Photographer Lynne Weir and the Goulburn Valley Suns just clicked

Where there’s a will, there’s a Weir.

For nearly seven years, Lynne Weir has been behind the lens at Goulburn Valley Suns matches, a journey that started when her son, now in his early 20s, played in the under-14s.

“This just happened,” she said.

“Lindy Nieuwenhuizen knew I liked taking photos — I was taking group photos of the under-14s team and she said, ‘Do you want to do a bit more and we’ll put them up on the Facebook page and the website?’, and it went from there.”

Weir’s interest was piqued and she soon found herself deeply embedded in the club’s fabric.

But even before then, she was lending a hand — whether that be a high-five to the junior players she managed or handling a deep fryer in the canteen.

“I’ve had a few roles at the Suns, but taking photos is still my favourite,” she said.

With the camera an extension of her arm, Weir glides back and forth along the white line on game day as the hard-running Orangemen chase victory.

For her, elation comes win, lose or draw.

“I love seeing the players’ reactions to the photos themselves and I enjoy getting what I think is a good photo,” Weir said.

“Sometimes it’s tricky because you want to get every player and get them all doing something great ... and sometimes I’m too busy watching the goal go in and cheering to take the photo.”

In 2023, her cheers were drowned out by the sound of a 1546-strong crowd at McEwen Reserve when the Suns hosted APIA Leichhardt in Round 32 of the Australia Cup.

It was a bittersweet symphony this game, where the triumph lay not in goals scored but in standing tall — and Weir had a front-row seat to document it.

“I had to get a proper media pass and that was so exciting,” she said.

“Them getting that far was fantastic, but when I had to have the media pass I really felt like I must have done something right.”

There’s no question that the Orangemen have shown a brilliant brand of football over the years, but what about the Orangewomen?

According to Weir, there have been a number of girls at the club, but it has “always been tricky for the girls”.

“There are no women’s facilities at most grounds, so you have to send them home with their gear so they can get changed,” she said.

“The girls play with the boys because they’re good calibre soccer players, but in the junior levels, that’s the stuff that has to happen for them.

“I hope that will improve in the future and it just gets easier and easier for them to participate over time.”

It’s women like Weir who are instrumental in driving this progress forward.

Although she may view it as “just a hobby”, Weir serves as a source of encouragement for other women and girls, both in the field of photography and on the field playing.