Williamstown Football Club’s No.1 ticket holder, Wade Noonan, was scolded by the Speaker of State Parliament last week for wearing a Footscray footy scarf in the house.
Labor’s Williamstown MP was wearing the opposing team’s colours after losing a bet with Footscray MP Marsha Thomson that whoever’s team lost the previous weekend’s VFL game would wear the other side’s scarf during question time.
Mr Noonan was asked to remove the Bulldogs scarf as it was breaking standing orders. “The Speaker understood the good humour in our little wager,” he said.
“Sadly, my beloved Seagulls were not able to score the win, but a bet’s a bet. This is a first-time bet because Footscray is fielding a side in the VFL for the first time. Of course, Williamstown are 150 years old this year, so they’re long established.
Mr Noonan saw a bright side in losing the bet. “At least I didn’t have to wear a Port Melbourne scarf into Parliament, and Williamstown Football Club fanatics will understand very clearly why that was a good thing for me because there’s an extremely strong rivalry between Port Melbourne and Williamstown – so there was a bright side for me in it all.”
