The club wishes to advise the gentle passing of former Canterbury coach Ray McVilly, who was surrounded by family on the morning of Wednesday, June 25.

Ray was an esteemed football person – having played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the late 1950’s – and coached Canterbury in its 1981 centenary year where he took the team to a grand final appearance.

One member recalls:

“One day after a loss he brings the players into a huddle at the Snake Pit and says, ‘Some of you are not switched on and have no attention to detail. Some of you would not even know the order of the colours on the front of our jumpers!” Players looked around and some of the jumpers were red, black and yellow, and yellow, black and red. And the playing group burst into laughter.”

Our thoughts are with the McVilly family at this time and all who knew him.

Details of the funeral will be made available once we have them.