Hunter Valley bus tragedy: Swans president Josh McKenzie's heartfelt words

So, when fellow AFL club the Singleton Roosters were deeply affected by the Hunter Valley bus tragedy, the longtime Swans president and occasional player said the shocking incident hit home.

It showed that the myriad pleasures associated with community AFL could not be "taken for granted", he said.

The Swans could "only imagine the devastation" the crash had had on the Roosters, he said, "when you have players that you're so close to, and people within the club, that are just ripped out like that, so needlessly and so suddenly".

At No. 1 Oval on Saturday afternoon, the Swans, the Bulldogs and match officials formed an interlocked circle at the centre of the quaint ground to observe a minute's silence in honour of the crash victims.

Beneath a flawless sky, the Swans wore black armbands, while the Bulldogs wore red and white armbands - the Roosters' colours.

Before the minute's silence, McKenzie - a police sergeant and AFL umpire - read, over the public address system, a letter he wrote to mark the occasion.

In it, he spoke of how the Roosters, who lost players and their coach in the tragedy, shared with the Swans a passion for AFL with and the "advancement of women's sport".

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He said: "As we show our respect with a minute's silence, may we also reflect on their [the Roosters'] enjoyment of the game and their teammates, so we may also cherish the opportunity we have to continue to play the game, appreciate the ongoing camaraderie of our own teammates and continue with mateship in respect for our opponents, who also share a passion for the game, none of which can be taken for granted."

McKenzie later told the Leader that the Swans' "thoughts and prayers" were with the Roosters.

Commenting on his letter, he said it was "important to put things in perspective":

He continued: "I said to our boys before the game ... they're [Gunnedah] a good bunch of blokes, and we're playing with a good bunch of blokes. You can't really ask for much more than that. So try and focus on that.

"Win, lose or draw, enjoy your football, enjoy your teammates - and we'll be back at the pub tonight [Saturday] and will really try and get around each other. And I think you can take that for granted ... last weekend shows you can't."

The bus crash, which occurred at Greta, is Australia's worst road accident in about three decades - its effect reverberating around a stunned nation.

Ten people died. And a week after the accident, nine people remained hospitalised.

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The passengers of the bus had attended the wedding of Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell, who were members of the Roosters' men's and women's teams.

The driver of the bus - 58-year-old Brett Andrew Button - was arrested following the crash and charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, and one count of negligent driving occasioning death.

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