Episode 17: Merbein’s Toney Hurley

Hurls joined us for a chat to share some of his football journey, which has led to him becoming president of his beloved Merbein FNC for the last seven years.

A self-proclaimed very modest footballer, Hurls’ journey has seen many ups and downs, from the Merv Neagle-led back to back Merbein premierships in 2002-03, to periods where he fell out of love with the game.

For mine, Toney’s strength as a president is his genuine love and care for the people at his club – He also shared with us some fascinating and powerful insight into some of the struggles their small community faced with suicide several years ago. That challenging period led to the club becoming actively involved with the ‘It’s OK not to be OK’ program, a program that now sees Merbein as a local leader in this space in their Sunraysia region.

Toney is a simple, salt of the earth, knockabout bloke whose genuine love of his club and community is infectious and inspiring. Hope you enjoy this chat…