Wim Vaessen and Bruce Bell reflect what Bridgenorth values most: high-level footy and loyalty that lasts. Different eras, same result, Parrot Park doesn’t just produce good players, it keeps them connected to the club long after they stop playing.
Bruce Bell was a three-time premiership player, two-time Best & Fairest, and good enough to represent the Tasmania Amateur League in 1985. A dominant ruckman, he was named in the 1971–1999 Bridgenorth All-Star Team in the ruck. Wim Vaessen sits alongside him in that All-Star group, a 1996 premiership player, 1993 Best & Fairest, and even a one-time All-Australian captain. Both carried serious standards in leaner times, training under just two lights because that’s what the club had.
What they keep coming back to is the foundation: strong committees, volunteers who never stop building, and a family culture that holds people here. As Wim puts it, if it’s not blood, it’s community, and Bridgenorth does that better than most. That’s why some of the club’s greats still find it hard to watch now: not out of distance, but because they love the game and the place that much.
Episode 8 is a reminder of where success comes from here, commitment, family, and players like Wim and Bruce who set the bar and stayed part of the club ever since.
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