It was a fairytale ending for Zac and Maddie Mainwaring on Saturday night, when the OWLS won by one point against Connolly’s Commandos in the second annual Mainy Tribute Match for Telethon.

It has been two years since their beloved father, Chris Mainwaring, passed away and he was in the memories and hearts of everyone who attended Subiaco Oval that night.

An incredible 33,000 tickets were sold and people travelled from far and wide to pay homage to the great man, who had in his lifetime touched so many Western Australians both on and off the football field.

Young Zac, 8, and Maddie, 9, were the youngest members of the OWLS (older, wiser, larger, slower) team which consisted of former West Coast Eagles legends as well as Chris Mainwaring’s brother, Brett.

The evening commenced with a very touching video tribute to Mainwaring, which was played on the big screen before the players from each team ran out. Mainwaring’s children, Maddie and Zac, joined them on the run onto the oval and warmed up with teammates four times their senior.

Within seconds of running onto the field, young Zac and Maddie were awarded a 50-metre “penalty” and a set-shot at goal from the goal square after Robert “Dipper” DiPierdomenico tackled young Zac. Maddie was also given a free kick and joined her brother on the scoreboard.

It was clear that Zac and Maddie were crowd favourites both on and off the field. They high-fived the crowd when they came off and signed autographs with the charisma of their late father who played 201 AFL games for the West Coast Eagles and was a member of the premiership side in 1992 and 1994. 

“It was really fun and I got to kick a goal,” said Maddie.

“It’s very exciting to be on the oval when there are so many people watching.”

Captain of the OWLS team, Dean Kemp, was among other retired West Coast Eagles including the likes of Peter Matera and David Wirrpanda, who displayed some of their trademark talent, whilst others were also entertaining either for their skills or their apparent lack of them.

All the money raised will go to Telethon to improve the lives of children and young people throughout Western Australia.  This will include monies raised from ticket sales, the guernsey auction, the sale of the match day program, as well as the half-time mascot race. Mascots from businesses all over Western Australia kindly donated money to Telethon to compete in the sprint race across the oval where our very own Rick the Rock competed.

The final scores from the game were the OWLS 11.9 (75) to Connolly’s Commandos 10.14 (74) and Peter Matera was awarded the Bill Sutherland Medal as the best OWL on ground. Michael Mitchell was named the Commandos’ best.

The West Coast Eagles and Channel Seven would like to thank everyone who was involved with the tribute match for making the night such a success.

To view some of the fantastic photos taken on the night, visit our photo galleries page and scroll down for the Mainy Tribute Match for Telethon album.

To purchase any of the guernseys worn by former West Coast Eagles players during the Mainy Tribute Match click here.