Tonight Paul Schwedes will be back at the footy - cap on, red, white and blue scarf wrapped around his neck, a huge smile on his face.
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The die-hard Western Bulldogs fan from Horsham, who passed away last year at 81, will be among friends - all in cardboard cut-out form.
He spent a life-time cheering on Footscray and the Western Bulldogs.
Five of Mr Swedes's nine grandchildren have followed in his footsteps and the Western Bulldogs' supporters group he helped to found in the Wimmera lives on.
His family jumped at the chance to have him represented in the crowd when the idea came up.
"When I heard about the virtual cheer squad, I thought, Dad would have loved to be at the game," his daughter, Zoe Elliott, told the Western Bulldog's website.
"I contacted the Bulldogs to find out how I could get Dad in the crowd."
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Mr Schwedes - whose allegiance to the Bulldogs started at a young age and never wavered - will be at the Marvel Stadium to see the Bullldogs take on GWS alongside supporters from all parts of the country.
"Dad has barracked for the Bulldogs since he was about nine years old - so he saw two premierships in his time," Zoe said to the website.
"I'm not really sure why he started supporting the Bulldogs, but he was an avid supporter.
"As part of his funeral ceremony, when he was lowered down we actually played the Bulldogs theme song.
"He was a cheeky character, so it was a bit of a moment there."
Mr Swedes regularly travelled the highway between Horsham and Melbourne - a four hour drive - to see his beloved team.
Zoe recalls trips to Melbourne as a child that were timed to overlap with opportunities to watch - then Footscray - train at Whitten Oval.
"Dad would be in there for ages, talking and whatever with club people," she said to the website.
"He was pretty excited about the Bulldogs."
The great Ted Whitten Sr was one of his favourites and there was a young bloke who caught his eye a few years back, who he thought might have something special.
"He was a huge fan of Teddy Whitten," Zoe said.
"He used to comment, back in his early days, that the 'Bont' would have a big future.
"He picked him out early on and thought he'd be one to watch... a pretty good judge of character."
