Boxing Day 2011 - it's hard to believe that seven years ago hundreds of thousands of people from across the rim of the Indian Ocean, some Australians and one of them our very dear Troy Broadbridge, lost their lives as a result of earthquakes and the tsunami that followed.

Boxing Day 2011 is a day on which we reflect and remember Troy and all the victims of this tragedy.

Your tributes are invited tonight, tomorrow and in fact, at any time.

Troy Broadbridge: No. 20

Born: 5 October 1980

Recruited from Port Adelaide Magpies (SANFL) 

Died: 26 December 2004, Thailand 

Playing Career:

Debut Round 8, May 20, 2001, Melbourne vs. Essendon, at Melbourne Cricket Ground 

Team: Melbourne (2001-2004)

40 games, 2 goals

Melbourne Most Improved Player 2001

Sandringham Premiership Team 2000 & 2004

I was only 14 when he unfortunately passed away but I remember he was just starting to become a pretty solid player.

RIP Troy.

I had the pleasure of meeting Troy only 10 days before his untimely death to photograph his dogs for a book.

He was a very decent human being as well as a very promising footballer.

RIP.

Very sad day. I have spent many holidays in Thailand and will go again. Visit Phi Phi island with an MFC jumper is on my radar.

RIP Troy. Not Forgotten Fire Engine 20.

Round 1 2005. Sitting behind Punt Rd end goals with my family. I remember the very moving tribute to Troy before the game, with all players honouring his memory. And at the end, after dispatching the Bombers, them team were called together by skipper Neitz and walked as one off the MCG, arms around each others shoulders. We had 19 players on the ground at all times that game. Troy played that game in spirit - and he was BOG.

RIP Troy : 1980 - 2004

Gone to soon

Never met him but he was becoming a top player . Sad day for millions of people everywhere .

RIP Troy

Round 1 2005. Sitting behind Punt Rd end goals with my family. I remember the very moving tribute to Troy before the game, with all players honouring his memory. And at the end, after dispatching the Bombers, them team were called together by skipper Neitz and walked as one off the MCG, arms around each others shoulders. We had 19 players on the ground at all times that game. Troy played that game in spirit - and he was BOG.

That is a game I will never forget. The tribute before the game was the most moving experience I've ever had at the MCG.

RIP Troy

I remember this very sad day, and the weeks that followed. RIP, Troy. You were taken way too early.

I wrote this tribute to Troy after his funeral and though time continues to march on, I don't think I can sum up my feelings about him any better than this:-

OUT OF THE SHADOWS - A TRIBUTE TO BROADY by Whispering Jack

It's early morning and a honeymoon couple strolls along the beach. The wind stops. The waters thud over the shoreline and, in an instant, the waves cast giant shadows on the sand as it suddenly disappears below them. The tiny droplet of time left is barely enough for him to guide her to the relative safety of a balcony before the tide turns again. The roar of the ocean has become a shrill scream that echoes across the Bay of Bengal and beyond leaving tragedy and death in its wake. He is one of the many who are lost to us forever …

Troy and Trisha Broadbridge were on their honeymoon in the Thai resort of Phi Phi Island when the Indian Ocean tsunami struck on Boxing Day 2004. A little over a week earlier they were married and a few days before that Troy had wound up an intensive pre-season training period with his teammates at the Melbourne Football Club. He had just completed his best season since coming to club as a rookie-listed player in 1999. After six years as a Demon, Troy's career and his life were just starting to take shape.

A little over a month after the wedding Trish is repeating the vows she declared on their wedding day. As the mourners stand teary eyed in the shadows of a packed St James' Catholic Church in Gardenvale she recites them softly.

"Troy, you are my best friend. I promise I'm going to love you no matter what happens, I will always stand by you like you have stood by me. I love you so much because of everything you've done for me, for the person that you are, for the heart that you have."

For my part, I remember meeting Broady for the first time when he worked behind the bar at The Bentleigh Club in his first year as a rookie. He was friendly but appeared shy. Former Melbourne Football Manager Danny Corcoran had been confident from the beginning that he would blossom as player and was delighted to snaffle the services of the red headed youngster from South Australia. The pedigree was good (his father Wayne, was a star player with Port Adelaide), he was tall, fast, athletic and willing to learn. In time, he would recover from the serious injuries that were dogging his career and more lately he was overcoming the doubts he seemed to have in his own ability. They said that Troy Broadbridge was in awe of the fact that he played the game as some of footy's heroes and that he never saw himself at their level but by the end of 2004 Troy Broadbridge was moving out of the shadows.

