Neil Frederick Sachse (3 January 1951 – 25 August 2020) was a

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL) and

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL)

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er, who was left a

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...

after an on-field accident in a 1975 VFL game.

Footscray career

Sachse was a premiership player with

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

before moving to VFL club Footscray in 1975. In his second match for Footscray (Round 2, 1975), Sachse was left a

after an accidental collision with

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

player, Kevin O'Keeffe. He was left with no use of his legs, and little movement in his hands. However he could still move his arms and breathe normally.

The Neil Sachse Foundation

In 1994, Neil Sachse and Dawn Ferrett founded an organisation to raise funds for research into the treatment of spinal cord injury. Originally known as the Spinal Research Fund of Australia Incorporated, it was renamed the Neil Sachse Foundation. Since 1994, it has raised over $2 million which has funded a research project at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

that proved that nerve fibres in the spine can regenerate past the site of the injury and return some function. In 2009, in recognition of his tireless work and dedication, Neil was awarded the "Premier's Award for Outstanding Community Achievement in South Australia" at an Awards Ceremony run by the Australia Day Council of SA at Government House. Sachse's biography, ''Playing On'', written with Michael Sexton, was released through Affirm Press in August 2015. Sachse died on 25 August 2020.

References

External links

* *
The ''Neil Sachse Foundation'' Website

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, 29 June 2009 1951 births 2020 deaths Australian rules footballers from South Australia North Adelaide Football Club players People with tetraplegia Western Bulldogs players {{AFL-bio-1950s-stub