Bali bombings: Kingsley Football Club holds legends game in tribute to players killed in attack 20 years ago

Ahead of the 20-year anniversary of the Bali bombings, the Kingsley Football Club commemorated the occasion with a legends game honouring the loss of seven of their mates.

Australia was rocked on October 12, 2002, when 88 Aussies tragically lost their lives in the terrorist attack that ultimately killed 202 people.

At the time, 20 players from the Kingsley Football Club were in Bali on an end-of-season footy trip celebrating their first premiership — and in an instant seven had their lives cut short.

The tragedy has stuck with the club and has become part of the very fabric of Kingsley, so much so that in 2003 the club rebuilt their clubrooms with community donations that included a memorial area as a reminder of their seven mates.

The club also retired the No. 7 guernsey as a mark of respect.

Not even a colder-than-usual spring evening could put off the drove of spectators who turned up for the commemoration match under Friday night lights, complete with food trucks and broadcast live by 89.7FM.

A rendition of the national anthem and the players running through a joint banner, paying homage to the E Grade premiership of 2002, complemented the pre-game festivities.

Brad Mcilroy survived the tragic night at the Sari club and was among the legends who laced up the boots and played in memory of his teammates.

“It was a no-brainer to be here tonight and to play with some fellas that I haven’t seen in a while,” he said.

“It goes without saying how big of an occasion this is for the club.

“Bali has been part of the club’s fabric and for it to be 20 years on and we still remember it in such a way is unreal.”

Speaking after the game, Mcilroy said it would be more of a sombre occasion on Wednesday when it will officially mark 20 years since the tragedy.

“Like previous years, we’ll do the dawn service at Kings Park,” he said. “But this year there will be more feeling.

“I’ll spend the day reflecting with my family before I and some of the other boys head back to the clubroom and have a couple of beers together.”

The commemoration game was an overwhelming success, attracting more than 1000 spectators and 80 players, past and present, taking part.

This Wednesday, on the twentieth anniversary of the Bali bombings, The West Australian remembers in a special 16-page wrap. The hero, the investigator, the doctors, the survivor. Read their stories, feel their emotion and remember those we lost. Only in The West Australian on Wednesday.