- Swans coach John Longmire said tragedy hit ‘very close to home’
- Attack in Sydney’s east left six victims dead from stab wounds
Sydney Swans coach John Longmire has revealed he spoke to NRL teammate Trent Robinson about their communities supporting each other after the deadly Bondi Junction stabbing attack.
The AFL’s Swans and the NRL’s Roosters, along with Super Rugby’s NSW Waratahs, are the professional sports clubs most closely associated with the area, all based at nearby Moore Park.
“This is our local community,” Longmire told reporters Tuesday, adding that the tragedy hit “very close to home.”
“These are the people who come and support our clubs and to have it so close to home… it’s a terrible tragedy unfolding in our backyard.”
Longmire said he had spoken to Roosters coach Robinson about the community coming together to support each other as the nation mourns those killed.
Swans coach John Longmire has revealed he spoke to NRL teammate Trent Robinson about their communities supporting each other after the Bondi Junction stabbing attack.
The Swans are based at Moore Park in Sydney’s east along with Trent Robinson’s Roosters (pictured) and the NSW Waratahs rugby team.
Five women and a man died in Saturday’s stabbing at the Bondi Junction Westfield shopping centre, while seven victims remain in hospital, including a girl, whose condition has improved from critical to serious.
The killer, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi from Queensland, was shot dead by police at the scene.
“I was talking to Trent Robinson about this last night, you know, these are our club areas,” Longmire said.
‘It’s only five minutes away and all our children go there. [Bondi Junction Westfield]our children’s families go there, our friends.
The death of Ashlee Good (pictured) hit North Melbourne AFL coach Alastair Clarkson particularly hard as her father Kerry was a club legend.
‘We go there, we travel there all the time. And just by a stroke of luck, they… you know, our friends and family weren’t there, but a lot of people were.”
The AFL club met at training on Monday to speak to players and their families about the attack and to grieve with the wider Sydney community.
Premier Anthony Albanese, who laid flowers at the site with New South Wales Premier Chris Minns on Sunday, said it was a difficult time as the nation was in mourning.
“At the same time, there are extraordinary acts of heroism that we applaud,” Albanese said.
Since the attack, official flags have flown at half-mast and the sails at the Sydney Opera House have been lit with a black ribbon on Monday night.
The possibility of building a permanent memorial near the mall site is being considered.