That was St Pat’s captain Brent Dennis’ thoughts on team-mate Brendon Collits, whose death in a car accident on Saturday afternoon rocked the Group 10 club.

Collits was an extremely well-liked member of the team, known especially for his good sense of humour and love of football. He was on his way back from his home town of Forbes for training on Saturday when his car hit a tree 20 kilometres south-west of Blayney.

Pat’s players were concerned when Collits didn’t arrive for training and their worst fears were confirmed at a team dinner later that evening.

The players struggled to come to terms with the news and a decision was quickly made to call off yesterday’s match against Orange CYMS.

“I don’t think anybody would have been ready to play the game. We aren’t really thinking about football at the moment, so it was the right thing to do,” St Pat’s player-coach Mick Armstrong said.

“CYMS were great about it. The whole competition has been good. There have been a lot of texts and a lot of support from players everywhere.”

Players spent Saturday night together and met again yesterday afternoon at Paddy’s Hotel to remember and pay tribute to Collits. 

“It’s hit everyone hard. We’re a close knit team and to have something like this happen is unthinkable,” Armstrong said.

“Brendon’s dad Mark came in to see us and told us to keep our heads up. I can’t imagine what Mark and Kath [Brendon’s mum] are going through, but they are being incredibly strong.”

Collits joined St Pat’s in 2009 when he came to Bathurst from Forbes for university. Armstrong watched the then 18-year-old’s first game for the blue and whites, which was in their Centennial Coal Cup team.

“Believe it or not, he started in third grade [Centennial Coal Cup]. It was a game in Portland I had gone over to watch. 

“He scored a length of the field try and I thought ‘this guy doesn’t belong in third grade’. He didn’t stay there for long. He was playing first grade pretty soon after.”

Collits’ time at the club was plagued by injuries, but he showed great determination to get back onto the field after each one.

“Brendon played a lot of first grade, but would have played a lot more if not for injuries. He had three knee reconstructions and it shows how tough he was that he kept coming back,” Armstrong said.

“He was in outstanding form this year. He kept Trent Hemsworth out of the position and made Group 10. From all reports, he was one of the best in that game and he told me afterwards how much he enjoyed playing rep footy.”

Dennis said it would be impossible to replace a young man who brought so much to the team, both on and off the field.

“He’d had a rough trot with injuries, but his Group 10 selection this year was so well deserved. I know everyone here is going to miss him so much,” Dennis said.

“It’s still pretty raw, but there have been some talks about how the club will honour him. We are going to retire the number nine jersey for the rest of the year and we will look at other ways later on. Speaking as captain, we are going to dig in and do everything we can in memory of him.”

All Group 10 matches between St Pat’s and CYMS have been postponed and are expected to be rescheduled.