A doctor and his unwavering commitment to champion Noble Park Bulls: Dr. Nihal Heenetigala – a devoted clubman

BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE

Nihal Heenitigala(centre) flanked by Noble Park Coach Mick Fogarty and and President Kevin Wright with the 2011 EFL Premiership cup.

After 26 years of passionate involvement with Noble Park Football Club as its honorary sports doctor, Nihal Heenetigala yet finds it extremely difficult to walk away from his duties despite an endless workload as a General Practitioner at his Surgery nearby.

The sports mad Sri Lanka born GP has in his many decades of practice, met amd mingled with several sports stars from around the world , including some of the elite here in Australia, many of them seeking medical advice or treatment from him.

His energetic outward composure and excitable nature when in conversation about sport, mainly Football, (he is an avid North Melbourne Member and supporter), and his closeness with the giants of the Eastern Football League (EFL) Noble Park Bulls, stands out in his normal conversations. But he also readily admits that he is a mad Sri Lanka supporter in Cricket. When questioned about how he balances his heavy workload outside his club commitments, Dr. Heenetigala laughingly concedes that he has been contemplating retirement from his club duties for a while, “But I find it extremely hard to walk away from these guys. They are so much a part of my life. Besides I love being in the thick of the action”, he confessed. Dr. Heenetigala introduced me to Noble Park Coach Mick Fogarty who he proudly proclaimed was one of the stand outs for the Bulls as a player before taking over the coaching reins where he has secured two flags in the past four years.

The walls of his surgery stand as testament to his unbridled passion for sport with photos of his beloved North Melbourne and Noble Park overshadowing others of him beside some of the best sportsmen from Australia and around the world. Examples of these are England’s Ian Botham’ West Indian legend Viv Richards, Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunge, Australia’s Ricky Ponting, Pakistan’s Zaheer Abbas, India’s master Sachin Tendulkar and former Sri Lanka born and later Australian Commonwealth Boxing champon Malcolm Bulner, just to name a few.

Nihal Heenitigala’s contribution to football has not gone unnoticed with accolades from the AFL, North Melbourne and life membership from Noble Park being the fruits of his dedication.
In 26 years with Noble Park, the footy mad doctor recalls he has seen them prosper at least eight times winning eight Grand Finals in the Southern and Eastern Leagues and that is an incredible record for any club in the short span they have been in Football. His association with sport and sports medicine began when he migrated to England a few decades ago where his crowning moment was being one of the team of doctors at the 1976 FA Cup final at the world famous Wembley Stadium in England.

Arriving in Australia, he was involved in Tasmanian Football at Devonport where he tasted his first success with a Premiership team before moving to Victoria in 1991.

It wasn’t long before one of his patients whose son was the President talked him into joining Noble Park as its club doctor, a task he jumped at due to his love for the sport.

Since 2001 Dr. Heenetigala has been one of the pillars of Noble Park footy Club and his involvement which is purely voluntary soon saw him endeared by all and to this day he is one of the most sought after and much loved figures around the Club.

This was clearly endorsed by former Club President Kevin Wright who could hardly contain himself when asked about the impact he had on the club.

“We are one of the luckiest clubs in the EFL to have such an inspirational person with us. Having our own club doctor has made us the envy of all the clubs in the EFL and Dr. Heenetigala does not charge us a cent but gives us a tremendous amount of his time. The players love him and I love him for his dedication and tireless efforts”, said the President of the most successful club in the EFL who has been at the helm for the past six years.

“He picks everyone up in the club with his cheerful disposition and is sensational with his medical expertise. We do realize that at some stage he will walk away from the club. But currently we keep giving him all kinds of awards in an attempt to keep him coming back”, Wright says jokingly. “The day he does retire will be a great loss for the Noble Park Footy club.” Says Wright.

I was invited to the Noble Park club celebration as 2011 Premiers, where Mayor of Dandenong, Ros Blades, a big fan of Noble Park Bulls, applauded the club for their fantastic achievement and handed them a certificate of recognition from the council to mark their success.