A special moment gripped the rooms at the Sir Ian McLennan centre on Thursday night.
Following Mooroopna Football Netball Club’s training session, players, coaches and members huddled around the TV to enjoy a meal while watching one of the club’s success stories run out for his 50th game in the AFL.
Laitham Vandermeer spent his youth career at the Cats and brought up the milestone during a 60-point shellacking of St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
Admittedly, it wasn’t Vandermeer’s most iconic game of professional footy by a long stretch.
He contributed nobly, albeit sparingly, in a cameo that included nine disposals and one tackle.
Yet, 190km north of Marvel Stadium, where 26,000 spectators watched Vandermeer’s Bulldogs cut the Saints to ribbons, a smaller fan club in a slightly darker shade of blue cheered on one of their own.
“Here we’re watching Laith Vandermeer, one of Mooroopna’s favourite sons, playing his 50th AFL game,” Mooroopna coach John Lamont said on the night.
“We love things like that and seeing boys that have come through the junior footy club and then play senior footy here, and if they can go on to play VFL and AFL footy it’s a great thing.
“For Laith to have clocked up 50 AFL games is wonderful because he’s had a few injuries and had some adversity, but it’s a great story and we love players fighting through and getting the best out of themselves.”
Vandermeer’s career in the top flight has been troubled by hamstring woes, but Thursday night’s milestone was a testament to his attitude and aptitude for keeping his AFL dream afloat.
He was selected at pick 37 in the 2018 National Draft, but had to wait until 2020 to debut, running out in blue, white and red for the first time in a round two loss.
The opposition that night was quite fittingly St Kilda.
Despite the defeat, Vandermeer dazzled with 10 disposals, three marks, two tackles and a goal in his first hit-out in the big league.
From there, the ex-Cat fast became a fan favourite at the club, earning the nickname “Shepp Dog” for his lightning-quick line-breaking ability and endurance across the ground.
Vandermeer appeared for the Bulldogs 12 times in 2020 to much praise, earning the Chris Grant Best First Year Player award during his debut season.
It hasn’t always been plain sailing for the 25-year-old in the years following, but when it comes to putting Mooroopna on the map, few have done it better since the turn of the decade.