The Epping Football Netball Club in Melbourne has called for an investigation into the safety of cricket pitches on multi-use community sporting ovals after 27-year-old player Nathan Fitzgerald suffered critical head injuries during a reserves game.
Fitzgerald remains in end-of-life care after an incident at Lalor Reserve on Saturday, where he reportedly sustained three head knocks during a tackle. The club stated that Fitzgerald first clashed heads with a teammate, then was struck by a knee or boot to the head, before hitting his head on the hard cricket pitch in the middle of the oval.
Club president Luke De Vincentis expressed the emotional toll on players, saying they continue to support each other through this difficult time. "There's heartbreak, but there's shock and confusion, it just doesn't feel real," he told 774 ABC Melbourne.
Hard cricket pitches are typically covered with synthetic grass and sand during the off-season. De Vincentis noted that although the pitch at Lalor Reserve was covered on the day of the incident, the tragedy highlights the need to investigate how pitches are treated across all multi-use ovals. He explained, "Unfortunately, because we're just local amateur sports, we have to be able to use these facilities for multiple purposes, but the risk does come that there is quite a hard strip of surface in the middle of the ground where there's a high-velocity, high-contact sport played on."
Reflecting on the broader community impact, De Vincentis said during his regular segment on 774 Breakfast, "So many games of football are played, so many games of netball, soccer, rugby and when something like this happens, you take a deep breath, you sit back, you have a look around you and you pray that it never happens to a family member or a friend."
The club mourns the loss of a teammate and a much-loved person, emphasizing that the Fitzgerald family has lost a son and a brother.
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