Hatherleigh awarded $20,000 by Cancer Council SA for bowel cancer awareness

On 8 August 2026, Cancer Council SA visited Hatherleigh to present the club with a $20,000 grant in recognition of its outstanding work raising awareness about bowel cancer screening.

It is a proud moment for the whole club — and a reminder that the influence of a country football and netball club reaches well beyond the boundary line.

Lifting our game

Lift Your Game is a joint initiative of Cancer Council SA and Preventive Health SA. It challenged regional football clubs to lift their game and start vital conversations about bowel cancer screening in their communities. Hatherleigh was one of 20 clubs that took part, and in Cancer Council SA's words, the club "went above and beyond".

Hatherleigh hosted a bowel cancer screening activation event before our A Grade match against Port MacDonnell. Volunteers were out among players, families and supporters handing out information on the free, at-home bowel screening test — and yes, the themed cupcakes were a hit.

The club didn't stop at match day. Screening posters now hang directly behind the toilet doors in the clubrooms — a simple, clever idea that puts the message exactly where people have a minute to read it, every week of the season.

"Bowel cancer screening isn't something people talk about all the time, so we wanted to bring it front of mind in a light-hearted way. We've got some cheeky posters up in the club and, specifically, in the toilets — behind toilet doors — to open that conversation up, to normalise it."

— Emily, Hatherleigh Football Club Ladies' Committee treasurer

It is exactly the kind of practical, down-to-earth approach that works in a community like ours. Bowel cancer is not always an easy thing to talk about, particularly for blokes. Having the conversation at the footy, among mates, makes it a whole lot easier.

Why it matters

Bowel cancer is highly treatable when it is found early, and the at-home test is free, simple and done in private.

Under the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program:

• Eligible Australians aged 50 to 74 are mailed a free screening kit every two years.
• People aged 45 to 49 can request their first free kit online.

If a kit arrives in your letterbox — do it. If you're 45 or older and haven't done one, find out how to get started.

Free bowel cancer screening is available to Australians aged 45 to 74 through the program.

National Bowel Cancer Screening Program — health.gov.au · Finding bowel cancer early — Cancer Council SA

Thank you

A huge thank you to Cancer Council SA and Preventive Health SA for backing the club, and to every volunteer who baked, handed out information, put up posters and started a conversation. The $20,000 will go straight back into Hatherleigh — and if one person in our district does their test because of this campaign, it has already been worth every cent.

Please — do the test, and encourage the people you care about to do theirs.

Watch Cancer Council SA's video from the presentation: Hatherleigh Lift Your Game on Facebook

Source: Cancer Council SA, Facebook, 8 August 2026.