- Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story may contain images of deceased persons.
Singleton bus crash survivor Graham "Banger" McBride had only one goal at the AFL Women's grand final in Victoria: "Do my girls proud."
Mr McBride lost his wife, Nadene, and daughter Kyah in the crash. Both were heavily involved in the Singleton Roosters women's Australian rules team, Nadene as coach and Kyah as captain.
Nadene, the 2023 Hunter Central Coast representative team coach, was posthumously recognised at Sunday's grand final as the NSW ambassador for the women's national decider.
Mr McBride and Singleton women's interim coach and friend Alex Tigani represented Nadene at the ceremony at Prince's Park in Carlton, where North Melbourne played Brisbane in the grand final.
Kyah, a Sydney Swans academy player in 2016 and 2017 and Hunter Central Coast captain this year, kicked two goals and had two assists on grand final day in 2020 when the Roosters won their first premiership.
Mr McBride paid tribute to his wife and daughter during a speech at the AFL Women's grand final breakfast in Melbourne on Sunday morning.
"I'm only here because my beautiful wife, my late wife, isn't," he said.
"My job here with this visit is to do my girls proud."
He said the Roosters' 2020 grand final win, when Nadene was both player and coach, was "the second happiest I've ever seen my wife".
"The first was giving birth to my daughter," he said.
"Football comes first with Nadene, then my daughter."
Mr McBride said his wife, one of only six coaches in NSW with a level-three accreditation, had been wedded to the Roosters club and the women's game in the Hunter.
"Nadene would spend her Saturdays down at the club, all day, all night.
"She'd back up again on the Sunday.
"She'd be down there checking up on her juniors, making sure they're running smooth, especially her under-17s.
"Her motto before they broke out of their scrum to go out on the field was, 'What are we here for?'
"The girls knew the response: 'We're here to have fun.'
"That was her motto in football."
He said Nadene had taken on the Roosters coaching role to "make sure the girls get a voice in male-dominant football".
"If anyone had any issues that needed sorting out, everyone was on the phone: 'Just call Nads, she'll sort it out.'
"She knew everyone. She knew how to get things resolved."
Mr McBride became involved with the Roosters "because I loved being with my girls and I loved watching them play".
"Nadene spent probably about 90 per cent of her spare time at the club."
Nadene and Kyah were among 10 people, seven of them Roosters players, who died when a bus overturned near Greta on the way home to Singleton from a wedding in the Hunter Valley vineyards in June.
Roosters Andrew and Lynan Scott, Zach Bray, Tori Cowburn and Kane Symons were also among those killed.