Troy played most of his first season with the Melbourne reserves and was beset by shoulder problems in his rookie year. He came back through the Sandringham reserves and played in the Zebras 2000 winning grand final side in the last football match played at VFL Park. After gaining promotion to the senior list, he made his AFL debut in 2001 when the Demons went down to Essendon by a solitary goal in round 8. He snagged a major with his first kick in the red and blue.

Then followed a serious knee injury in 2002 and more shoulder problems in 2003 but Broady came back to play regularly for Melbourne and his 40th and last AFL game, also against the Bombers in the 2004 Elimination Final, was among his best. Eligible for the VFL finals, Troy went on to star in the Zebra defence a fortnight later in his second premiership with Sandringham.

Now we are going through a difficult process of overcoming the grief. The process involves accepting the reality of the loss, working through to the pain of grief and adjusting to an environment in which he is no longer there. After that, we move on with life but always remember that his spirit lives on.

Melbourne Chairman Paul Gardner summed up the feeling of many of the 700 who attended the funeral -

"Today, we farewelled our friend Troy Broadbridge. Sadly, these ceremonies are occurring all around the world. It is our great hope that generosity of spirit that has been shown regardless of creed and colour and race and religion will continue on and some of the lives have not been lost in vain," he said.

"The Broadbridges and Trisha have been consoled by their family, their friends and their faith, and now it is time for the Melbourne Football Club to move on.

"It's time for the club to show the confidence, the ambition, the factors Troy had as a footballer. I want to thank everybody for their support. It's been overwhelming. I urge every Melbourne supporter to get behind the club right now, to encourage the players and make 2005 the best it can possibly be."

Former Demon champion and good friend Jim Stynes said of Broady -

"Troy had a huge leap, he could take a great mark, he ran like a greyhound, he could match up on talls or smalls. He was quietly confident, with a wicked sense of humour. But above all, he was the most selfless footballer to play at Melbourne that I can remember..."

"Some will remember the way he died, but I'll remember the way he lived, the way he played, and most of all the way he loved."

Still, you can't forget the way Troy died. A guiding principle of one of the world's ancient religions says that he who fulfills his duty to save a life is considered as if he has saved the entire world. Broady's fateful last moments embodied exactly that. When he pushed his beloved wife Trisha out of the shadows of death and to safety, he demonstrated for all time that he was more than the equal of any of the heroes he played with and against in his short career. Troy Broadbridge will always be remembered in life and in death as a champion person and a true hero.

Round 1 2005. Sitting behind Punt Rd end goals with my family. I remember the very moving tribute to Troy before the game, with all players honouring his memory. And at the end, after dispatching the Bombers, them team were called together by skipper Neitz and walked as one off the MCG, arms around each others shoulders. We had 19 players on the ground at all times that game. Troy played that game in spirit - and he was BOG.

great memory bj

Seven years - it's hard to believe how quickly the time has passed by.

I wonder how Trish is going, how has she coped and has she rebuilt her life? If anyone deserves happiness after what they've gone through, it's her.

Thanks for post 10 WJ. That last paragraph says it all so well.

I remember being at the Boxing Day test that year. We were playing Pakistan and they batted first. There was a big partnership, we took some wickets late but they scored more than 300 and had some wickets in hand at stumps. The news about the earthquake and the tsunami was sort of filtering through the ground late in the day but it seemed like it was just another event and really had nothing to do with us.

The enormity of the disaster only came home to me later on when I watched the vision coming in from Thailand and then, a day or two later we discovered that we'd lost Troy.

It reminded me that life's a bigger game than any sport.

That is a game I will never forget. The tribute before the game was the most moving experience I've ever had at the MCG.

RIP Troy

I was at that game. The one thing I will never forget was a strong young forward by the name of Brad Miller run through James Hird. I could feel his bones shake from my seat in the 2nd tier. I thought "wow we finally have a forward to support Nietz that will run straight lines." I was wrong.

I was at that game. The one thing I will never forget was a strong young forward by the name of Brad Miller run through James Hird. I could feel his bones shake from my seat in the 2nd tier. I thought "wow we finally have a forward to support Nietz that will run straight lines." I was wrong.

There was an amazing Red and Blueish sunset over the 'G that night. Very surreal i will never forget it.

There was an amazing Red and Blueish sunset over the 'G that night. Very surreal i will never forget it.

Yes ... a great night for the footy ... and a sad night, not only because of Troy but because that evening began for me with the news I heard on the radio that Paul Hester, drummer for Crowded House and a Demon fan, took his life in a park in Elwood where my grandchildren play. The sky was red and blue and I had just picked up my son who lived hearing near the Elwood Canal. We were on our way to the game and passed the place where it must have happened.

