The winners of the competition not only took part in the parade but also got three nights’ accommodation over the grand final weekend, a $700 voucher, a hire car and two tickets to the first three rounds of the finals, which meant that Miss Matthews and her father, Craig, were able to follow Collingwood’s journey into the grand final.
“My sister and I went to the first round, Collingwood v Melbourne; second round, I gave my tickets to a work colleague who goes for Carlton; third round, my dad and I went to GWS v Collingwood,” Miss Matthews said.
She said the Magpies’ win over the Lions was extra special.
“The atmosphere was unbelievable, and the roar on the last siren was phenomenal,” she said.
Miss Matthews said she was excited to take part in the parade, as she had been a massive footy fan since a young age.
She said she was even able to hang out and get photos with some of the players.
With almost 60 entries in the competition, Miss Matthews said it was exciting to be one of the lucky 12 who got to have their ute on display.
“When signing up, they mainly wanted to know about the ute, and we had to write a short story about our connection with our HiLuxs — honestly, I can’t even remember what I wrote,” she said.
“I had two umpires on the back of my ute — Christopher Gordon and Ian Burrows. Christopher was retiring at the end of the game.
“I was meant to be in my ute as a passenger, but due to rule changes we all ended up walking the parade.
“I have created so many memories being part of this experience and it was definitely something I won’t forget.”
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