorial game.

The game will serve as an occasion to honour Jan and her contributions to women’s footy, with all players pulling on purple socks to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer.

With one of the lowest survival rates out of all major cancers, pancreatic cancer is known as a silent killer — many sufferers do not show symptoms until the disease is very advanced.

The West Footscray Football Club is committed to raising awareness and supporting the efforts of the Pancare Foundation, who support people living with cancer and their families, and fund research to increase survival and improve treatment options.

The club will make a donation to Pancare from all fundraising efforts on the day, which will enable the foundation to accelerate change, advance research and support more families affected by cancer.

The day will also feature a celebratory post-match function, presentation, a charity raffle; and most importantly, a chance for many to gather for the first time to remember Jan Hindson, the “Original Mother Hen”.

West Footscray take on Wyndhamvale at Shorten Reserve at 10.30am.