And so we celebrated many lives that night; the thousands of victims of the tsunami and a couple of lost Demon souls in Troy and Paul.

I wrote an article about it a couple of years ago and said how proud we were of our team that night. Seven years down the track and there would be few left from that game. Green, Davey, Rivers, Beamer ... I'm not sure if the Russian was playing that night.

Rest in peace Troy. Never forgotten.

Yes ... a great night for the footy ... and a sad night, not only because of Troy but because that evening began for me with the news I heard on the radio that Paul Hester, drummer for Crowded House and a Demon fan, took his life in a park in Elwood where my grandchildren play. The sky was red and blue and I had just picked up my son who lived hearing near the Elwood Canal. We were on our way to the game and passed the place where it must have happened.

And so we celebrated many lives that night; the thousands of victims of the tsunami and a couple of lost Demon souls in Troy and Paul.

I wrote an article about it a couple of years ago and said how proud we were of our team that night. Seven years down the track and there would be few left from that game. Green, Davey, Rivers, Beamer ... I'm not sure if the Russian was playing that night.

Hessey was a very good mate of mine, and a very large Demon Supporter...the night of the game i kept thinking Troy and Hessey were up in those clouds getting to know each other and sending energy down upon the 'G.

Bittersweet.

Troy, like the hundreds of thousands of others to die in that disaster is of course, sorely missed - as supporters we should never forget Troy, but as people, we should never forget the enormity of this and other natural disasters; we should always be ready to offer whatever help we can.

It was heartening to see that one child who it was thought had perished, was the other day, reunited with her family... almost 7 years to the day after the event.

Had the honor of standing next to Ronald Dale as the funeral procession went down North Rd Brighton after the service, he just shook his head and said, "Its tragedy and at such a young age, unbelievable."

Had the honor of standing next to Ronald Dale as the funeral procession went down North Rd Brighton after the service, he just shook his head and said, "Its tragedy and at such a young age, unbelievable."

A memorable moment for the wrong reasons. But you won't forget that.

RiP Troy. We were honoured to have known you.

Yes ... a great night for the footy ... and a sad night, not only because of Troy but because that evening began for me with the news I heard on the radio that Paul Hester, drummer for Crowded House and a Demon fan, took his life in a park in Elwood where my grandchildren play. The sky was red and blue and I had just picked up my son who lived hearing near the Elwood Canal. We were on our way to the game and passed the place where it must have happened.

And so we celebrated many lives that night; the thousands of victims of the tsunami and a couple of lost Demon souls in Troy and Paul.

I wrote an article about it a couple of years ago and said how proud we were of our team that night. Seven years down the track and there would be few left from that game. Green, Davey, Rivers, Beamer ... I'm not sure if the Russian was playing that night.

Match Review

Round 1 - Saturday Night, 26th March, 2005

Melbourne 3.2 9.8 12.11 15.13 (103)

Essendon 3.4 6.6 6.8 8.9 (57)

Crowd - 47,849 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Melb - INs: D.Neitz, C.Heffernan, R.Ferguson, B.Moloney, C.Sylvia - OUTs: B.Holland, A.Nicholson, P.Read, D.Ward, T.Broadbridge

Ess - INs: A.Henneman, B.Haynes, A.McPhee, J.Winderlich, K.Bradley, A.Monfries - OUTs: M.Mercuri, S.Wellman, M.Lloyd, D.Hille, T.Richards, J.Watson

Melb

Bizzell, Clint

Brown, Nathan D.

Bruce, Cameron

Davey, Aaron

Ferguson, Ryan

Green, Brad

Heffernan, Chris

Jamar, Mark

Johnstone, Travis

McDonald, James I.

McLean, Brock

Miller, Brad J.

Moloney, Brent

Neitz, David

Rigoni, Guy

Rivers, Jared

Robertson, Russell

Sylvia, Colin

Wheatley, Paul

Whelan, Matthew

White, Jeff

Yze, Adem

Ess

Allan, Matthew

Bolton, Mark

Bradley, Kepler

Bullen, Marc

Cupido, Damian

Fletcher, Dustin

Haynes, Ben

Henneman, Aaron

Hird, James

Johnson, Jason

Johnson, Mark

Lucas, Scott

McPhee, Adam

McVeigh, Mark

Monfries, Angus

Murphy, Justin

Peverill, Damien

Ramanauskas, Adam

Solomon, Dean

Stanton, Brent

Welsh, Andrew

Winderlich, Jason

Thanks Kev. It looks like Essendon have undergone more change than we have.

Surprised me really.