As part of the Essendon and Collingwood’s new campaign ‘Joining Forces’, two Bomber legends attended a special yoga session on Monday to display their support of the partnership.
400-game Bomber Dustin Fletcher and four-time Essendon premiership coach Kevin Sheedy took part in the session at Altona RSL alongside ANZAC veterans.
Fletcher said he loved the experience and said promoting physical and mental health support for veterans was “extremely important”.
“It was a relaxation form that we did, so it was fantastic,” Fletcher said.
“The instructor who took the class got a bit emotional when he spoke and he spoke really well.
“The way we live at the moment – your physical health is obviously important – but that mental side of it too is very important.”
The fan favourite who played across an astonishing 23 seasons at Essendon highlighted the benefits of yoga for returning servicemen and women, and said he wishes he had started the activity sooner.
“I probably would have liked to have done some more yoga by the time I was 30, but I didn’t do a lot of yoga to be honest, I did a lot of pilates.
“A lot of people in the room were veterans and I think if you can block out that hour or hour and a half in the morning or afternoon then I think you get your benefits out of it.”
Former Magpies Simon Prestigiacomo and Chris Tarrant joined Fletcher and Sheedy at the session, and Fletcher said it was crucial for the clubs to support the RSL.
“You can see from when we went down to Altona the work that people put in there.
“The work they’ve put in for years is very important, so if we can support that message then it is worth its weight in gold.
“I think this message is a very important one because the suicide rate in a lot of veterans is pretty high, so it’s a great idea.”
Joining Forces is aimed at promoting to raising funds for the 2018 ANZAC Appeal.
