When North Melbourne supporters were given the opportunity to play alongside their heroes in Glenn Archer, Adam Simpson, Corey Jones and Leigh Harding to help raise funds for flood relief, hundreds jumped at the chance.

But there could be only one.

That person was Dion Reddie and below is his letter to the club after a lifelong dream became a reality at Skilled Stadium on Sunday.

Through the result of winning a public auction…I played in the legends charity football match between Geelong and the combined North Melbourne/Western Bulldogs side. As you would probably know, the game was held during the break between the NAB Cup game of North Melbourne and Western Bulldogs.

As a lifelong supporter and member of the Roos, to play with legends of the club was an amazing experience and something I will treasure forever. Given the involvement of the club, I wanted to take the time to write and express my sincere thanks to all those involved.

From the moment the club became involved, I genuinely felt acknowledged as a person as opposed to this simply being another event.

Initially, my interaction was with Chris Hunt (Merchandise Manager). He was simply outstanding in terms of his service and responsiveness. Nothing was too much trouble and he looked after me in every way.

That started from the first minute in which he actually said ‘congratulations’ - simple, but important. Up to that point, I was unsure about the event as I had never done anything like this before. I was uncertain as to what was happening but after the interaction with Chris, I felt like it was something of a big deal. I genuinely appreciated all of his efforts and want to acknowledge him for his help.

Onto match day, Chris was again very helpful and he then passed me over to John Murphy (Brand Marketing Manager). Like Chris, John was outstanding. He introduced me to the players, continually asked if I was okay and checked on me regularly to make sure everything was going well. He also enabled my wife and close friends to be a part of the experience, which really made the day for me as I not only got to experience the event they got to be apart of it with me.

All of this exceptional support and that is without even touching the ball yet, with those special moments on actually playing about to come.

Of course, I cannot speak highly enough of the players. They made me feel welcome, happily took photos with me and my family and signed autographs. Arch, Simmo, Leigh Harding and Corey Jones were brilliant. They ensured I was looked after as much off the field as on it. To mark, kick and handball with each of the legends was not only surreal, it was simply breathtaking.

I lived a childhood dream and that was as much about running out with the boys as it was the whole experience.

All in all, I was simply a member of the public who won an auction to partake in a legends match and the event was a dream come true. Whilst the game itself only went for something like ten minutes, it was such an amazing experience and my memories will last forever. So much so, it's safe to say that I'm still on a high from playing with heroes of mine.

Regards,

Dion Reddie

The club would also like to thank those involved with the legends match, particularly the players for giving up the time to travel to Geelong and participate.