Sport
17 April, 2026
Harcourt Lions prepares to host its first home game since January’s bushfire
“If anyone needs any support, we need to be there and that’s our responsibility to the people within the community.”
Country sporting clubs are often referred to as the lifeblood of regional communities, serving as central hubs not just for physical activity, but also as pillars of social identity and connection.
With a population of just over 1000 people, Harcourt Football Netball Club is no exception.
Despite travelling great distances for away days competing in the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football Netball League (MCDFNL), the club is a tight-knit pack quite fitting of their namesake Lions, possessing a healthy base of players and volunteers.
As 2025 rolled into 2026, the Lions were transitioning into preseason preparations for the upcoming MCDFNL season.
However, before anyone could begin thinking about kicking a football, shooting a netball, or even cleaning the canteen, an unsettling feeling was brewing throughout central Victoria.
With prolonged extreme heat well over 40 degrees to begin the year, dry landscapes and projected winds surpassing 100 km/h causing emergency services to declare catastrophic fire conditions in parts of the state, it almost seemed inevitable that a blaze would engulf parts of the local region.
On Friday, January 9, a fire started in Ravenswood South and quickly spread towards Harcourt, rapidly rampaging through the town.
A survivor of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, Harcourt Football Netball Club president Mark Dorian was on holiday when the fire began.
“I was a little on edge that day myself and when I heard what may have happened, it was a bit of mayhem. In fact, the reports were that we’d lost everything (at the reserve) and lost everything right through the town,” Dorian said.
While the club’s home at Harcourt Recreation Reserve was one of the few community assets undamaged by the tragedy, many of the club’s members were owners or users of the over 50 homes and businesses lost in the Ravenswood-Harcourt bushfire.
As the small town attempted to come to grips with the sudden events, Dorian said the club believed it had a duty to assist the recovery and rebuilding of the community.
“It wasn’t really a footy club thing. It was just about being there for everyone,” he said.
“The impacts are ongoing, plenty of people lost sections of fencing or shedding, or may not have lost anything, but were impacted just by how others have been impacted.
“I remember how grateful I was for the support I got after Black Saturday from volunteers and we realised it was time to give back.
“It was amazing the amount of support people would bring. Every single player, whether it would be ex or current or family members, would say I’ve got a truck or generators or jerry cans or can deliver hay. It was all beautiful.”
The club quickly rallied in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, placing a call out for donations to assist families who were greatly impacted by the bushfires. In two weeks, supporters raised over $12,000.
With the intention of assisting the “lifeblood of the club”, the Lions also worked towards additional funding for their junior program with the hopes of helping everyone financially as they attempt to bring some normality back to their lives.
Thanks to the support of AFL Victoria, Netball Victoria and several club sponsors, junior registration fees and the club’s Auskick and Net Set Go programs were made free of charge for this season.
The continued outpouring of support also allowed the club to provide a complimentary Thursday junior dinner for the season, as well as new uniforms and equipment.
The MCDFNL also chipped in by providing free entry for Harcourt members travelling to the club’s season opener away to Talbot.
“I just want to thank everyone. We’ve had great support from other teams in the league and the league itself,” Dorian said.
“All that support definitely hasn’t been unnoticed and I just hope that people are aware of how appreciative we are of everyone and what they’ve been able to do.”
With many community members still reeling in the aftermath of the bushfires, the club is running a Shout a Membership program, encouraging people to gift a membership to locals as they attempt to reconnect and heal.
“The Shout a Membership program is to help out the people who may be struggling, but also to give the whole community that sense of home and a place where everyone’s welcomed and valued,” Dorian said.
“As the town’s biggest community group, we have a responsibility to give everyone that option.
“We want to provide a place to bring people and stay a bit longer than the hour you might be training or to be mindful that in these times, it’s good to be around other people, whether it’s dinners or community events.
“Our mantra last year as a club was ‘one club’ and really show that there was no team that had any dominance over any other.
“If you can suggest a positive out of the tragedy earlier in the year, we’ve sort of taken that to the next level as far as really focusing on the whole club and even more so the whole of the community.”
While the burned outskirts of Harcourt Recreation Reserve serve as a reminder of what the town looks to overcome, tomorrow will mark a poignant moment in Harcourt’s recovery, welcoming Dunolly in their first MCDFNL home matchday since the bushfire.
Dorian said it will be an emotional day for the club as it continues to wrap their arms around each other.
“As much as excitement is the main emotion for this weekend and just to get back to some normality, we just have to be mindful that people are at different levels,” he said.
“You drive into town and there’s a beautiful green coming back in colour, but the signs are there that it wasn’t that long ago.
“As much as we are moving on and we need to, we’re going to be mindful that not everyone’s ready to move on and everyone’s recovery is in different stages.”