BATHURST Panthers will join hundreds of other rugby league clubs across the nation observing one minute’s silence to honour the life of a Queensland footballer who died following a tragic on-field accident on the weekend.
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James Ackerman, a father of two, was critically injured on the weekend during a Queensland Cup match in Brisbane.
He suffered a head injury in a tackle early in the top-grade match against the North Devils at Bishop Park on Saturday.
The 25-year-old died in hospital on Monday.
Bathurst Panthers president Dennis Comerford said yesterday while the club had not officially had the chance to discuss the idea, he welcomed the chance to honour a fellow rugby league player.
Mr Comerford said one minute’s silence was something the club would be able to do at short notice and without impacting game times, and thought it a fitting tribute.
He said as a Queensland rugby league player, Mr Ackerman was not known to players here, and said his death was a terrible, unfortunate thing.
“Rugby league is a contact sport and injuries happen, but players never go out to try and injure another player,” he said.
“It’s a sport, at the end of the game the players shake hands and acknowledge each other’s ability.”
“But something like this does shake people up and bring home what can happen.”
In the 16 years he has been involved in rugby league, Mr Comerford said a couple of players had ended up in hospital but had always been able to overcome their injuries.
He said in the past the club had lost players, but not as a result of an on-field accident.
He said Bathurst Panthers had lost two players in car accidents, Edward Kelly and Chad Nealon, whose deaths rocked the club.
