Death a mystery

By Paul Pickering
A NOBLE Park family is in mourning after the sudden and unexplained death of a teenage footballer during a pre-season training camp near Eildon on Sunday morning.
Kass Mercer, 19, collapsed while running up a hill during the final activity of the Cranbourne Football Club’s weekend trip to the town of Jamieson.
As club president Gerry Kelly reported this week, Kass was unable to be revived despite the repeated efforts of a club official, a local doctor and attending paramedics.
He was later taken to Mansfield Hospital, where further attempts to save him were unsuccessful.
Kass, who worked as an apprentice roof plumber, was survived by parents Daryl and Helen, sister Nathalie and brother Paul.
While the cause of Kass’s death is still unknown, all indications from club officials suggest the former Chelsea and Keysborough player was a healthy and vibrant young man.
Further, Mr Kelly reported that Kass had shown no signs of exhaustion in the lead-up to his collapse, noting that the club had taken every possible precaution to ensure the welfare of the players throughout the weekend.
The incident comes less than a month after the death of 20-year-old Pearcedale footballer Scott Walton, whose heart suddenly stopped during his regular after-work jog along Pearcedale Road.
In the wake of the tragic loss, Mr Kelly this week vowed that the club would rally around Kass’s family and the stunned playing group.
He was also keen to pay tribute to a fun-loving young man who had already made an impression on players and officials in less than a fortnight at the club.
Mr Kelly said the camp was to be Kass’s first real hit-out with the Eagles after following new coach Doug Koop across to Cranbourne from Chelsea over the summer.
“By all accounts he was a fit young man who just loved his footy,” Mr Kelly said.
According to Mr Koop, Kass had already endeared himself to his new team-mates with his knockabout personality and determination.
“He loved a couple of beers with the boys, but when the work had to be done he never shirked the issue,” Mr Koop said.
Kass’s funeral will be held at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dandenong tomorrow.
“He was a bit of a larrikin, but he’d already won a lot of respect from the blokes with his work ethic.”
While Kass had only just arrived at the club, Mr Kelly said there was a real sense of loss among the players as they gathered in support of each other on Monday night.
He said the club would provide ongoing counselling for the players as they come to terms with Kass’s sudden passing.
As the News went to print on Wednesday, the details of an investigation into Kass’s death had not been released.