Newman footy clubs ransacked on “weekly basis” by booze-seeking vandals

Newman sports facilities are being ransacked on a weekly basis by thieves seeking booze, leaving volunteers to clean up the mess and clubs facing hefty damage bills. A door to the Capricorn Oval-based Centrals Football Club across the road from Newman’s high school was ripped off its hinges by thieves believed to be seeking booze on May 28. Centrals vice-president Cyril Boelema said theft and property damage had become commonplace. “Not a week goes by that someone doesn’t have a break-in and have all of the alcohol stolen out of the club,” he said. “It’s just really frustrating because it’s all volunteers that do stuff in these clubs. “Everyone up here is working really hard, we work long hours and it’s just a kick in the guts every time it happens. “It’s hard enough getting volunteers in your club and then when stuff like this happens, everyone says ‘what’s the point?’ Mr Boelema said he had to spend most of the weekend organising repairs for the broken door and getting it fortified. A short walk around the oval from Centrals, Pioneers Football Club president Brendan Langlands said his club had suffered $30,000 worth of damage in the past year alone. “It’s hard to get volunteers while your club looks like a war zone,” he said. “We have been here 13 years in Newman and have not seen it as bad as it is now.” Mr Langlands said the club had welded its doors shut, removed all alcohol, and the public did not know when the club was open any more. “It’s hard to hold a club together when you can’t open your club and you’re trying to protect it at the same time,” he said. Newman Police Senior Sergeant Ray Anderson said break-ins to sporting clubs had been prevalent in the past week. Sen. Sgt Anderson said multiple offenders were responsible for the vandalism. “The target is without question alcohol, that’s what they’re going in for,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can to try and catch the offenders and I’m pretty comfortable that we will get some.” Sen. Sgt Anderson said the incidents hurt the community “Money is hard to get, volunteers work extremely hard and my heart really feels for them.” Newman’s Saints footy club also suffered back-to-back break-ins over two days in late May.