The man who should be at the centre of the Port Douglas Crocs' 25-year celebrations won't be at the party, but you can be sure Ernie Baxter's life will be celebrated at the bar that carries his name. The footy club was started when Baxter joined forces with Andy Smith as vice-president and president in 1989 and the pair were still best mates until his death last Sunday. Baxter's funeral will be held this morning and the wake will take place at the Crocs' clubhouse bar, named in his honour in 2011. The Bairnsdale-born father of three, who was 65, served twice in Vietnam and was a tireless charity worker. Smith has been busy planning June's anniversary celebrations and said the loss of his good mate would be tough to swallow. "We have so many people returning for it in June and I wanted him to be in the middle of that," Smith said. "He just did so much around the club, his house was basically the clubroom in the beginning, everyone used to come around and he'd entertain. "He had hundreds of roles and was very particular - team manager, line marker, you name it." While Smith stopped short of dedicating this season's performances to his mate, the president admitted it would be hard not to acknowledge it. "I don't want to go saying, 'Let's win for Ernie', but obviously you just think how good that would feel if we were able to do well this year," he said. "At the end of the day, he was a very well-respected man around the club and it will be in the back of our minds." When the two mates got together, the Crocs still played at Mossman Showgrounds, where they shared the facilities with everything from other footy codes to equestrian competitions. But they soon graduated to the Port Douglas Sports Complex - what is now one of the most beautiful sports grounds in the Far North - and this year will host night fixtures for the first time after lights were erected in the off season. While excited to host twilight senior football, Smith said there were bigger spin-offs to look forward to. For years the squads have had their training sessions cut short or inhibited by bad light, and under-16 and under-18 teams have travelled to Cairns to play every week. "Since the early 2000s our juniors have made the trip, sometimes three times a week to play in Cairns," Smith said. "That's a massive commitment and people don't realise just what that takes to make sure we kept fielding teams. So it will be very exciting to watch our guys play at home on Wednesday and Friday nights." Their seniors won't be forgotten though, and after a tough season last year, find themselves in a position to be competitive this season. "We threw 30 new blokes into that club last season and then injuries crippled us," Smith said. "But we are happy Coops (Brad Cooper) is back on deck. He's a good coach and we've retained a bulk of the squad and have some new recruits coming up. "You can't make any predictions without seeing what other clubs have done, so we will see where we stand after six weeks or so."
Last Modified on 08/05/2013 13:35