South Bunbury Football Club go viral after guard of honour tribute for India Murphy’s 50th game with the boys

An inspirational social media post by the South Bunbury Football Club has gone viral this week after it was shared by the AFLW, receiving more than 5000 likes across platforms and even a response from the West Coast Eagles. A host of Tigers premiership stars including Maddy Obal, Kate Fielding and Megan Bain came together for India Murphy’s 50th game playing with the boys last Friday night, celebrating the occasion with hand-made signs, a banner, and a guard of honour as she ran on to the ground. India, who became the youngest player in club history to reach the milestone, was the women’s team’s “mascot” for their grand final win over Busselton last season, and is “close to the heart” of the senior team. South Bunbury junior president Antony Gallagher said it was impossible to wipe the smile off the eight-year-old’s face. “She was over the moon,” he said. “It was a pretty special evening for India and everyone else. India is just a special kind of a girl. “She is everything that you want in a junior footballer and it was a special night for her.” Gallagher said the club had made a conscious effort in recent years to strengthen the ties between the junior and senior programs, in what had been a boost for player development at the club. “It is something we have done with lots of our juniors, to strengthen the lines between our juniors and seniors,” he said.